Blood Knights
| Blood Knights | |||
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| Studio |
 Deck13
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| Publisher |
Kalypso Media
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 13, 2013 | ||
| platform | Windows , Xbox 360 , Playstation 3 | ||
| genre | Action RPG | ||
| Game mode | Single player , co-op mode | ||
| control |
Game controller keyboard & mouse |
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| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 1 DVD | ||
| language | including German | ||
| Current version | 1.0 | ||
| Age rating |
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Blood Knights is an action role-playing game developed by Deck13 and released by Kalypso Media in November 2013 for Windows , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 .
action
The blood seal, which is a powerful artifact with which demons could enter our world, as well as the moon would be destroyed and the tides would stop, is protected and defended by knights of Rome in a kind of temple. Vampires attack this temple to steal the seal. Jeremy, a knight of Rome, is dispatched with a handful of men, including Castello, a skilled fighter, and Bartholomew, a powerful priest, to retake and hold the temple. However, the troop around Jeremy is almost completely wiped out. Bartholomew sees no choice but to bind a vampire, Alysa, to Jeremy by magic and thus make both of them stronger.
Jeremy and Alysa penetrate to the blood seal and Jeremy mortally wounds the leader of the vampire invaders. With the last of her strength she throws herself on Jeremy and makes him a vampire after which she dies. The remaining vampires flee with the seal. Castello and Bartholomew find Jeremy and Alysa and push them both into the abyss because vampires are their enemies and they cannot be turned back. Castello takes over the rest of Jeremy's troops and begins with them the pursuit of the vampires who have the seal. Jeremy and Alysa survived the fall and are fighting their way back to the surface, also in pursuit to bring back the Blood Seal. They meet Bartholomew, who at first distrusts them. After getting an artifact for Bartholomew, Bartholomew now trusts them.
Bartholomew reveals to the two of them where the vampires with the seal have holed up. Jeremy and Alysa find the seal and take possession of it. Bartholomew has meanwhile requested help from Rome. The strongest unit Rome has to offer is dispatched to take the seal and bring it safely to the temple. However, the unit does not trust Jeremy and Alysa and wants to execute them immediately. Bartholomew stands in their way and both can flee. In the temple, where the seal was stolen, they meet the unit commander who opposes them. The seal should not be returned because if it is still not in place in the temple, it will cause a huge tidal wave. Hundreds of thousands of people would die, but the rest would put you in the arms of the Church.
Bartholomew appears and kills the commandant. Jeremy and Alysa put the seal in the temple and the moon comes back together. Bartholomäus tells us that there might be a cure to turn Jeremy back into a person. Jeremy and Alysa decide to look for it. If they find it and Jeremy becomes human again, Bartholomew will break the bond between them, not before.
Game mechanics
In Blood Knights , the player controls his character directly from a third-person perspective . You can choose between Jeremy, a hand-to-hand fighter with two swords, and Alysa, a ranged fighter with two crossbows. Changing the character, for example during a fight, is possible at any time and happens without delay. So it is possible to shoot enemies from a distance and, as soon as they come closer, to attack immediately with melee attacks from Jeremy.
A level system based on gaining experience points by killing opponents gives the player the opportunity to learn various skills. One skill can be increased per level. By collecting blood coins that are distributed in the game world, it is possible to increase basic attributes such as life or strength. The player can activate different special abilities depending on the character. For example, Alysa can throw stunning grenades or cause damage, or Jeremy can carry out a charge on the enemy.
Blood can be sucked from opponents during a fight, which replenishes the player's life points. In the game world, people are also impaled on stakes, which the player can also empty. Equipment boxes are distributed across the maps, offering new and constantly improved equipment for both characters. In addition, there is a dealer who buys old equipment and offers new ones. There are teleporters at various locations on the maps that can be used to teleport to the trader. They also serve as storage points.
development
The game was originally developed by Deck13 on behalf of the publisher dtp entertainment , which filed for bankruptcy in April 2012. In September 2013 Kalypso Media announced the takeover of the rights and the release of Blood Knights as the first title under the newly established label Kobalt Games for digitally distributed games. With this, Kalypso differentiated the game from its other, premium brands, such as Das Schwarze Auge: Demonicon and Tropico 5 , which were to continue to be marketed under Kalypso's company name.
reception
Mathias Oertel from 4Players judged the story to be fundamentally interesting, but the potential could not be exhausted. Technically, the facial expressions and the representation of the skin and eyes are bad. The catchy combat system and boss fights were praised. Overall, Oertel only awarded 45% and came to the conclusion: "Blood Knights is a superficial hack & slay in every respect."
The games portal Gameswelt said that the game as a solo player would quickly become boring despite the short playing time. Overall, the game looks like an oldie, not just from a technical point of view. The co-op mode and the quickly learned controls were praised.