Knights and Bikes

A wonderful Cornish themed adventure and a journey into the fertile imagination of a loony kid.

Knights and Bikes is an unique and genuine experience that was engaging from beginning to end. It’s a great example of a high quality co-op game. Thematically and mechanically, the game succeeds in highlighting cooperation. Foam Sword successfully delivers a great title that manages to be both fun and artistically inventive. Knights and Bikes is highly recommended for those looking for a captivating cooperative game to play with a friend.

Knights and Bikes is an adventure game that feels like a nostalgia trip with people you have never met before but could swear you grew up with.

Knights and Bikes presents a superb adventure that will definitely stick with you for a long time. You never want some games to end and in Knights and Bikes' case, the characters will make you never want to say goodbye. No matter where Nessa and Demelza go, I definitely want to follow along. Now, excuse me while I go hunt down every piece of merch for this game; I need all of it.

Knights and Bikes captures the heart of childhood imagination. It’s a largely carefree experience with limited mechanical substance, but that's part of the reason it works. It’s a great family-friendly co-op game and balances its silly sense of humour and childlike joy with some of the melancholic reality of growing up.

The simplicity of Knights and Bikes lies within its need to revisit your childhood and remind you how much fun life can be, even when the storms are intense. It brings a great narrative to the table, throws some fun puzzles in the mix while delivering beautifully playful visuals that request you go on an adventure with a good friend. The game’s intentions of stupid fun might outweigh its execution, but it succeeds in capturing the imagination and delivering a fun experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

With so much to like about Knights and Bikes, finding things to complain about wasn’t easy. One thing that came to mind is that the fifth chapter takes considerably more time to complete than the others, and at times seems to drag. However, the rest of the adventure has excellent pacing. I also had a small issue with the ending. There’s a twist that’s hinted at shortly before it unfurls, but this foreshadowing would have had greater impact if was built up earlier instead of appearing so close to the finale. Otherwise, I have no issues with this incredibly well-written story. Knights and Bikes is an adorable little treasure worth finding.

A cycle trip down childhood memory lane that will put a smile on your face. A terrific thesis from the ex-Media Molecule team on charming co-op fun. [Issue#167, p.86]

Knights and Bikes is a lovely warm blanket of childhood adventure and imagination, and a perfect game to play with a young family.

One of the best story-based games of the year, that manages to capture the joys and pains of childhood (and riding bikes) in a very relatable and compelling way.

Knights and Bikes successfully captures child-like wonder and fun in an unabashedly wholesome adventure – with just the right amount of danger.

Knights & Bikes was created by a small team featuring several people who worked on LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway, and you can feel that all these games share a similar creative vision. There's a kind of wide-eyed, rough and tumble spirit of adventure running through all three games that is hard to resist. Knights & Bikes is a wonderfully warm, effortlessly inviting experience that'll make you feel young again.

Although it’s best played in co-op mode, there’s a fair amount of fun to be had in playing alone too. Throw in the fact that Knights and Bikes features clearly defined mechanics along with some powerful instances and you’ve got yourself quite the charming indie experience.

With a whimsical, delightful story that isn't afraid to get emotional, Knights and Bikes is a charming adventure that is perfect to tackle with a good friend.

Knights and Bikes serves as a powerful nostalgia trip that’ll take you back to your imagination fuelled childhood adventures. With pretty much every aspect tightly crafted to exude a childlike spirit, the art style, animation, soundtrack, and gameplay all help give authenticity to the story of Nessa and Demelza’s burgeoning relationship. While a touch more challenge – especially in the combat – would have been welcome, the breezy pace of the story will help captivate your attention, not only with its themes of friendship and self-discovery, but more importantly through its correct instruction in how to apply jam and cream to a scone.

I liked playing Knights and Bikes, but more for the look, the feel and the charming story than for the actual gameplay. It was hard not to like and begin to really care for Nessa and Demelza, who seemed to have all the many-faceted qualities of real kids. It had a nice soundtrack too. Knights and Bikes may not be an epic AAA game but it has some originality and fun to offer nonetheless. Strap on your helmet and take a relaxing ride with two quirky kids whose touching friendship will take you back to your own youthful innocence.

Knights and Bikes is a charming adventure, particularly enjoyable in coop. We’ve had a good time with it, but there isn’t much depth, challenge or innovation so, at the end of the day, you’ll want to play it for its charm.

The game isn’t hard. You don’t need twitch reflexes or a firm grasp on how to use an analog stick. It feels a lot like a Lego game in that regard. All you need to enjoy Knights and Bikes is a sense of adventure and a willing friend. If like me, you’re constantly looking for something to play with a loved one who only has a passing interest in video games, this game is definitely one I’d recommend.

Knights and Bikes is a great and a beautiful way to kill a handful of hours with a friend. You can play solo but as a game with such a heavy focus on friendship, it only seems right to have a friend by your side, either physically or virtually, to go on a colorful adventure and deal with some real life heavy subjects.

Foam Sword has advertised Knights and Bikes as a Goonies-inspired adventure, but nostalgia is a tricky beast. A game steeped in imagination born from childhood memories requires the player to commit to this vision to get the most out of its story. Foam Sword’s attempt to pitch this vision of nostalgia and childhood as a universal one is not entirely successful – largely because memories and cultural experiences are not universal. Knights and Bikes did entirely not captivate me. That said, its sincere leading characters and exquisite art are certainly aspects to be admired.

The charm that covers nearly every inch of this game is also infectious, especially as this medium can better actualize its main characters’ imagination into something playable. Sometimes those playable aspects can get in the way but it’s still easy to saddle up on this bike even if that bike sometimes slams on the brakes.

Knights and Bikes is a fun, frantic, top-down adventure game with some light puzzle and combat elements that I imagine would be more appreciated by either a younger crowd or a parent playing with their kid. If you’re looking for a solid co-op adventure, this can easily fill the void. Even solo it’s still fun enough to be worth a look. Just be ready for a few awkward moments, and a seriously terrible UI.