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As I was browsing Steam, looking for a shooter I couldn’t remember the name of, I discovered Arthurian Legends – a first-person action game, you might even call it a hack and slash, that I think looks and feels like a Build engine game. Based on the legends of King Arthur, Arthurian Legends takes you on a violent and bloody journey to quell evil. Developed and published by Scolaro Games, Arthurian Legends was released on Steam in October, 2021. The visual style, screen shots, and trailer all looked very cool to me and that’s why I jumped on it and I’m honestly surprised I haven’t heard of it until now.
When the king of Albion blames magic for the death of his queen, he banishes the practice of it and all those who use it from the land. But darkness then spreads across Albion and the people, plagued with hunger and disease, are unable to fend off the hordes of Saxons invading from the east and it is feared they are aided by dark magic by those who were exiled. The story plays out in chapters with multiple levels per chapter and much of the narrative is conveyed through text with some humor peppered throughout. From the audiovisual presentation to the weapons and enemies to the menus, the game portrays a solid medieval fantasy setting and in my opinion, does a good job immersing the player into the world and atmosphere.
The story mode is the adventure. You go from level to level slaying enemies and the action is extremely enjoyable. The combat feels chunky, the gore effects are excellent, and it’s all accompanied by satisfying sound work. From the sounds of blood squirting to the wet squishy sounds of enemies exploding or being decapitated, it all sounds great. There are multiple weapons to find and use including axes and swords, daggers, throwing knives, grenades, fire bombs, a crossbow, and more. The combat is a little more involved than just mashing the attack button. You can parry attacks and block and bash with your shield. You can dual wield certain weapons, others require both hands, and shields and many weapons can break. In addition to the standard weaponry are items you can find and use including runes which are basically magic powers.
Arthurian Legends does feel like a game from the 90s. Exploration is encouraged, you’ll need to find keys to progress and access certain areas, and if you don’t pay attention, you can get lost. But I am happy to say no level ever felt super maze like. You will have to be mindful of certain hazards and there are plenty of secrets to find, many of which house resources, and you can also find exits to secret levels. Health can be replenished by food found in the environments and health potions, you can find and equip armor, and many items you acquire will be stored in your inventory. You want to be on the lookout for relics hidden in certain levels. These are special items that, once acquired, grant you a permanent bonus of some kind like increased melee damage and carrying capacity among other things.
The story will take you to numerous locations including a fort, caves, castle, and villages. You’ll engage various human foes, beasts, and other creatures on your journey and tougher enemies are thrown at you as you progress. Every chapter ends with a boss but secret bosses can also be discovered. Every enemy type does feel distinct with their own behavior and attacks and/or weapons. From knights with swords to flying creatures that unleash projectiles, you will have to discover the best weapons and strategy for defeating each one. In my opinion, the game is challenging but never feels impossible. Once I got into the groove of things and learned the mechanics, I was doing pretty well. Once you complete the story, you can restart in the New Quest+ mode. All chapter stats will be reset and the difficulty is increased but you retain your equipment and relics.
Arthurian Legends does not come with multiplayer but does feature stat tracking, a bestiary, and multiple game modes. In addition to the story is the Arena, Horde, and Challenges modes and these will test your skills. In fact, some of these are great for practicing combat, helping you master the mechanics. Arena has you engaging waves of enemies and bosses. Horde mode is all about slaying as many enemies as you can before you die. And, finally, the Challenges mode offers multiple scenarios to complete. I found the story to be the most enjoyable mode just for the fact it offers a fun adventure and makes up the real meat of the game but the other modes are nice incentives to come back. You can also unlock cheats and have fun messing around.
Arthurian Legends aims for a retro visual style, looking like something from the 90s. The sprite work is excellent and the environments are detailed. In fact, everything about the presentation is detailed. It’s like every inch of the presentation was designed to be immersive. The environments, menus, and sprites are all exceptionally well crafted and give off that medieval vibe. The sound effects do compliment what’s happening on-screen nicely. The sounds of weapons, screams, and blood squirting all contribute to the satisfyingly chunky hack and slash combat. The music is pretty good and does fit the theme of the game well. Many tunes have a heroic adventurous sound to them and for the most part, the soundtrack is well done. On the technical side, the frame rate did dip on me here and there and in my experience, crouching is buggy. When I would crouch, the screen would often flicker black for some reason. Other than that, I encountered no major issues.
I think Arthurian Legends is an amazing game and I’m a little surprised it slipped past me when it came out. I don’t know if it’s considered a hidden gem at this point but it’s certainly a gem. The combat is satisfying, the medieval world on display is immersive, and there’s not many games out there that do it quite like this. The medieval theme and art style give it a certain charm and you don’t need to know anything about actual Arthurian legends to enjoy it. The combat is a big highlight and while not hard to grasp, to master it will require you to learn all the mechanics and use them appropriately to defeat the wide variety of foes, especially on harder difficulties. This, combined with levels that basically reward you for exploration, and Arthurian Legends is an all around unique and wonderful game.
I absolutely recommend Arthurian Legends. It’s fun, satisfying, violent, gory, and immersive. It’s got a charming retro style, nails the medieval look and feel, and comes with a nice dose of humor. It’s a game that can keep you occupied for a while and one I can see myself revisiting over the years. It’s really good. If Arthurian Legends is a game that got by you when it came out, like it did me, I strongly urge you to check it out as soon as you can.