Banana Scoop

It is important to keep in mind that one does not ‘level up’ in Spiral Knights, and merely continues through the journey down into the Clockworks again…and again….and again. There are thirty ‘floors’ to the clockworks, which can be split up into six different layers known as ‘strata’. Each strata has its own unique characteristic that changes what enemies you’ll find lurking in them. Additionally, there are four ‘gates’, each of which has it’s own unique set of floors that all end up at the same place. Therefore, there are four gates that each have thirty floors which are split into six strata that have their own properties which affect the monsters. Okay, good…or not so good. The game doesn’t exactly tell you how to do anything besides breathe. You don’t know where to go or how to get there.You aren’t even given any objectives at any time besides a ‘boss’ strata, and even then its very cut and dry. There is no learning curve in this game, in its place is a learning cliff, which is usually only surmountable by having someone tell you in the simplest terms possible how to achieve the most menial tasks. Quite recently they’ve added a mission menu, but somehow it doesn’t really seem to add much, as the missions are pretty much asking you to do what you’ve done since you started the game, delve into more Clockworks based levels.

This is the general menu for the 'Gates'

It was at this point that I wondered how someone would be able to distinguish a ‘seasoned’ player from a newbie. My answers came in the form of the armory, or equipment system. There are tiers of armor, ranging from 0 to 5 star equipment, with 5 being the best that money can buy (quite literally, the game makes it near impossible to get anywhere beyond tier 2 without purchasing Crystal Energy, or CE). As your progress through the game, you make crowns and energy while looting the drops from the enemies you so forcefully smash into the ground with whatever weapon you happen to be wielding at the time. These are all used to make an item from scratch or upgrade an item into a better item. You can’t just craft all willy-nilly, however, as you must first purchase the recipe for the armor you wish you craft. In addition to the recipe, most of the tier 4 or 5 items require you to ‘level’ a specific piece of armor to a certain level with something called ‘heat’, which is also dropped from dead things. I suppose that this can be a form of leveling, but it doesn’t necessarily play out like I thought it would. Instead of grinding for levels, I found that heating up weapons was easily forgotten among the strata as I progressed further into the Clockworks.

My foray into the depths culminated in one final, glorious battle against one of the harder bosses in the game, known as Lord Vanaduke, or as I like to call him, Mr. Cuddles (don’t ask how this came about, but he looks adorable to me…you know, despite the fire and death surrounding him). This was attempted long after I’d reached tier 5 armor, admittedly, but that doesn’t make the fight any easier. Even the most seasoned veterans fall like flies if they aren’t careful against Lord Vanaduke, and even more so to his evil minions known as Slag Guards. Overall the fight is very linear, separated into 5 very easy to notice phases, but I won’t spoil this with strategies or long videos of the fight against him. Instead, I’ll leave you with a nice little moment of relaxation as the two-man party consisting of me and another player witness the demise of the evil king.

Finally...we can rest.

Unfortunately, there is little else beyond tier 5 to warrant continued play. As much as I would have loved to give this game a full, detailed analysis, there is something about Spiral Knights that just makes it seem incomplete. Whether it be the horrendous lag or excessive amount of glitched enemies, Spiral Knights just doesn’t feel complete. I believe this stems from the lack of a real story-line or staggered quest line in which you find yourself slowly progressing. The only form of progression in this game is the deepest depth you find yourself traveling through in the Clockworks. Well, that and the loads of awesome swag you get to make after you pay for CE with your mortal coil. If there was one thing, and only one thing I could change about this game it would be the price of CE or at least add an alternative, cheaper way to buy it. That’s really the one thing that stood out of the things that bugged me.

I was actually stuck here for about 5 minutes until a party member came and helped...

Now, despite this, I do not practice what I preach. I don’t play as often as I used to, but I have indeed clocked many an hour in Spiral Knights. Whether it’s some form of video game drug addiction or just pure fun gameplay (when paired with a few people you know and chatting away over Skype), there is something that makes this game just enjoyable to me. At the root of everything, this game is simple (once you figure out what you’re doing), and doesn’t require the best computer rig possible. The art style is enjoyable and the gameplay is addicting, but from a ‘hardcore’ gamer perspective this doesn’t warrant much beyond a scoff or a sneeze in its general direction. Despite my many negative observations about the game, it is ultimately my opinion. If you find this game enjoyable, I highly recommend picking it up for FREE at the Steam store or from their website.

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