Solo dev cptnsigh‘s Dark Messiah-inspired first person platformer action title Shady Knight will launch on October 9th, with a 19.99 price point (and a meaty 15% launch discount for anyone picking it up on release).
The game has been in the works for almost six years, with Alexey “cptnsigh” plugging away at it ever since he started it as a game jam project for the 7DFPS challenge back in 2018. While its main inspiration was Dark Messiah‘s physics-heavy combat system, Shady Knight eventually evolved into a platformer action title that focuses on stylish gameplay the developer describes as “medieval John Wick with a sword”. I’ve played one of the older demos that were available until the end of last month and I feel the description is fairly accurate, but anyone wishing to take a look for themselves will be able to do so with an updated demo that should go up on Steam when the game launches next week.
Shady Knight is a pure skill-based experience. There are no locked abilities to hold you back, the only thing that matters is how well you can master the power you’ve been given. Prove yourself worthy and break the cursed path of trials or lose yourself to the abyss of obsession.
Unique Melee Action that mixes Parkour and Combat
Your weapons react to your state, charging a strike from a slide or in the air leads to different moves. Even more interesting combinations appear once you discover that you can jump off enemies’ heads or wall-kick to trigger more powerful abilities. Even a simplest thing such as a barrel can be used for both parkour and combat.
The Kick and The Chained Dagger
These two are always at your side making you deadly as hell even when unarmed, and nothing stops you from combining many of their abilities with other weapons for even crazier combos.
Fluid Platforming
Learning your movement allows you to become truly intangible in combat. Master slide jumping and learn the trickiest wall-kicking techniques to reach your goal with the flow.
Style Ranking that reflects Your Mastery
There are always multiple things you can do at each given moment: switch weapons, combine different moves, discover all contextual abilities and use the environment to reach the highest ranks. The style system isn’t there to tell you how to play, it’s a reflection of your skills and knowledge.
Face the Towers
Even with all of your skills, there are still knights out there waiting to take you to the limit. Four main hubs full of highly replayable towers packed with challenging combat scenarios, platforming bits and opportunities for creative environmental kills.