I have tried a few of the Skautfold games before, and always found them interesting if not particularly amazing. Skautfold: Moonless Knight tries to do something new with the Metroidvania genre while making use of a rich Lovecraftian atmosphere, but I have to admit that I am still not entirely sold on the series. It is not that it is bad, but there is just something to it that feels missing.
There is a decent story here where you play as Gray von Reuenthal, Second Knight of the Angelic Empire of Britannia, who must safely escort the imperial representative Noah Alwiess to a summit with the Dawn Emperor in Japan. It should be a simple diplomatic mission, but otherworldly forces attack and our heroes must act to stop the forces. This means infiltrating the labyrinthine Oda Imperial Palace, carefully maneuvering through its treacherous political factions, and working to save the Empire.
Skautfold: Moonless Knight does a good job of explaining its story and also works to ensure if you are just coming into the Skautfold series, you will be able to understand what is going on easily. It would help if you played the previous games as Moonless Knight is a continuation of the story, but you can play this game alone and still not be too lost. It is a nice touch and well appreciated.
Skautfold: Moonless Knight gives you a wonderfully detailed semi-open world that functions as a top down Zelda style game that is also a Metroidvania and it works rather well for the most part. The combat is responsive, movement is fluid and the game explains its mechanics well, such as how to make use of vitality and injections to create a risk-reward situation. It is perfectly fine, but I just feel like something important is not here and I cannot place my finger on it.
I think it is to do with how the developers tried to make Skautfold: Moonless Knight a Metroidvania, but as mentioned before, this is in the style of a top down Zelda game. The world definitely encourages exploration, finding secrets and new routes, and little surprises as you backtrack, but something just does not flow well about exploration. The way things are done here just feels awkward, like the elements just did not blend entirely seamlessly.
Skautfold: Moonless Knight makes great use of its Lovecratian horror themes for its narrative and setting, and I will admit that the story is rather compelling. If not for the hiccups in the exploration, I would be far more happy with Skautfold: Moonless Knight as it has a lot of what I like. Cosmic horror is a great genre and the gothic atmosphere applied to a Japanese setting is done well and continues the story in a good way, but not enough to carry the game for me.
I wanted to like Skautfold: Moonless Knight but the issue I mentioned just keeps me from being able to say this is a worthwhile game. I am sure fans of the Skautfold series will appreciate it and enjoy what it has, but for me, it just did not click. That said, I would not be willing to say the game is not worth checking out as Skautfold definitely has its fans, so what I will say is that if you were a fan of the previous games, you will probably like this one.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided