Knights in Tight Spaces is a bold sequel that not only meaningfully adds and alters the gameplay, but completely changes the visual identity. Most sequels opt for a safer approach, building slightly on the existing brand and core systems that people have become familiar with. Against the odds, Knights in Tight Spaces is far superior game to the original and somehow the experience also manages to be unique, but still remains familiar, for better or worse.

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Knights in Tight Spaces is a grid based deck-builder that focuses on the same close quartered, turn based tactical combat of the original. Stories aren’t typically a main driver for a deck-builder, but it was nice that both games are tied together by the thread of the top secret organization Section Eleven, but this time you find yourself leading a group of misfits in a plot to save the kingdom against cataclysm thanks to your unique skillset.

The story has a refreshing interactivity to it as you have the ability to dictate how certain events unfold. Runs don’t always play out the same, if you win certain fights or ask the right questions, your future paths will be different. There is a choice with a bartender, where one answer will provide you with an invitation to a secret event that will make your life easier when it’s time to get into that party.

The core mechanics established in Fights in Tight Spaces return, but when it comes to the differences, four elevate the experience to something much greater than before by adding a lot more variety and new layers of strategy. The new visual overhaul, character classes, an equipment system and the ability to recruit mercenaries.

NEW ART SAME STYLE

The visual style of Fights in Tight Spaces was a double edged sword. On one hand, the visuals were extremely unique, reminiscent of Superhot and stood out in the crowded indie deck-building genre. However, unlike Superhot, which was only a few hours, you could spend dozens upon dozens of hours playing Fights in Tight Spaces, which meant that even though you were fighting different people on different areas like a train or a commercial kitchen, it felt mostly the same.

Although the isometric style returns, there is a completely new and at times stunning art style that uses a form of stylized hatching, but still manages to remain true to the IP. This new art style adds a much needs sense of variety when moving from stage to stage. In tribute to the original, Knights  also features color coded enemies and friendlies. The medieval stages are loading with intricate details and are stunning to look at, especially the stages with water.

CLASSES

In Fights in Tight Spaces there was one character. you basically played as John Wick, but there is now a class archetype system that has meaningful differences. There are the more melee focused classes including the fighter as well as the brawler, the ranged classes including Hunter as well as the rogue and finally the magic classes including the cleric as well as the sorcerer.

There are eight different classed and its refreshing that you begin with three of the classes unlocked, which means that you can find the one that suits your play style immediately without having to grind just to discover your skills are incompatible with a certain class. The sorcerer is one of the first classes that you unlock and has the ability to teleport for a relatively low action cost and do long range magic damage. These variable drastically changes how you approach each encounter.

EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE

Similar to most deck builders, there are places to stop along your journey. A tavern to recruit members, the blacksmith for equipment and a merchant where you can buy and upgrade cards, of which there are over 300. Ground Shatter started to dabble with weapons in the DLC for Fights in Tight Spaces, but have fully embraced the equipment system this time around as you can now wield an arsenal of weapons, equipment and special items.

Not only do these weapons not require cards to use them, as they will almost always be your default attack, but there are certain weapons that can only be used by certain classes, melee weapons, ranged weapons, shields and more. There are also tiers of equipment that will have different perks such as inflicting bleed or poison or by providing you with a certain amount of bonus block every turn.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

The final new addition is that ability to recruit mercenaries to your party, assuming you have the gold to do so and they don’t come cheap, especially the more you progress in the game. You can have up to three people on your team at once and in addition to what class, you can also control their equipment. The ideal solution is to have a well balanced team with close and long range support.

When you factor in what class they can be, the equipment they will use and harnessing support attacks that happen without action points if positioned properly, the addition of the party greatly increases the strategy of the franchise.

CRITICISMS

Despite being a noticeable improvement over the original, there are still some new issues that have arisen and lingering ones that still exist. The high intensity music was perfectly suited for the original, but with the art style change and setting change, it feels slightly out of place this time around. There are moments in between fights that just have the epic orchestral score and it greatly improved the sense of place and felt more aligned.

One of the best new features was the equipment system, but after making it through a few acts, stopping at some vendors and completing a few side quests, I have an inventory full of equipment that is no longer relevant. However, what I find myself short on is gold at almost every vendor despite achieving bonus objectives more often than not and selecting the gold option in dialogue choices. It would have been great, if you had the ability to sell some equipment for a reduced value and make some gold that way.

Knights in Tight Spaces showcases some impressive visuals anchored by a strong art direction, but just like Fights in Tight Spaces, repetition can be an issue. The story takes place over different acts across different kingdoms, yet no matter what lands you were in, you would always end up in the same looking bathroom or farm. It would have been great if there were either a few more stages or they had a slightly different look depending on which act you were on. A few more character models also would have been a great feature. For example if you are a brawler and you hire a brawler at the tavern, it can be a little confusing who is who on the battlefield, since there is only one character model per class.

Knights in Tight Spaces greatly improved the variety and strategy with the addition of all the new feautres, but when traveling on your map and deciding which path, the choices are often too similar. Usually, its very similar rewards and very similar henchmen. Some of the best in the genre offer vastly different choices, which gives the player more autonomy of their journey and allows them to decide if they want a harder challenge now or later.

There are also some minor bugs and criticism including the camera getting blocked during climatic moments, or some cards not having an upgrade option, which at the very least could have a reduced cost.

CONCLUSION

Knights In Tight Spaces adds plenty of variety and strategy to the already solid turn based tactical gameplay of Fights in Tight Spaces. Repetition is still an issue for the franchise and a few QOL changes would go a long way in providing a more well rounded experience, but with a massive visual overhaul, great performance on Steam Deck and many major gameplay changes, Knights In Tight Spaces now positions the franchise in the upper echelons of deck-builders

8/10