Nightkeep is one of those kind of games I love to see. Nightkeep is a charming platformer with strong RPG elements.

The game is entirely set up in ClickTeam Fusion, and with that in mind I can say I am pleasantly surprised with the result so far, although all I've seen so far is a demo. The art style really reminds me of my teenage years, when these kinds of graphics where the finest you could get with the hardware of that time. However those graphics had their charm. A charm that was lost due to the urge to be more and more realistic (I HATE that word when it comes to gaming). So I am always delighted when I see people use this style. The used font also fits the chosen art style.

When it comes to the story, it appears a bit of a classic one, but as I couldn't get really far in the game, as this was only a demo. You assume the role of Arietta (the girl on the right in the screenshot above. She's also the one speaking now). Arietta appears to be the typical female warrior. The other girl is Ceria, your companion and younger sister.

Although the game starts with Ceria in the lead, Arietta will soon take over and Ceria will only provide Arietta with some bonus stats. The game does hint about more companions joining later, providing different kinds of bonuses to Arietta, however the demo doesn't stretch far enough to get to that point.

It has been awhile since I played a game like this last, and I noticed I was a bit rusty at the start, however as the game controls appear pretty smooth, I could get the hang of things pretty quickly. This is not a pure action game, meaning, you shouldn't rush things. Analyze the situation and come to action at the right moment. When it comes to platformers with an RPG element this is basically the best way to go, and Nightkeep is no exception to that. Arietta will gain experience points whenever she slays an enemy, just like in turn-based RPG games, and thus she can get stronger over time. When unsure about her abilities you can therefore decide to grind a few levels, however as far as the demo goes, an experienced player shouldn't have to do that.

Now as far as I could find out, Arietta can strike the enemy with her sword or throw knives at them (although the latter has a limited supply so don't overdo it). Enemies spawn at fixed points, now a slain enemy won't respawn giving you some rest in the process unless you leave the room you are in and come back. That setup isn't new (totally fit in the old time setup they wanted to create, actually), but I do applaud it nonetheless.

The field menu looks simple. It's completely fitting for the style of the game, and doesn't contain more features than it needs, making it easy to find the stuff you need, so you don't have to spend hours puzzling that all out, and focus most of all on the game itself.

The game features several save spots, and if you die, the game can quickly reload your last save game. The system is quick, and speeds up the experience... No time wasted on needless dramatic animations, except from a quick death animation and then the choice to reload. The demo also has a very challenging boss battle, which you really need to set your mind to, as it's not just simply hacking and slashing a guy with more HP.

Nice detail, vandalism pays in this game. Destroy all decoration you can destroy and you may find money or bonus items. The only critique point I got was that the shops were a bit acting strange on me... Oh well, this is alpha...

Now on the moment I wrote this review (this review was written a month before it's release, in order not to release too many reviews in once, leaving nothing for the longer term, as I mostly plan my time in for playing games for reviews) the game was put on hold. That is a pity, as this is truly a beautiful project which deserves to be completed, but I can understand that the way this project was set up gave more work than expected (I write RPGs too, you know, and I know how much work that can give. The genre is really underestimated when it comes to this point). I really hope they won't let this project die. This game really deserves to be finished. I see that even the demo download was removed (I guess I was lucky to obtain my copy before that).

Game Jolt Page: https://gamejolt.com/games/Nightkeep/303200
Brought to you by: @PixelABCD