Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade

About

"Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade" is an action-adventure game set in the Holy Land during the Crusades. Players take on the role of a Templar knight, battling against demonic forces and completing quests to save humanity. The game features hack-and-slash combat, puzzle-solving, and a variety of weapons and spells to use.

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Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade screenshot

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

story4 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The combat system is satisfying and fluid, with well-animated moves and a variety of weapons that enhance the hack-and-slash experience.
The game features good graphics for its age, with clean textures and smooth animations, creating an enjoyable visual atmosphere.
The nostalgic value and unique medieval theme, combined with a decent soundtrack, make it a fun experience for fans of classic hack-and-slash games.

The story is bland and lacks depth, with minimal character development and a weak plot twist that fails to engage players.
Gameplay can become repetitive quickly due to a lack of variety in combat encounters and enemy types, leading to a monotonous experience.
Technical issues such as poor controller support, fixed camera angles, and occasional bugs detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.

story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
The game's story is largely criticized for being bland and lacking depth, primarily revolving around a traditional good versus evil narrative with minimal character development and environmental storytelling. While the plot features a rookie templar named Paul on a quest to rescue his kidnapped love and stop a corrupt bishop, the execution is deemed weak, with only pre-rendered cutscenes providing narrative breaks. Despite some interesting scenery and historical context, many players feel the story fails to engage and elevate the gameplay experience.
- “The story follows Paul, a rookie templar, coming to a monastery of Belmont (probably a tribute to Castlevania) to investigate strange happenings only to find the monks and knights crazed out of their minds serving a corrupt bishop who kidnapped his love Adelle and is on a quest to open the gates of hell.”
- “The story is serviceable, made more interesting by the historical context, although it's only a backdrop for a traditional tale of an ambitious villain and a righteous everyman hero.”
- “With each section of the story and accompanied new environments, you encounter new types of enemies and bosses to test your steel and skill against.”
- “In terms of story and its narration, there's not much here.”
- “There's no environmental storytelling, no fleshing out the characters, and no pieces of lore hidden around the levels.”
- “The whole thing concludes with a plot twist ending that is pretty weak and dissatisfying, and honestly made me more mad with the game after I found out about it.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The gameplay in "Knights of the Temple" is criticized for being repetitive and lacking depth, with basic mechanics that fail to evolve throughout the game. While the combat system is described as robust despite its simplicity, the overall experience is marred by outdated graphics, a clunky control scheme, and a lack of engaging story elements. Players noted that the fixed camera can be frustrating, but some appreciated the first-person bow mechanics as a positive aspect.
- “The game switches to first person perspective when using a bow, which I found to be a great mechanic.”
- “But I gotta say, for how simplistic this game's mechanics are, the combat is pretty robust.”
- “The meat and potatoes of this game is the gameplay, though.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay in KOTT is a massive borefest and becomes repetitive very fast.”
- “Short review: the game has aged not well at all, the gameplay is boring and the level design is plain, straightforward, and without depth or immersion.”
- “The game is also quite challenging but mostly due to the clunky nature of the combat system that could've used some mechanics to make the player attacks feel more fluid and dynamic, like parrying and dodging.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the visuals, aesthetic, and quality of cutscenes and animations, while others criticize early levels as subpar even by 2000s standards. Despite its flaws, many players find the graphics to be pleasing and atmospheric, particularly appreciating the character animations and overall visual appeal that have aged well.
- “Love the aesthetic, good quality in cutscenes, animations, and voice acting.”
- “It's a very atmospheric title that has some pretty nice audio-visuals and animations for its age.”
- “As for visuals - after all these years the game still remains quite pleasing to the eye.”
- “The gameplay and graphics of early levels are terrible, even by 2000s standards.”
- “From graphics to gameplay, Knights of the Temple is the definition of jank, but it manages to entertain.”
- “Gem from my childhood, horrendous story, graphics, level design, and difficulty but still awesome.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
44%
33%
The music in the game, composed by Gustaf Grefberg and featuring tracks from Within Temptation, is noted for its haunting and atmospheric quality, enhancing the survival horror experience. The game employs a dual music system with calm and combat versions for each level, although some players found the repetition of tracks and occasional silence during key moments detracted from the overall impact. While the soundtrack is generally praised, its limited variety throughout the game has received mixed feedback.
- “Some scenery in a few levels, combined with Gustaf Grefberg's music tracks, make for some captivating moments that could have been used to elevate the storytelling.”
- “Music is appropriately haunting and atmospheric for what sometimes becomes a survival horror game, matching the classic but appreciated Resident Evil fixed camera set-ups for each room.”
- “But then there are sections in the game where absolutely no music is playing (like the second boss), and then we have tracks being reused over and over again as you go through a couple of levels back to back.”
- “-the music is for 90% of the game always the same”
- “As for the music, the game uses the same music system that was later used in The Darkness, with each level having a calm version and a combat version of the music to seamlessly switch between.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its haunting music and effective use of audio-visual elements, creating a compelling survival horror experience reminiscent of classic titles. While some reviewers note the game may not be groundbreaking overall, its strong atmospheric presence enhances the combat and flow, contributing to an engaging experience. Unique cutscenes further enrich the atmosphere, solidifying its appeal.
- “Music is appropriately haunting and atmospheric for what sometimes becomes a survival horror game, matching the classic but appreciated Resident Evil fixed camera setups for each room.”
- “It's a very atmospheric title that has some pretty nice audio-visuals and animations for its age.”
- “Neat old-school hack and slash with good controls and a great atmosphere.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with some users noting high replay value while others mention only moderate or poor replayability. This suggests that while certain elements may encourage repeated play, there are also limitations that could deter players from returning.
- “🎲 - The replayability of this game is outstanding, offering new experiences with each playthrough.”
- “🔲 - The game has high replay value, making it enjoyable to revisit time and again.”
- “🔲 - There is some replayability, as different choices lead to varied outcomes.”
- “Poor replay value.”
- “Some replayability.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with users noting stable performance and no significant issues such as FPS drops, stuttering, or crashes. However, some minor performance issues have been reported.
- “The game runs smoothly with no FPS drops, stuttering, or crashes, making for a seamless experience.”
- “I appreciate the game's performance and stability; it really enhances the overall enjoyment.”
- “Despite some minor performance issues, the optimization is impressive and allows for a mostly stable gameplay experience.”
- “The game suffers from some performance issues that hinder the overall experience.”
- “While there are no FPS drops or stuttering, the optimization still leaves much to be desired.”
- “Despite the lack of crashes, the game's performance could be significantly improved.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Overall, users report that the game runs smoothly at 1080p, with minimal issues; however, some have encountered bugs and glitches that affect stability.
- “The game runs great at 1080p.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs during my playthrough.”
- “The performance is smooth, even during intense action sequences.”
- “The game is plagued with bugs that completely ruin the experience.”
- “I encountered multiple glitches that caused the game to crash unexpectedly.”
- “Stability issues make it nearly impossible to enjoy the gameplay without constant interruptions.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of absurdity and dark themes, with references to "deus vult" and a playful take on various archetypes like "brown sand people" and "infernal demons." However, some users find the humor to be hit-or-miss, with certain jokes landing well while others fall flat. Overall, it seems to appeal to those who appreciate a blend of irony and meme culture.