Knuckle Sandwich

About

Knuckle Sandwich is a single player tactical role playing game with horror, fantasy and comedy themes. It was developed by Andy Brophy and was released on November 22, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

Guide a young man through his first day in Bright City – a bustling island paradise with a horrible secret. Find a new job, make new friends, and attempt to solve a mystery revolving around a ludicrous gang and a fanatical cult. In this RPG, you defeat enemies in turn-based battles by completing minigames unique to the foe you're facing. These minigames are made up of a variety of challenges, inc…

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 625 reviews

story81 positive mentions

grinding22 negative mentions

Unique and engaging combat system with WarioWare-style minigames keeps battles fresh and fun.
Outstanding music and sound design from multiple artists that perfectly fits the game's tone and visuals.
Charming and diverse art style with creative animations and detailed pixel art that gives the world character and life.

Story feels unfocused and inconsistent, with many abandoned plot threads and an underdeveloped narrative afterward.
Inventory management is frustratingly limited, mixing key items and equipment in small slots causing constant micro-management.
Battles can drag on due to excessive enemy health, frequent enemy turns, and some repetitive or luck-based minigames leading to tedious gameplay.

story
368 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
70%
8%
The story of the game starts with a strong, intriguing premise and engaging early chapters, featuring quirky characters and dark humor, but many players find it becomes unfocused, inconsistent, and meandering as it progresses. While some appreciate its weirdness, unpredictability, and tonal shifts, others feel the plot is rushed, fragmented, and lacking in character development or satisfying payoffs, with an ending that feels abrupt or unsatisfying. Overall, the story is entertaining and unique but considered a weak point compared to the game's presentation, combat, and atmosphere.
- “The story is phenomenal - twists that I never expected, excellent dialogue, characters I grew to really care about, and lots of laughs.”
- “Thanks to the game being largely a solo effort, I could subtly feel the difference in tone between chapters and how that corresponded to Andy's personal growth and development as a person, while the overall narrative still felt cohesive as a singular story.”
- “Knuckle Sandwich keeps things fresh and also doubles down on its weirdness by regularly taking you on jolting twists and turns as you navigate the story, and often plucks you from the world to an unfamiliar place as you go between chapters. It’s so dynamic and diverse, changing with the vibe of encounters, tone of the story and the place you’re in.”
- “If they stuck around with the initial plot that was shown off in the demo and such, I would have enjoyed this a lot more.”
- “The story just goes wherever with no good payoffs; every interesting plot thread gets cut short and is replaced with really boring, random twists that make no sense.”
- “The game sure does abandon plot points it sets up early; the humour is front-and-centre (so if the sense of humour is grating to you in any way, you're probably going to have a hard time enjoying it) and the difficulty wavers significantly from section to section.”
music
217 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
46%
1%
The music in this game is widely praised for its unique, funky, and eclectic soundtrack that enhances the game's quirky aesthetic and atmosphere. Multiple composers, including notable artist Nelward, contributed exceptional tracks that many players find memorable and addictive, often being a highlight even beyond gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout aspect that significantly enriches the overall experience.
- “The soundtrack is also great - the songs are nicely textured and have this specific "weird" quality that fits just right with the game, are quite funky and one of the battle themes was so groovy to my brain I basically played it on loop 24/7 for at least 3 days straight.”
- “The music is amazing, I could go more into it but honestly like... even if you end up not playing this game or not liking it, you should at the very least listen to the songs that were made for it, the artists that contributed to the sound and music added such elements of life and identity to the game, I would definitely say it's one of the strongest points of the experience, but I'm also just a sucker for some funky tunes.”
- “The music always feels correct. Just a genuine blast to play, thoroughly enjoyed the music, gameplay, and goofy narrative from start to finish!”
- “The songs that don't bump as hard as go!”
- “The soundtrack and varied visual aesthetics present throughout the game are nice but serve as nothing more than treats to tide you through the hours of dredge and slog.”
- “The music is fine, the art is well made, but those things don't make the rest of the game fun.”
gameplay
151 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
7%
The gameplay of this game is widely praised for its unique fusion of traditional RPG elements and engaging WarioWare-style minigames, offering a charming, quirky, and varied combat experience. While some find battles occasionally slow, repetitive, or imbalanced, adjustable difficulty and fresh mechanics keep most players invested. Overall, its innovative battle system, appealing art style, and humor make gameplay a standout feature despite some pacing and mechanical imperfections.
- “If you do struggle, the difficulty is very easily adjustable during gameplay with the many accessibility settings included, and can be skipped fully if you feel like it.”
- “But I think that this game has so many nuanced elements and mechanics added to it that it truly has its own identity. The combat system was engaging throughout the course of the game, the minigames scattered throughout the game were reminiscent of the games you'd see in something like WarioWare, the RPG elements were pretty standard: you have your protagonist and one of several party members, you can equip them with stuff, you can use items.”
- “The gameplay is an extremely fun combo of traditional RPG elements and many WarioWare-like mini games.”
- “Battles dragged on for so long and half of the battle mechanic (ep) is literally useless for majority of the game and all the items you get are for ep restoration which does nothing.”
- “Unfortunately, the story and gameplay mechanics flat pretty quickly.”
- “That being said, the gameplay gets repetitive and boring by the midgame and the "every enemy attack is a unique minigame" gimmick wears out its welcome fast.”
humor
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
3%
The humor in this game is frequently praised for being quirky, witty, and often hilarious, reminiscent of Earthbound and Undertale’s style, with many players enjoying its absurdity, clever writing, and occasional fourth-wall breaks. However, some find the humor uneven or overly quirky to the point of falling flat, describing it as niche or reliant on random, nonsensical jokes that may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect that greatly contributes to the game's charm and unique identity, though it can be polarizing depending on the player's taste.
- “The game's battle system is one of the most creative ones I have seen or played, the humor and character writing is utterly fantastic, and the game's entire music library is beautifully eclectic, with excellent scores from each of the composers.”
- “The soundtrack is seriously banger, and the humor is silly and loves to blindside you with the funniest thing that could happen in the moment.”
- “Between the microgames during battles, the goofy dialogue, and examination asides, I have been laughing nearly nonstop.”
- “There's an incredibly unfunny and annoying railroaded fight with the author's self-inserts featuring vine booms.”
- “They had a Deltarune Lancer-like character, except this one was extremely insufferable and not funny at all. While there were a few chuckles upon the first encounter, they kept bringing him back in several chapters just to extend the nonexistent story.”
- “Everything else is either 'lol xd random,' not funny, or straight-up bad.”
graphics
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
43%
3%
The graphics of Knuckle Sandwich are widely praised for their unique, charming, and eclectic art styles, seamlessly blending 2D pixel art with lo-fi 3D visuals and varied aesthetics that evoke retro games and contribute to the game's surreal and funky vibe. Reviewers commend the visuals as vibrant, creative, and well-crafted, enhancing the overall atmosphere and presentation alongside a standout soundtrack. While the art style's consistency and creativity are key highlights, they often carry the game's appeal even when other elements like story or gameplay falter.
- “The art style is so great, I'm always excited to see a new enemy or location just for aesthetic reasons.”
- “I love how the art style will randomly change between the default 2D world, jittery 3D scenes, NES-style chunky pixels, etc. A lot of games use a change in visual style to represent something weird or otherworldly, and it is done here to great effect.”
- “Everything is beautiful and vibrant, while also having a cool movement to it, not to mention how many different art styles they have that they manage to make work together.”
- “I wish I could give "mixed" reviews for games on Steam because the game was made by only one guy (that in itself is very admirable and deserves respect). I like a lot of things it offers: music, art style, Warioware minigames, but sadly there are more things I don't like in Knuckle Sandwich than things I liked. The game just doesn't respect your time and attention, I can't even remember the number of the chapter I'm on; I think I was going to board a cruise?”
- “The aesthetic is certainly there, but the spices to make it great just are not there.”
- “The absolute last thing I expected was for all of the aesthetic and narrative sensibilities promised by the demo to be pulverized and promptly thrown into the garbage disposal.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely described as tedious and repetitive, with prolonged battles, puzzles, and dungeons that often feel like a chore rather than engaging gameplay. While occasional variety and new mechanics help briefly alleviate the monotony, the frequent backtracking and lack of meaningful character progression contribute to a generally exhausting experience. Overall, the grinding elements detract from the game's enjoyment, making it feel padded and tiresome.
- “So I still do not recommend this game, since it's fundamentally never going to fix its tedium, because to do so would require completely redoing large portions of the game, everything from combat to overworld traversal to dialogue and more, so you don't just end up tediously plodding around through uninteresting maps even when 'running' while constantly playing the same boring minigames over and over against enemies that have little to no personality.”
- “The combat suffers from the same problems as YIIK; there's so much emphasis on minigames and QTEs (and so much padding between them) that they end up making the battles more tedious instead of less.”
- “This makes the majority of battles drawn out, tedious, and, most importantly, not fun.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers highly engaging and skillful combat mechanics that evoke a sense of accomplishment, but its emotional storytelling falls flat, with underdeveloped characters and unearned emotional moments that fail to resonate. While humor is prominent, it often misses the mark, leaving the narrative feeling directionless and hollow despite the game's polished gameplay. Overall, the emotional impact is lacking compared to its gameplay strengths, leading to a bittersweet experience for players.
- “All that pain made me feel like I wasn't ready, and the game made me think that maybe it's okay to feel hurt.”
- “I would just say that there are some secrets that might not respect the player's time, but those are also the ones that made me feel the most accomplished while finding.”
- “Tons of interesting puzzles, combat mechanics, and heartfelt implementation.”
character development
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Character development is generally seen as weak, with party members feeling flat and lacking meaningful growth or natural integration into the story. While character designs are praised for being unique and charming, the game prioritizes humor over deeper world-building or relational depth. Overall, players find the characters underdeveloped despite the game's other strengths.
- “If that doesn’t make sense, that’s basically the essence of the game—so many twists and turns, with plot and character developments that make me question what I’m playing, yet love it all the same.”
- “Character designs are pretty unique and quirky enough and I don't think they ever get overwhelming and you certainly won't have a hard time recognizing anyone.”
- “It has a lot of good going for it, very fun gameplay mechanics, excellent music, really charming art and character designs and an overall enjoyable story.”
- “Your party members don't really get any character development or growth, nor do they feel natural to the group; they just exist for gameplay purposes within the party system.”
- “The game often chooses small jokes over any world building or character development, and the characters suffer as a result.”
- “The plot twists are predictable and uninteresting, and there is little to no character development despite the game's advertisement of the significant roles your party members would play.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its strong combination of music, graphics, and aesthetic, creating an engaging and immersive experience complemented by a compelling story.
- “The music, graphics, and atmosphere are all solid, and I liked the characters, one dimensional as they were.”
- “And most importantly, it has a great atmosphere and story.”
- “The game's atmosphere, aesthetic, and music are all top notch.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from notable stability issues, including launch failures and bugs that freeze character movement, requiring multiple redownloads. Despite strong accessibility features, fundamental stability problems and lack of effective troubleshooting support significantly impact the user experience.
- “The game is a tad buggy, had to redownload the game twice due to character being unable to move after I finished the first chapter.”
- “The game wouldn't launch for the first day I owned it and there was little to no help with troubleshooting.”
- “It's puzzling how much attention was given to accessibility during development yet basic necessities like these were overlooked, all while the game remained buggy.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game shows some initial performance issues and occasional bugs, particularly in specific areas like a room with a large reflecting pool that causes framerate drops. However, overall optimization is decent, with most settings adjustments having limited impact on performance.
- “I tried to mess around with settings like enabling/disabling V-Sync, changing the screen performance settings, etc., or even trying to see if alt-tabbing the game was the cause.”
- “The only performance problem I had was a combination of awkward V-Sync settings and a very specific room with a very large reflecting pool; that room, no matter what I did, ran at about 40 FPS instead of the usual 60, but from the game being slow for a few seconds, it didn't affect anything important.”
- “My only criticisms are that the story sort of wanders and the initial state of the game had a good number of bugs and performance issues.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Replayability opinions are mixed: some find the game experimental with lower replay value compared to other indie titles, while others praise its charming character and satisfying gameplay that make it highly replayable.
- “Drips with character charm and humor in every moment and gameplay feels satisfying and incredibly replayable.”