Rune Knights

About

In Rune Knights, players become superhero knights with elemental powers, battling monsters and completing quests in a fantasy world. With hack-and-slash combat and character customization options, players can upgrade skills, weapons, and armor. Play solo or with friends in online cooperative mode, tackling challenges and dungeons for epic loot and rewards.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 349 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

story16 negative mentions

The game offers a wide variety of builds and skills, allowing for extensive character customization and experimentation.
The developer is highly responsive to community feedback, frequently implementing suggestions and fixing bugs quickly.
The combat is engaging and fun, with a solid loot system that keeps players motivated to grind for better gear.

The game feels very early in development, with clunky animations, basic graphics, and a lack of polish in various areas.
Enemy behavior can be frustrating, with some enemies being overly aggressive and difficult to manage, leading to a chaotic gameplay experience.
The game lacks a strong narrative and can become repetitive quickly, with limited content available in its current early access state.

gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its fun mechanics, intuitive systems, and solid foundation, offering a mix of ARPG and souls-like elements that can be quite addictive. While the visuals may appear rough and some aspects are still in development, players appreciate the build diversity and potential for future content expansion. Overall, the game provides an engaging experience, especially as it progresses beyond the initial stages.
- “The mechanics of this game are very fun, like the random spells/skills from equipment pieces and the bosses.”
- “Gameplay is fun and while it is early access and some other skills need a little work to duke it out with the others, the build diversity we have at the moment is pretty crazy.”
- “There's quite a bit of potential in this game, it's a lot of fun with the systems currently in the game so far and will be nice to see how it shapes up; it's a fun mix of souls-type gameplay and ARPG loot with Path of Exile crafting.”
- “This game has some potential, but it has issues with its gameplay style and feel.”
- “I will admit the first 30 minutes to an hour are fairly boring, but the game really opens up around level 14-15 when you start to get a hold of the mechanics.”
- “It is early access, so there is limited content, around 5-10 hours of gameplay to beat all content and another 10-20 hours if you want to grind for some legendary/endgame items.”
graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while they are not impressive by modern standards, they can become more tolerable over time. Some users have pointed out issues such as low-quality textures, stiff animations, and a lack of visual polish, particularly given that the game is developed by a single person. However, there are also positive remarks about the art style and the overall aesthetic, suggesting that with further optimization and development, the graphics could improve significantly.
- “The graphics and gameplay are simplistic, yet effective.”
- “This is an interesting game and I love the graphics and music.”
- “Graphics are smooth for early access, and controls are very responsive.”
- “Default graphics settings: for my GTX 1060 3GB, having 'ultra settings' by default feels wrong because some procedural textures, like the fog cascade from castle level 1, dropped my FPS significantly when trying to go through it.”
- “Graphics look like a rough build (like a placeholder). Animations feel stiff, and there is no 'joy of movement.' I could go on, but every aspect of this game is either mediocre or bad.”
- “Furthermore, the graphics are not that great even on epic settings, which I can forgive a little bit seeing how the game is made by one guy and his cat.”
story
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
48%
35%
The story in "Rune Knights" is largely absent, with many players noting that it feels like a placeholder at this stage of development. While some appreciate the focus on combat and gameplay mechanics over narrative, others find the lack of a compelling story a significant drawback. Overall, those seeking a rich narrative experience are advised to wait for a more polished release.
- “If you prefer games with a strong story/narrative focus, open world games with large maps to explore, or you prefer games with more forgiving combat systems, this game probably isn't for you.”
- “However, if you are looking for a good story, I suggest waiting till release.”
- “If you are looking for story, this definitely isn't for you at its current stage - but if you like fun Dark Souls-esque combat, trying new skill builds and class combinations, and farming for that best-in-slot legendary item, then there is a lot here.”
- “The story is nearly nonexistent (which is fine, since looting and combat is what the game is clearly focused on.)”
- “If you care about narrative at all, hold off till a final release - everything story-wise is just placeholder.”
- “There is no story whatsoever, you just plop into the town and your first mission is to kill 5 spiders.”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while it offers enjoyable combat and a rewarding loot system that encourages replayability through high-level content and character builds, many players find it can feel unfulfilling and overly grindy due to a lack of content. Despite these criticisms, the game's charm and ongoing development keep players engaged in the farming loop, especially for those who appreciate dark souls-esque mechanics and gear optimization. Overall, it's recommended for fans of loot grinding and challenging gameplay, though it may not satisfy those seeking a strong narrative.
- “I had some mild fun with this, but due to its lack of content it just feels like a grindy mess that doesn't really feel fulfilling to play, but still has its charm.”
- “But what's here is fun if a tad unbalanced and a bit grindy.”
- “It's still being developed (daily updates right now), but all the dopamine-inducing elements are there so I've found myself continually drawn back into the farming loop.”
optimization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while recent updates have significantly improved performance and resolved heating issues for some players, others still experience hardware-related crashes and performance problems, particularly in cooperative play with multiple summoners. Players with lower-end systems may struggle, indicating that further optimization is needed to ensure a smoother experience for all hardware configurations. Overall, the game shows potential but requires additional work to fully optimize its performance.
- “The game is a ton of fun, plays smoothly, is well optimized, and has great potential.”
- “(The new 2 updates are massive and improve the game significantly. 500% better than before and now the heating and performance issues are fixed.)”
- “Good stuff! If the graphics get optimized so that my system doesn't start choking, I will for sure come back.”
- “If you value your hardware, I wouldn't play this at this point in time; the optimization is horrible.”
- “It's not lagging, it's not stuttering, I have top FPS (which I intentionally capped at 60 to prevent overheating, since some games just pump FPS to like 300 if it can), but I still experience hardware-related crashes.”
- “- overall performance requires more than a potato PC.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the graphics and find the music enjoyable, many criticize the soundtrack as mediocre and repetitive. Additionally, there are significant technical issues, as listening to music or engaging in other activities often causes the game to crash. Overall, it serves as a decent background for gameplay, but it lacks standout quality.
- “This is an interesting game and I love the graphics and music.”
- “It's a good game to just throw on some music in the background and zone out while clearing some zones and gathering loot.”
- “They update the music.”
- “The soundtrack is for the most part mediocre and repetitive.”
- “Listening to music or doing anything causes the game to crash all the time.”
- “It's surprising that the skill system, merchant, maps, enemies, music, etc. were all created by one guy.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and performance issues, such as low frame rates and loading screen glitches, particularly in cooperative mode. However, some users have not experienced any glitches, suggesting that stability may vary between different setups. Overall, while there are notable stability concerns, there is optimism for future updates to address these issues.
- “It's way too short (I've played it through entirely 2 and a half times in 11 hours), it's buggy (loading screen glitches in co-op, falling into water with no way out, I seem to be getting less than 20 fps most of the time with everything on low, with the latest Nvidia drivers etc., even though I get 144 fps in AAA titles), the balance is terrible (don't bother rolling anything other than a melee class).”
- “- buggy as hell”
- “There are bugs, glitches, and weirdness every once in a while but I think the team here is onto something special and I look forward to any future updates that may be coming this way!”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdity and playful confusion, particularly highlighted by the antics of the "laughing goblin," which adds a comedic twist to the gameplay. Players find the mix of unconventional weapons and quirky mechanics, such as headshot damage, both amusing and entertaining.
- “The laughing goblin is an absolute riot!”
- “Weapons like dual something, sword, hammer, staff, shield, bow (+ damage by headshots) are very confusing but hilarious!”
- “The humor in the game is top-notch, especially with characters like the laughing goblin.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its effective use of tone, colors, and lighting, which collectively create an immersive and engaging environment.
- “The tone, colors, and how lighting works create a fantastic atmosphere for this game.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game offers significant replayability through higher difficulty missions and gear farming, although some players feel it lacks depth and a compelling story. While it may not provide endless hours of entertainment, its replayable elements are appreciated.
- “The game has incredible replayability in the form of higher difficulty missions and gear farming.”
- “The game lacks a compelling story and depth, which significantly affects its replayability and endgame content.”
- “Without a strong narrative and engaging mechanics, the replayability of this game feels limited and uninviting.”
- “The absence of meaningful endgame content and replay value makes it hard to stay invested in the game for the long term.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game has been criticized for feeling like a cash grab, with players expressing disappointment that it does not justify its $15 price tag, leading to a lack of engagement and enjoyment.
- “As someone who loves looter games and dungeon crawler ARPGs, this really doesn't feel like it's up to par even for the $15 price tag. It just felt cash grabby and was boring.”