The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight

About

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight is a single player and multiplayer arcade platformer game. It was developed by DANGER HEART ENTERTAINMENT and was released on November 7, 2014. It received negative reviews from players.

"The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight is an early access game with a planned 2021 release, currently running on a new engine for improved stability. Players control a motorized lancer in a sidescrolling adventure, with updates and improvements planned for the final release. The game can be purchased on itch.io and will grant a free Steam key."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight screenshot

+14

Skip User Reviews

37%

Audience ScoreBased on 136 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

music24 negative mentions

The game has a unique retro aesthetic reminiscent of Game Boy graphics, which some players find appealing.
The combat mechanics are fast-paced and can be enjoyable once mastered, offering a sense of satisfaction in gameplay.
There is potential for the game to improve significantly if the developers address the current issues and complete the project.

The game has been in early access for nearly a decade with little to no updates, leading many to believe it is abandoned.
The soundtrack is widely criticized as being grating and unpleasant, detracting from the overall experience.
Controls and tutorials are poorly designed, making it difficult for players to understand gameplay mechanics and navigate the game effectively.

music
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
61%
28%
The music in the game has been overwhelmingly criticized, with many reviewers labeling it as one of the worst soundtracks in gaming history, describing it as grating, annoying, and even unbearable. While some appreciate the option to replace the original soundtrack with their own music, the general consensus is that the existing tracks detract significantly from the overall gaming experience. Despite a few positive notes regarding the game's visuals and mechanics, the soundtrack remains a major drawback for most players.
- “I really like the art style and the customization of colors, backgrounds, and even music is a really nice touch.”
- “The music is pretty damn good as well, and fits the high-speed, aggressive nature of the game.”
- “Also worth mentioning is the music, because your mileage will likely vary: the harsh soundtrack can at times be distracting, but it can also fit the action quite nicely.”
- “The soundtrack is horrible and forces you to mute it, effectively ruining the game experience.”
- “Look, I wish the best for the composer of this game, but I believe this soundtrack is one of the worst crimes committed in gaming history.”
- “This game looks kind of bad and messy, and man, the music... it must be the most godawful chiptune soundtrack I've ever heard; totally unbearable.”
gameplay
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
65%
7%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by deep mechanics and fluid combat, offering a nostalgic experience with customizable palettes. However, the tutorial is often criticized for being confusing, leaving players struggling to grasp the mechanics, and the overall polish is lacking, with issues like frame rate drops and a cluttered visual presentation during chaotic battles. Despite these drawbacks, many players find the core gameplay enjoyable and intuitive once they overcome the initial learning curve.
- “There are numerous palettes to choose from, allowing you to customize the feel of the gameplay and tailor the experience to the particular nostalgic gaming experience you wish to replicate.”
- “Speaking of combat mechanics, they are very fluid, brawls are chaotic in the best kind of way, and beating up on enemies is so satisfying.”
- “A case study in self-imposed constraints leading to polished, refined design, Joylancer's chunky pixels and limited palette mesh well with its responsive, fluid gameplay.”
- “The game's mechanics seem well-made and deep, but the tutorial is confusing and doesn't manage to correctly tell you how everything works.”
- “Tedious mechanics and a tutorial that does a terrible job explaining them.”
- “The game is based around a completely unnecessary 'revving' mechanic where you have to hold down and press X (when using an Xbox controller) to charge up energy.”
graphics
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
75%
10%
The game's graphics are a mix of charming retro aesthetics and frustrating clutter, with many players appreciating the 16-bit sprite style reminiscent of Game Boy games. However, some find the visuals overwhelming and difficult to decipher due to excessive on-screen elements and poor alignment with gameplay mechanics. While the art style has potential, concerns about the lack of updates and graphical clarity have left some players disappointed.
- “Graphically, the game is rather pretty, with a decent variety of enemies, all stylistically presented as 16-bit animated sprites.”
- “Some of the pixel art is a treat, and the Game Boy Color aesthetic is pretty much nailed down.”
- “Aesthetics - while the gaming market is saturated with titles that attempt to capture the retro game art style (most done poorly), Joylancer manages to pull off the style well.”
- “The graphics are quite poor; the developer opted for retro graphics due to either lack of talent or lack of money to pay for an artist.”
- “The graphics, while being stylized to look like a Game Boy game (which is something I'm usually fond of), in many scenarios have too much stuff cluttered on the screen, which combined with a constant shaking and other action effects, makes it hard to see what's going on.”
- “I understand its Game Boy aesthetic, but it's way too harsh on the eyes even after adjusting the settings.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The game's story has been criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with players feeling it fails to provide a compelling narrative or character development. Additionally, the absence of voice acting in cut-scenes and the design choice of not allowing saves in the main mode detracts from the overall storytelling experience. Overall, many players find the story underwhelming and not integral to their enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “As for story, well... I don't know.”
- “It's just a dumb design decision and defeats the whole joy of progressing through the story.”
- “I want to like this game, but the story doesn't grip me.”
- “Either I don't get it, or the game seems to be missing a lot in terms of storyline, save for a simple explanation of what is going on, who am I, where are we, etc.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's optimization is notably lacking, with users reporting significant frame rate issues that can slow gameplay to a crawl. While the movement mechanics offer potential for speedrunning enthusiasts, the overall performance remains unoptimized and unfinished, leading to a frustrating experience.
- “Especially exciting if you like speedrunning because the movement mechanics give a lot of interesting opportunities with regards to movement optimization.”
- “It is a fun game and makes for an interesting piece of canceled gaming content, but I do not suggest people give the developer money for a game that is and will forever remain unfinished, unoptimized, and unfulfilled.”
- “Needs optimization on framerate - frame rate varies for me; when the game is at 30 fps, the gameplay slows to a crawl and feels like you're playing in slow motion.”
- “Performance issues are a significant drawback.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding mechanics tedious and poorly explained in the tutorial, leading to frustration. Additionally, the background music is often described as grating, though users appreciate the option to turn it off or use their own music.
- “Tedious mechanics and a tutorial that does a terrible job explaining them.”
- “Only negative point that I've run into so far is grinding and an extremely insistent disharmony in one of the BGM tracks. I'm almost certain it's done on purpose and I'm usually all for deliberate disharmony in music, but for some reason this just rubs me the wrong way.”
- “Let's get this out of the way, the music is ear-grinding and it drowns everything else, but thankfully, you can turn it off.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. Many feel that it would benefit from a developer capable of addressing these issues, as its current state leads to disappointment compared to other titles in the genre.
- “I honestly believe it'd be better off sold to a developer that could clean it up, because with how much you could do and how bug-ridden it is, you only serve to break your own heart by purchasing this.”
- “The game is too buggy and it just ends up overall paling in comparison to many other games in the genre.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight

4h Median play time

4h Average play time

4-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight

88%3kreviews

30XX

2021

Arcade Platformer

77%1.8kreviews

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds

2015

Hack and Slash

68%304reviews

Demon Peak

2017

Action Adventure

96%914reviews

Jaded

2025

Action

66%499reviews

Monster Crown

2021

Role Playing

More games like The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight is a arcade platformer game.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight was released on November 7, 2014.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight was developed by DANGER HEART ENTERTAINMENT.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight has received negative reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its music.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include 30XX, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, Demon Peak, Jaded, Monster Crown and others.

The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight

Platforms

Buy The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight