BattleKnight is a free-to-play web-based game decorated with several Herculean adventures and dangerous quests. Developed by Gameforge in 2006, this strategy game allows you to interact with several other players in tournaments and missions. As you move through the game in looting missions and combat battles, you earn silver points that  aid gameplay. 

The game offers various things to do, and the gameplay is just a few points away from immersive. However, it is a decent release when you pitch it besides its contemporaries in the same genre. The thrill of completing missions and progressing through the plot is a huge positive to hold on to.

The Story: Knight Up and Save Your World

The land of Caldean is at sixes and seven, with war, famine, and other forces of nature breathing at every side. To save the land from extinction, the people must come together to defend themselves. Everyone must get ready – with their weapons and armory – to grind their bones for Caldean.

As a character, you’ll have to first choose your avatar, with unique Attributes or skillset. While the storyline is hinged on you fighting for the island as a Knight, you can choose to be the exact opposite. Every story has a hero and a villain – the decision is yours to make. Every mission has two options: Good mission and Evil mission. The choice you make pulls you towards the corresponding side of the divide. Completing a Good mission will increase your positive karma points, while an Evil Mission will decrease it.

While the game’s ultimate goal is saving Caldean, the missions all have a unique story. The Shore mission had me fighting a deceptive Siren with the wings of a bird. There’s a ruthless assassin in the Bandit Camp I had to give the taste of his own medicine. At the Dragon Circle, there’s a group of cultists to nip in the bud, but not without some fiery resistance. This diversity means there’s a sense of freshness to every task – a story that compels.

Immerse Yourself in the Endless Adventures of Caldean

The game begins with small missions you’re to execute as a worthy warrior-citizen. In my gameplay, I found myself in Tarant – the only location in the World Map that was unlocked. There were four missions available, each identified by their specific sites: Cave, Shore, Stone Circle, and Bandit Camp. My first mission was recovering loot from the back of a small cave, but I had a force of nature, the Earth Spirit, to battle with.

One thing I particularly liked about the game was how I moved from one class to another. I started as a peasant but quickly rose to the ranks of an upper class and then on and on. The quests revolved around the three problems – famine, war, and forces of nature – that threatened the land. While my first task dealt with forces of nature, another was about famine. A larger-than-life sea snake was swallowing up the fishes in Tarant and killing he fishermen. I had to stop it, and that meant engaging in combat with the massive animal. 

BattleKnight has three levels for every mission: Small, Medium, and Large. The silver points you earn from each task depend on the size of the mission. For example, the Cave’s Large mission had me grueling with a hermit who resides there, and victory earned me 40 silver. The good thing, however, is that you have a chance to play all three levels, although they all require Mission Points (MP). If you don’t have the required MPs, you can buy them with rubies, the game’s currency.

There’s a Mission cooldown mode after every task before you get back to the map for another mission. The waiting time can be frustrating, especially for the fact that it had to happen every time. Gameforge could do something about this time-wasting feature.

In the Tavern, you could register as a mercenary once you get to Level 6. As a mercenary, other orders hire you for missions and pay you a salary. Also, in the Tavern tab, you can engage in exciting group missions once you get to Level 9. The game has a Tournament Arena, offering more instances for adrenaline. You can choose to engage in a Duel, Challenge, or full-fledged tournament. Pick a Knight to battle in a one-on-one duel, and you could earn some loot if you win. Getting to Level 8 allows you to throw yourself into some pulsating tournament.

Another interesting part of BattleKnight is the ability to join or even create an order. An order is a group of Knights who ally with another for two specific purposes. One is to execute looting missions, and the second is to take over another order’s castle. Once you get to Level 3, you can found an order, assign roles to other players, and grow your reputation.

The Marketplace: Up Your Game

When you’ve built your reputation to a certain level, the Marketplace opens up for you. There, you can get medicinal potions, runes, and artifacts to help in your missions. You’ll find the Weapon merchant, Armor merchant, Rune merchant, Blacksmith, Artifact merchant, and Alchemist. As their name aptly describes, these traders offer you weapons, armor, runes, artifacts, tools, and potions, respectively.

So, is BattleKnight worth Your Time?

BattleKnight makes for some good play. The storyline line is exciting, with engaging missions and quests throughout gameplay. If you’re not rescuing missing children, you’re battling a Hermit for some loot. The fact that the game offers you the opportunity to be a villain is uncommon, but a spectacular thrill.