Buff Knight: save the princess, or not, in this endless runner for RPG buffs

When Buff Knight came across my desk, I was a bit intrigued. Developed by Buff Studio, a solo operation in South Korea, it sported a pixel art style and the same “[adjective] + [kind of fighter]” title formula as Poor Gladiator, a game I played just last month, which also happened to be from Korea. While I didn’t find Buff Knight spurring me to think of the game as a social commentary in the same way, I had a lot of fun with this.

(See: Poor Gladiator, that debt simulator you’ve always wanted)

Buff Knight is an endless runner that leaves you battling typical RPG enemies, rather than dodging them. The combat is automatic, so in a very real sense, the RPG elements of the game are the game. Your only control during a run is when to time your mana attack,when to use potions, and to tap fairies and chests for loot.

Before you ask, yes, there are dragons.

As it turns out, this in itself is engaging and demanding enough. To survive for long, you’ll need to time your mana attacks well, and to get the most out of potions, you’ll want to use them at precisely the right time. Use one too soon, you’ll miss out on a sizable portion of the effect; too late, and you’ll be pushing up daisies. Don’t worry though, upgrading your character after death is part of the fun.

You’ll find yourself able to upgrade four different stats that affect your ability to inflict and absorb damage. These are upgraded with gems that are found in certain chests, with fairies, or in random drops. Equipment upgrades also affect your defensive and offensive capabilities—these items are purchased with gold, mined by killing enemies and breaking vases. You can also use gems to upgrade your inventory of mana and health potions.

An uplifting game over screen.

Upgrading is surprisingly quick, and the grind, if you can call it that, feels pretty rewarding. In the matter of a few runs your character will thoroughly upgraded, as will the enemies he encounters, as lesser enemies like bats give way to bigger beasts and eventually, powerful mages. The RPG-like sense of progression is really satisfying. Story mode ends at level ten, but can be replayed as many times as you want.

I unlocked an artifact by beating story mode.

The game is reminiscent of Line’s Run Run Hero, a game that Games in Asia reviewed last year. It was also a runner aiming to appeal to the RPG crowd. Buff Knight seems to have gone further with the old school pixel aesthetic, while Run Run Hero employed a much cuter art style. Neither game’s “story” mode is quite up to snuff with actual RPGs, but Buff Knight provides you with enough context for your sidescrolling progression.

What’s pretty discouraging is that Run Run Hero eventually ended its service and is no longer available for play. Will Buff Knight go the same route?

(See: Line’s Run Run Hero review: Why being linear isn’t all that bad.)