You’re a knight who lives for one thing, jumping. It’s your only real ability, all mapped to a single button, yet important mechanic in the game branches out from it. The first trick is the wall jump. You can’t simply scale any vertical wall because every leap pushes you a fair distance away, so climbing efficiently means finding two walls close enough to bounce between.
The second move is where the game truly comes alive. Press jump again while you’re already airborne, and your knight swings his sword beneath him, bouncing off enemies, projectiles, hazards, and various stage objects, most notably bumpers. There’s no limit to how often you can chain these moves together, so you can mash the button and keep ricocheting off the same object as much as you like. The only exception is enemies that can be killed. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, making them more of an obstacle you can remove than something you rely on to progress.
Your goal is simple, climb the tower. It’s split into vertical stages that are arranged in a random order. The tower has four sections with three levels each. While the game randomizes which levels appear, the levels themselves are handcrafted. That said, the variety isn’t huge. The first section has six possible stages, each following section loses one option, and the final section draws from a pool of just three stages, so those become very familiar. Every section introduces a fresh environment along with new hazards and enemies, but the objective never changes.
The stages themselves are fairly short. Gems are placed right along the natural route, so collecting them rarely slows you down. Enemies drop hearts to restore health, and you’ll occasionally find armor that absorbs a single hit before shattering. You begin each run with three hearts, though each heart is divided into smaller chunks, allowing you to survive more than three hits. There’s also a ranking system, but it isn’t based on speed. Instead, your score depends on how much damage you take. To earn the highest rank, you need to clear a stage without getting hit at all.
While platforming is the main attraction, there’s also a roguelite layer built around items. These come from two kinds of pipes sticking out of the stages. One leads to a treasure chest containing a random item, while the other takes you to a shop where you can spend gems on one of three random items or pay for a reroll if none of them catch your eye.
Items are divided into passive and active types. You can carry only one active item, but there’s no limit on passive ones, and duplicate copies stack their effects. Pick up two pairs of boots that create a shockwave when you land, and you’ll unleash two shockwaves instead of one. Passive items include things like a magnet that pulls nearby hearts toward you, a pickaxe that increases the chance of finding more valuable gems, or an enchanted shield that grants free armor at the start of every stage.
Passive items are always active, while active items require a button press. Their usefulness varies wildly. Some are underwhelming, like shoes that let you sprint, while others can completely change a run, such as wings that grant a double jump. Thankfully, they’re reasonably priced, and you can afford one after clearing a single stage. Since both types of pipes appear frequently, it doesn’t take long to build a satisfying collection. Unlike passive items, active ones can also be sold if you find something better.
Naturally, everything disappears when you die, sending you back to the hub to start another climb. One charming touch is that every failed run leaves behind a tombstone. If you make it back to that spot and smash it, you recover one random item from your previous attempt.
Back in the hub, you can also visit the permanent shop and spend any gems you failed to use during your last run. Gems carry over between attempts, so your savings steadily grow over time. The shop lets you buy extra hearts and increase the number of starting items available at the beginning of a run, allowing you to choose one for free before setting off.
The biggest upgrades come in the form of four armor sets, each with a powerful perk. One makes defeated enemies drop gems, another protects you from lava and spikes, a third enhances active items, and the last revives you once per run if you fall. You can have only one active per run, but each makes completing a full run manageable, which can be done in just a few minutes.
That doesn’t have to be the end, though. Once you’ve conquered the tower, you can move on to a harder difficulty or chase time medals. These challenges have their own building in the hub, where you’re free to tackle any stage individually and see just how fast you can clear it.
