NOTE: Spoilers ahead!

Knuckle Sandwich is... an okay game, thanks to a few post-launch updates. I was one of the people who followed this game long before the Kickstarter launched. Back then, the most we had to go off of were some carefully cherry-picked scenes from (now unlisted) trailers and a GameSpot playthrough of what would end up being more or less the demo we got to play.

GAMEPLAY

Initially, many of Knuckle Sandwich's overworld areas and puzzles were ridiculously annoying. Most were neutered in later patches, which I can somewhat appreciate.

The battle system feels awesome at first, though some bosses either end up having way too much health or feel completely arbitrary and scripted. Many skills feel useless and you are doing single-digit damage for most turns during the entire game.

The inventory system was very unpleasant to use when the game launched but was improved upon a lot with the introduction of the 8 additional "pocket" slots, more item storage locations, and increased item storage capacity.

STORY

The story from the Prologue to the end of Chapter 1 is great, and that's more or less only what was shown to people for years leading up to the game's release. Most of the game's dialogue is very funny and smartly written.

Very quickly after the end of Chapter 1, the game devolves into complete nonsense that has very little to do with the diner or the titular "Knuckle Sandwich". What seemed like a simple start to a story that could go anywhere became muddied by many forgettable plot points and parties that appear and disappear at random. I can appreciate games being nonsensical within reason, but it definitely felt like some parts took it a bit too far.

The diner comes back at the end and the twist revelation is interesting, but feels like a complete cop-out, with the Boss not appearing for 90% of the game. You don't really find out who the actual "enemy" of the game is until the very end, and it feels completely random and unearned. The final boss feels unfitting and anticlimactic, and the story gets tied up in a confusing and vague way.

OTHER NOTES

The game launched in a state I was pretty unhappy with. There were lots of bugs and crashes, annoying gameplay elements, missing Kickstarter backer credits, and a whole lot more. After taking several years and funding from 3 (three!) different sources, I was really hoping the game would have released in a much more polished state. Thanks to Andy's vigilance, nearly all of these issues have since been fixed. That's something I can respect a whole lot.

Something that struck me as really weird and uncomfortable were a handful of self-inserts. The cruise ship, originally named the S.S. Darby, was renamed the S.S. Andy at some point during development. In the second half of the game, you also fight two of Andy's self-inserts. Their introduction has some of the most blindsidingly post-ironic dialogue in the game and it uses the popular "Vine boom" sound, which makes that part of the game feel instantly dated. Overall, the self-inserts feel narcissistic and rub me the wrong way.

After being shown the same cherry-picked parts of the game for 6+ years, it was really disorienting to see what the bulk of the game ended up being. I didn't feel 'betrayed' or like I didn't get my money's worth or anything, but it was a hard feeling to let go of with how much prominence the demo content had in what was shown leading up to the game's release. The game felt less like "Knuckle Sandwich" and more like "Andy Brophy's Goblin Minigame RPG". That's totally cool, but I really wish there was a little more transparency there.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite all of the problems I personally had with the game, I enjoyed many parts of what I played, and I see where a lot of the love went into it over the years. I'm sure many people will enjoy the game and like it for what it is. As for me, I can't help but lament the missed potential.

NOTE: Spoilers ahead! Knuckle Sandwich is... an okay game, thanks to a few post-launch updates. I was one of the people who followed this game long before the Kickstarter launched. Back then, the most we had to go off of were some carefully cherry-picked scenes from (now unlisted) trailers and a GameSpot playthrough of what would end up being more or less the demo we got to play. GAMEPLAY Initially, many of Knuckle Sandwich's overworld areas and puzzles were ridiculously annoying. Most were neutered in later patches, which I can somewhat appreciate. The battle system feels awesome at first, though some bosses either end up having way too much health or feel completely arbitrary and scripted. Many skills feel useless and you are doing single-digit damage for most turns during the entire game. The inventory system was very unpleasant to use when the game launched but was improved upon a lot with the introduction of the 8 additional "pocket" slots, more item storage locations, and increased item storage capacity. STORY The story from the Prologue to the end of Chapter 1 is great, and that's more or less only what was shown to people for years leading up to the game's release. Most of the game's dialogue is very funny and smartly written. Very quickly after the end of Chapter 1, the game devolves into complete nonsense that has very little to do with the diner or the titular "Knuckle Sandwich". What seemed like a simple start to a story that could go anywhere became muddied by many forgettable plot points and parties that appear and disappear at random. I can appreciate games being nonsensical within reason, but it definitely felt like some parts took it a bit too far. The diner comes back at the end and the twist revelation is interesting, but feels like a complete cop-out, with the Boss not appearing for 90% of the game. You don't really find out who the actual "enemy" of the game is until the very end, and it feels completely random and unearned. The final boss feels unfitting and anticlimactic, and the story gets tied up in a confusing and vague way. OTHER NOTES The game launched in a state I was pretty unhappy with. There were lots of bugs and crashes, annoying gameplay elements, missing Kickstarter backer credits, and a whole lot more. After taking several years and funding from 3 (three!) different sources, I was really hoping the game would have released in a much more polished state. Thanks to Andy's vigilance, nearly all of these issues have since been fixed. That's something I can respect a whole lot. Something that struck me as really weird and uncomfortable were a handful of self-inserts. The cruise ship, originally named the S.S. Darby, was renamed the S.S. Andy at some point during development. In the second half of the game, you also fight two of Andy's self-inserts. Their introduction has some of the most blindsidingly post-ironic dialogue in the game and it uses the popular "Vine boom" sound, which makes that part of the game feel instantly dated. Overall, the self-inserts feel narcissistic and rub me the wrong way. After being shown the same cherry-picked parts of the game for 6+ years, it was really disorienting to see what the bulk of the game ended up being. I didn't feel 'betrayed' or like I didn't get my money's worth or anything, but it was a hard feeling to let go of with how much prominence the demo content had in what was shown leading up to the game's release. The game felt less like "Knuckle Sandwich" and more like "Andy Brophy's Goblin Minigame RPG". That's totally cool, but I really wish there was a little more transparency there. FINAL THOUGHTS Despite all of the problems I personally had with the game, I enjoyed many parts of what I played, and I see where a lot of the love went into it over the years. I'm sure many people will enjoy the game and like it for what it is. As for me, I can't help but lament the missed potential.