A hero that eats, spits out their food, and saves the day. I have seen this before somewhere.
Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course from developer Nowis-337 Games is a top-down action-adventure in the same spirit as any popular NES role-playing game from the 80s. It’s filled with puzzles, a decent amount of action, and plenty of opportunities to spit at enemies. While it doesn’t do anything particularly special to make it stand out, it’s still very entertaining and will certainly test your noggin.
The story of Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course starts with a newly crowned knight in the Gourmet Kingdom, who watches as delicious food is stolen by the evil Demon Chef. Buffet’s task is to retrieve the stolen banquet and bring down the villain before it’s too late…or before all the stolen food is eaten.
The narrative for Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course is as adorable as it is ridiculous. It’s a lighthearted story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but does enough to set up a fun adventure that is packed with food puns and wackiness. In other words, it is a means to an end. Honestly, does anyone need more than this? No. It’s best to be as wacky as possible because that keeps the heart and the theme of the game going (see games like Turnip Boy for similar details). So, mission accomplished.
As for the gameplay that matches that established narrative mood, at its core, it is a simple role-playing action-adventure game. Buffet travels a very large map to gather sacred spices to help topple the evil villain. Each section of the map is catered to specific spices. For example, the first big spice that Buffet retrieves in the game is a fiery pepper spice. In this part of the map, Buffet will find dangerous dry enemies and puzzles while navigating explosive situations that are led by fire and heat. As players could probably guess, once this area is finished, Buffet acquires a fiery skill that allows them to explode rocks and cracked areas.
All the areas in the game are crafted to whatever spice Buffet is on the hunt for, and he always walks away with a new tool of some spice area-related kind to help progress into the next area. It’s RPG 101 from the 80s at a basic level, which means it will look and feel familiar during the adventure if you were lucky enough to experience games from that era. Even though it’s a very linear path throughout the gameplay experience, it’s still one that is nice and entertaining. For me, as an old gamer, it was a wonderful reminder of the roots sewn into the video game world and how much fun simplicity can be in a non-AAA experience. Slowly unlocking maps, gathering new tools that could open up obvious opportunities on the rest of the map that Buffet originally had to pass by because there was no way to solve the problem at the time, is about as old school as it gets with games of this type. And, again, it’s a wonderful return to the original roots of the RPG world. Now, what makes this simple RPG structure a bit more fun than the typical games of this type are the enemies and puzzles that Buffet Knight encounters along the way.
Starting with enemies, they are creatively presented in each section of the map, and, as mentioned above, are crafted for particular areas that Buffet traverses. What that means is that everything in the fiery spice area will be fire or heat-related in some way. The more lush green areas will have insects and animals related to a wetter climate. The enemies are vast in number and creatively crafted to keep the game interesting. Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course does a good job of throwing enemies at the player to keep one’s attention from waning, and makes them different enough to see the obvious amount of effort that was put into it.
On the boss side of the tracks, they’re huge, not very difficult, but are worth the 2-to 3-tiered action sequences built for them. For example, the first one that players will run into is a giant worm that starts molting throughout the fight. Towards the end of the fight, the worm turns into a horrifying butterfly, which brings a different sort of attack that is far more aggressive than how the boss started. Each boss encountered in the game will be in the same vein as this one. They will be huge, creative, and multi-tiered in their attacks. They’re worth the journey, and the payoff that generally comes with them is worth the fight given. Ultimately, though, they aren’t overly difficult, as they show their patterned attacks quite easily. There wasn’t a moment during a boss fight where I felt outgunned or unprepared. Regardless, the fights were still fun.
As for those puzzles, as previously mentioned, the game runs on a linear path, even though it may not feel like it does, where progression is blocked by obstacles. Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course will give a sense of freedom of choice, but in reality, and going back to the old school comment, it gives you a restricted tour of what is to come. This means that Buffet can explore areas and see restricted parts of the map, but will be forced to progress as the game sees fit. While that might seem like a slight, it’s just not typical of modern RPG structures these days, especially action-adventure titles. I enjoyed the linearity of the progression and felt like it did enough to take that sense of restriction away. The game treats those restrictions like puzzles. As the player progresses through the game, they will earn tools, which will unlock restricted parts of the map and give access to special places that the player can explore. It’s like figuring out logic problems along the way, and what tool does what ‘thing’ so that the player can push beyond the obstacles. Simple in scope, execution, and doesn’t take much to get on a roll. Of course, that’s the catch.
Getting on a roll with getting past obstacles and restricted areas requires knowing what is needed to do so. The beginning of this game is a chore getting that train of thought on the right tracks. I must have taken 45 minutes to go find that spark of progression, almost giving up because I was lost. Once I found that one catalyst solution, which began to open other doors and pushed the adventure forward, and I will not be sharing it here in the review, the game started to unfurl in a good way and show its RPG progression colors. That initial uphill battle is a doozy, though, but one well worth the effort. While most of the puzzles are just obstacles requiring tools acquired, there are occasional actual puzzles that the game throws in the way of progression. For example, players will find plenty of times where they have to move an object or light a series of things on fire to open a doorway to progress. Much like the bosses, puzzles like these aren’t very difficult, but they’re fun moments that break away enough from the action to feel like the game offers a large experience.
Anyhoo, as Buffet Knight begins to unlock things and progress in the game, a few key mechanics become apparent. First, the fighting mechanic in the game is for Buffet to suck in objects around him, then spit them out at enemies to destroy them. It’s a basic mechanic that is led by two buttons, very NES, and isn’t too difficult to pick up on. Have you played Kirby games? Then you understand what this is, and it is the attack mechanic for the rest of the game.
To accompany that core attack mechanic, the game also has specialities that Buffet acquires through spices obtained. For example, the fiery spice area, once finished, gives Buffet the ability to spit out fire bombs to explode obstacles and enemies. It’s one of many spicy tools gained that unlock more of the map, as well as add an arsenal piece to Buffet’s pie. This secondary mechanic for the gameplay is easily switched through the bumper buttons and is endless in its usage. It also helps switch up strategies during the action, although suck-and-blow is probably still going to be the main source of action for this game. BUT! The game goes a bit harder than just those two mechanics.
Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course has simple upgrade options and unlockables as Buffet progresses. The simplest unlockables are at campfires that the hero runs into occasionally. At the campfire, Buffet can turn in bits and pieces of collected enemies (gross) and convert them into upgraded attributes. Those attributes are health, the amount of suckable food Buffet can retain at once, and other attributes that mainly deal with attack mechanics. In addition to this, as essences (found in all parts of the map) are collected, Buffet can turn those in for upgrades to already pre-existing skills with a very shady magician. It’s another layer to this game that stands to benefit the player and provide a deeper, richer experience along the way, and one that will certainly make the player feel like they’re building Buffet up.
Outside of these mechanics, the game pulls back and keeps it simple. It still wants players to feel like it’s an old-school action-adventure RPG experience, and it accomplishes that throughout the journey. Problem-solving, quick and simple action, and linear progression all check the gameplay boxes when it comes to delivering a classic RPG experience. While the overall gameplay does make the experience uncomplicated and less than most RPGs these days, it’s still a treat to play and progress in a game like this. I had a hoot of time with it and wish more RPGs were like this. It truly was a golden age of gaming that most people still feel magic from, and Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course is a good reminder of that era.
Anyway, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
Buffet Knight – Decadent Full Course from developer Nowis-337 Games is a firm and welcome reminder that classic RPG constructs are still entertaining and worth the journey. While it doesn’t break new ground on old soil, it grows and delivers a good harvest that is simple to cook and enjoy.
