Welcome to our review of the Black Clover: Quartet Knights game, out now on PlayStation 4.
Black Clover: Quartet Knights is the first video game adaptation of the hit Black Clover franchise. Originally a Japanese Shonen fantasy manga created by Yuuki Tabata, the game has seen its own anime series being made.
Players assume the role of their favorite characters in the magical world of the series as they work strategically in teams of four to attain victory in fierce online battles.
Black Clover: Quartet Knights combines magical powers with third-person shooter gameplay.
Target your enemies using your magic sights and unleash your powers to inflict massive damage. Band together with three friends to compete in thrilling four-on-four battles across three unique gameplay modes that will test you and your team’s ability to strategize in different ways.
It takes more than brute force to win a match in Black Clover: Quartet Knights. Clever tactics are also key when facing off against fierce enemy squads. To that end, players can choose from different characters from across the Black Clover universe, each serving a specific role such as fighter, shooter, supporter, and healer, all of which offer unique strengths and abilities to their teams. A good, complimentary balance of character types and individual specialties on a team goes a long way to attaining victory, so choose wisely!
While I generally enjoy these anime to game conversions, Black Clover: Quartet Knights is a bit of a weird one to me. I had some issues with the gameplay and not fully enjoying it. Often I was struggling with trying to land proper hits or avoiding getting pummeled. Something just felt not done to me.
When I started playing, I dove right into the practice fighting, where the opponents stood still. I often do this, just to get a feel for the action and what it brings. It was clear most of my action was to be coming from the top buttons and when I was puzzled about why I had no reactions from the normal buttons, I went into the story mode so I could go through the tutorial and figure out if I was doing something wrong.
That same story mode is obviously starting off with the tutorial but it felt a little skimpy to me, it was quick and before I knew it, I was thrown into the actual story. Not having read the manga, I did enjoy the story, but like usual, I will let you enjoy this for yourself if you decide to buy and play this game.
Graphically, this game is what you’d expect from this genre of games, it looks good and the cutscenes are high quality anime clips. I love the general feel of the game despite not fully enjoying the action. Maybe I would prefer to just overpower the enemies in true musou style, but it does not come close to that genre. Most of the time, you need to really look around and keep track of everything on screen to fully succeed the levels.
There is a level early on in the game, where a crystal is moving around. Part one of that level, you need to make sure you conquer it and in the second part, you need to defend the advance you previously succeeded in. Suddenly, you are not fighting mindless enemies but very skilled battlers and they attack from everywhere. I had to respawn many times because I was unable to really maneuver around the way I wanted or really dish out punishment.
Did this prohibit me from having fun? In a way it did, sadly. I did keep playing, successfully clearing several more levels, but it kept feeling off. In a way, it reminded me of the gameplay of Seven Deadly Sins. It was more or less the same experience which pales in comparison to the trendsetting games of the genre, but they did not bomb completely. Maybe a little tweaking could have benefitted the overal gameplay?
In conclusion, Black Clover is the first game of the franchise and while it is a noteworthy attempt, it did not fully captivate me.
