Developed by Pixel Games and published by Sometimes You, Sir Lovelot is a highly entertaining Meat Boy-like platformer that is never overly difficult. Instead of focusing on reaching the end of a brutally designed stage, the focus instead is placed a little more on exploration and collecting a couple key items all from a charming visual aesthetic.
You can check out my stream of Sir Lovelot embedded below:
Playing as a tiny knight, the ultimate goal is to collect a flower then reach a tower where a princess will let down her hair for you to climb. It is almost like a reverse flagpole in Mario 1 as the knight climbs to victory instead of sliding down. This is a precision platformer but difficulty never reaches unfair or overly difficult heights. The handcrafted stages might only take a couple minutes to complete, even with a death or two for good measure, so the pacing constantly moves forward. It only takes a few hours to complete but completionists have incentive to replay levels to collect all the optional items and earn a speeder time. There are no online leaderboards so earning that faster time doesn’t mean much but it still feels good to find a shortcut to the end. In a way, this is almost an exploratory racing game just as much as it is a platformer.
Of course the adorable pixel art is super charming and the soundtrack is always pleasant but the responsive play control is the shining star. Double jumping, sliding, wall clinging, and even dashing always feel great. There are times when you might cling to wall on accident but never reaches frustration levels. Sir Lovelot also goes on the offensive by attacking creatures with a ranged bubble attack that sounds goofy on paper but totally works here. Don’t know why a knight isn’t using a sword but whatever. It is always satisfying to kill the simple enemies even after downing dozens. Swimming also feels heavy, so it takes a level or two to adjust, but also winds up feeling perfect in time.
In comparison to the rest of the screen, the knight is tiny but this also works exceedingly well. This allows the knight to fit into small passages and navigate each single screen environment with precision. Most stages are also composed of multiple screens, many of which have those shortcuts previously mentions. This allows for greater flexibility in the stage design, creating just enough variety to keep the experience from growing stale by the end.
Sir Lovelot is unexpectedly one of the best precision platformers I have played in years. Never hard but still challenging, this is one knight that deserves the hand of the princess and is a game that totally feels like a Sometimes You title.
Also available on Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC.
More Detailed Than: Dead Dungeon
Don’t Forget About: the Awesome Pea games
More Playable And Approachable Than: Okunoka Madness
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
Rating
Our Rating - 8
8
Total Score
A precision platformer without the stress results in a more casual, well-paced campaign.