ButtKnight is a retro style scrolling shooter where you play as the Titular ButtKnight, a trusted and honored Knight. One day your Kingdom is suddenly attacked by hordes of minions from the underworld, who not only kidnap the three princesses, but also every other beautiful maiden they can find. With the kingdom now left essentially MAIDENLESS, you are tasked with setting out to defeat the minions of the underworld, and bring back the kingdom's treasured and beautiful maidens.

Much like the classic retro games it takes inspiration from, it's a simple and straightforward plot, that doesn't take itself too seriously and keeps a more humorous tone throughout. Story scenes are usually just brief CG cut scenes centered around the comical shenanigans that the ButtKnight gets himself into as he journeys to rescue the maidens. The game definitely has more of a game play focus to it, but I did really enjoy the ButtKnight character and found the story to be both fun and charming.

As for the gameplay, it plays similar to a retro style top down shooter where the Buttknight will automatically proceed forward through the linear stage. While you may automatically walk forward, the game does require both hands to properly play, which does unfortunately disqualify the game as being fully one hand playable. As you proceed through the stage you can freely move around to dodge enemy attacks You have two forms of attacks with one being a ranged attack and the other a charged melee attack.

As you defeat enemies you may occasionally come across power upgrades, which will not only strengthen your ranged attack by adding additional projectiles, but also allows you to select between several different weapons. The upgrade will slowly cycle through the different options, such as arrows that spew out in a large fan or lances to shoot in a tighter more focused pattern. The game allows you to easily select whichever weapon you think will perform the best for the stage or simply whichever one you like the most.

All the game's mechanics and controls should come naturally to anyone familiar with top down shooters or bullet hell games. Nothing in the game is necessarily ground breaking for the genre, but the game does the genre well and does a good job at creating an identity of it's own with it's distinct and charming character designs and art style. Each world has it's own unique feel to it, with plenty of creative and fun enemy and boss designs.

I would say that probably one of the only main downsides to the game is that is does run a bit on the shorter side. There is a little bit of replayability to it through the arcade style score system and a few collectibles that unlock bonus scenes involving the queen, but even so you are likely to see all the game has to offer in a few hours. I think considering the games high quality and low asking price, it is provides a good value, but if you are looking for a longer game to play then you may want to take this into consideration.

Probably what the games offers the best is the real content in this game...the H content. H scenes in ButtKnight are unlocked by scoring points during each stage. As your score increases throughout the level, you will progressively uncover more and more of a mini CG at the bottom right of the screen, with a full scene unlocking after the level if you reach a high enough score. The scenes are beautifully illustrated with a lot of fun and creative scenarios. Some of them have a more comical tone to them, but a lot of the main heroine scenes really knock it out of the park. Many of the heroines have a similar body style, but the game does provide a good amount of variety in personality types and even throws a bone to the monster fans with the inclusion of an oni and a succubus.

Overall ButtKnight is a stellar game for anyone looking for something fun, simple, and easy to pick up and play. It offers challenges for those looking for them, but also allows players a more casual experience with an easy difficulty mode. It has a pretty short run time to it, but provides a high quality experience for it's lower asking price with a humorous and charming story. The character designs, stage designs, and illustration artwork are all top notch with a very distinct and eye catching art style.

If you'd like to see a closer look at what this game has to offer, I have an extended video review over on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/ZcgULW12JWU