Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour’s hook is easy to understand: you are not merely told that Rick has joined a rebellion against an oppressive future Empire; you are put in the cockpit of a giant robot and sent into hostile territory. Elm Knight is first-person action built around navigating pseudo-3D mazes, hunting enemy machines, and trying not to waste your finite ammunition. That combination gives each encounter a little more weight than simple target practice.

Combat has a useful bit of tension because the MPS carries different projectile weapons with limited ammo, while melee remains an option when an opponent gets close. You have to make a judgment about what each fight is worth. The game’s auto-map is important rather than decorative: these are maze-like areas, and checking your bearings is part of the routine. If you enjoy old games that make navigation an active responsibility, that structure can become satisfying.

The on-foot sections are the smart wrinkle. Rick is sometimes controlled directly, still through the same first-person view and interface, but with a handgun instead of a giant robot’s arsenal. It is a modest change on paper, yet it prevents the whole journey from feeling like one uninterrupted run of mech battles. Frustration is most likely to come from the maze emphasis and constrained ammunition, especially if you want a brisk, uncomplicated shooter.

Graphics

The game uses a first-person, pseudo-3D view for its maze environments, with enemy robots moving through hostile zones ahead of you. The auto-map gives you a practical second look at spaces that would otherwise be easy to lose yourself in. Its most memorable images come from the contrast between piloting an MPS and walking those same kinds of spaces as Rick himself.

Story

Elm Knight starts from a familiar but effective anime-mecha pressure point: Rick Chandler is training at the Pilot Academy when he realizes he may have supernatural abilities. In this world, that makes him an Irregular, one of the people the Empire hunts down. His escape immediately turns personal danger into a reason to leave the institution that trained him.

The desert flight and Rick’s meeting with Selena give the story a clear route into the rebel side of the conflict. He is not simply deployed against the Empire; he is forced toward the people opposing it. That makes the MPS combat feel tied to his circumstances rather than pasted onto a disconnected military mission.

The promise of facing Imperial superiors who are closely related to Rick is the story’s most compelling dramatic angle. It gives the rebellion conflict a potential family sting and makes Rick’s past harder to leave behind. Anyone who enjoys classic sci-fi stories about a young pilot caught between authority, identity, and resistance will find plenty to like in the setup.

Overall Experience

Elm Knight is a niche action game with a stronger premise than its plain maze-shooter framework might suggest. The mix of first-person navigation, resource-conscious robot combat, close-range attacks, and occasional on-foot play gives it a distinct rhythm. It asks you to tolerate getting oriented before it pays you back with another fight or story turn.

This is worth a chance if you have a fondness for mecha fiction and older first-person action that expects you to use an automap. The game is less likely to win over someone who wants open arenas, abundant ammunition, or a campaign that rushes from set piece to set piece. Its deliberate, enclosed structure is not a side detail; it is the central texture of play.

At its best, Elm Knight feels like an anime rebellion story experienced from inside the cockpit, with the occasional reminder that Rick is vulnerable when he has to proceed on foot. The payoff is the combination of that shifting perspective and a personal conflict with the Empire, not pure shooting speed. It is an imperfect but appealing recommendation for patient mecha fans.

Retro Replay Score

6.4/10