Apple Knight 3 trades tight platforming levels for one big connected world
Third time, no walls
- Explore one connected world with mounts
- Hack, slash and platform through new regions
- Bring your knight, pets and weapons along
A mobile platformer for me is something I typically just pick up between stops. A level, a few stars, back to the map screen, maybe one more if the bus is slow. Apple Knight has followed that template for two entries and done nicely out of it, so it is quite the turn to see Apple Knight 3 pull the internal walls down and put the lot into one connected world.
In Apple Knight 3, regions feed into each other, dungeons sit off the main route, and hidden paths do what hidden paths do. The map has grown enough that you get mounts to cross it, which is new for the series and does rather give away how far apart things are.
It’s still fast, still hack-and-slash, and still built around a sword and a handful of special abilities you unlock as you go. Weapons, skins for your knight and pets all return. The first two are handled properly on a touchscreen, and that's not a given in a platformer, where a missed jump should be your fault and a mistimed one usually isn't.
Opening the world up on the third go is a gamble, mind. Apple Knight built its name on short, tight, self-contained levels, and tight design doesn't always survive being stretched across a continent. Wandering about looking for a way through is a different pleasure from clearing a room cleanly, and the two don't always sit well together.
Controller support is in there as well, and Game Center achievements if you want them.
Apple Knight 3 is out now on iOS and Android for a one-time premium of $2.99 or your local equivalent.
Our list of the top platformers on Android has much more to jump through, including a few that'll take your money in much smaller instalments.
