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Ember Knights

Ember Knights

Doom Turtle · released Jul 17, 2023

ActionAdventureRPGPCPlayStation 5Xbox Series XNintendo Switch

Ember Knights is an action rogue-lite for 1-4 players where you play as legendary knights, the last spark of hope against the mad sorcerer Praxis and his hordes of unwavering fiends. Wield weapons & skills, build synergies with game-changing relics and free the universe of Praxis’ corruption.

Steam page ↗Metacritic · users 7.5 ↗
88
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Hotfix Update v2.2.1” (1y ago)

84%
At launch
94%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
74%
Player sentiment
94%
Recent sentiment

PC 88 · Xbox 70

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)––0
All-time Steam reviews94%881000
Metacritic user ratings––0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)94%88789
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 30, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 789 total reviews in window · weighted 214 up / 14.7 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (10)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 85
    Gaming ProfessorsGaming Professors
    trust 76Aug 9, 2024

    “It’s time to wrap up this magical fairy tale. Ember Knights has everything I want from the roguelike genre: a nearly endless cycle of progression, a diverse world, the chance to curse at my teammates, but above all, magical graphics that make me feel like I’m one of the fighting flames myself. The only thing I’m missing, and I really, really miss it, is a solid story, because this game deserves one. It also bothers me a little that it bears an extremely dangerous resemblance to Knight vs Giant: The Broken Excalibur, so much so that it almost feels like a copy of it, even though it doesn’t have a co-op mode. But that’s probably something every player who tries both games will have to decide for themselves. All I’ll say is, get your sparklers ready, it’s time to set out to save the universe and slay every hideous monster you come across.”

    read full review ↗
  • 83
    Nindie SpotlightNindie Spotlight
    trust 70Jul 27, 2023

    “While it starts out slow, once you start unlocking new weapons and game elements it does pick up some steam quite nicely”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    GamesCreedGamesCreed
    trust 66Jul 29, 2023

    “Ember Knights is a brilliant throwback to the old arcade games brought to the future with its interesting gameplay and world design. The co-op feature is a great bonus and just adds so much more to the game. It just keeps getting better and much more diverse in options with each new run, and it’ll definitely keep you coming back for more.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    SVGSVG
    trust 66Jul 18, 2023

    “"Ember Knights" is an exceptionally fun and well-structured game that comes as a wonderful surprise in an already fully packed year in gaming.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    LadiesGamers.comLadiesGamers.com
    trust 64Aug 13, 2023

    “Ember Knights is a rogue-lite that burns with a fiery passion of pick-up and play controls and enjoyable arcade style gameplay. Simple to pick up but hard to put down. It’s made all the more brighter if you can play with friends. While the formula is familiar, there is no denying that this is a polished experience in every aspect of a game’s core goal of entertaining the player. Ember Knights is another example where you don’t need to reinvent the formula to make a fun game. So if you’re looking for your next game night, alone or with friends, consider adding this to the schedule.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    Try Hard GuidesTry Hard Guides
    trust 63Jul 18, 2023

    “While faithful to the genre, Ember Knights make some solid creative decisions and implement quality-of-life fixes that many roguelikes desperately need, and opens the genre up to a multiplayer experience. Unafraid to make players feel powerful while still presenting a real challenge, Ember Knights is a game that feels like it was designed to have fun, favoring fun builds and creative interactions with the world over any artificial difficulty, providing a genuine challenge that’s no less fun for players alone or with a group of friends.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    NoobFeedNoobFeed
    trust 62Aug 3, 2023

    “Ember Knights is an addictive blast that is just a good time. Here’s hoping that there is the drive from the developers to make expansions or updates that add bonus content because this is a game that deserves to have its flame burn on for a while. But as it is, the game is still amazing and perfect for a night with friends to just grind away at some enemies and bosses.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    Nintendo BlastNintendo Blast
    trust 55Aug 9, 2023

    “Presenting efficiency and simplicity, Ember Knights surprised me positively on the Switch. With its addictive formula, worthy of the roguelite genre, the challenges are intense and fun as they allow many strategic combinations through the varied equipment, powers and relics. Despite the absence of an online mode and lacking challenge diversity, the Ember Knights saga is a fun action game burning like a blaze especially because of its hot gameplay.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    GameBlastGameBlast
    trust 53Aug 1, 2023

    “Though it's not innovative, Ember Knights impressively does the basic of the genre well. The big amount of elements to add variation to the combat allow players to elaborate various combat strategies and allows the game to avoid being too repetitive. However, this [repetitive] feeling still persists due to the small variety of rooms in each world and the difficulty peak at the end of the game. Despite that, Ember Knights delivers a really fun and challenging adventure, making it a recommendation for those looking for a new roguelite option.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    God is a GeekGod is a Geek
    trust 49Apr 13, 2022

    “Ember Knights is a wonderful rogue-lite that makes full use of its gameplay to offer a challenge that'll scratch that itch Hades left behind. ”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Hotfix Update v2.3.1
    Apr 1, 2026
  2. Hotfix Update v2.2.1
    Apr 30, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  3. Architect Unleashed Update!
    Apr 9, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  4. Open Beta - Architect Fight Changes
    Jan 16, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  5. Hotfix Update v2.1.1
    Dec 18, 2024
  6. Surprise December Update!
    Dec 12, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  7. Hotfix Update v2.0.2
    Oct 25, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  8. Hotfix Update v2.0.1
    Oct 17, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  9. Hotfix Update v1.5.3
    Sep 19, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  10. Ember Cat and Astral Ascent Collaboration Update
    Sep 5, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  11. Hotfix Update v1.5.1
    Aug 1, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  12. For The Players Update!
    Jul 29, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  13. Hotfix Update v1.4.1
    May 23, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  14. Skills Mastery Update
    May 13, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  15. Hotfix Update v1.3.1
    Feb 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  16. Praxis Returns Update
    Jan 30, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  17. Hotfix Update v1.2.1
    Nov 24, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  18. Knights Reforged Update
    Nov 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  19. Hotfix Update v1.1.1
    Sep 21, 2023
  20. Update 1.1 Patch Notes
    Sep 18, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  21. Nexus News - 1.0 and Beyond!
    Sep 12, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  22. Hotfix Update v1.0.2
    Aug 29, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  23. Hotfix Update v1.0.1
    Jul 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  24. Ember Knights 1.0 - AVAILABLE NOW!
    Jul 18, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  25. Ember Knights 1.0 - Patch Notes
    Jul 18, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  26. Hotfix Update v0.12.1
    Jun 13, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  27. Ember Knights 1.0 to release on July 18!
    Jun 12, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  28. Reconnects Update - The Final Stretch
    Jun 6, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  29. Hotfix Update v0.11.1
    Apr 13, 2023
  30. April Update - Matchmaking and Localizations
    Apr 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  31. February Update - Relics, relics and more relics!
    Feb 28, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  32. Hotfix Update v0.9.1
    Jan 26, 2023
  33. January Update - Are you feeling lucky?
    Jan 24, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  34. Nexus News - Overwhelmingly Positive!
    Jan 20, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  35. Hotfix Update v0.8.1
    Dec 22, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  36. December Update - New Weapon
    Dec 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  37. Hotfix Update v0.7.1
    Nov 24, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  38. November Update
    Nov 22, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  39. Hotfix Update v0.6.1
    Oct 25, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  40. Anville Update
    Oct 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window

…and 13 earlier patch announcements.