About two weeks ago I played Postknight 2, a mobile RPG developed by Malaysian game studio Kurechii.
Drawn by the chaotic whirlwind that is Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds (my review here), Postknight 2 seemed like a quiet and unassuming game by comparison. A safe bet, if you will.
To be honest, I didn’t expect to be as invested and impressed as I did.
But soon I was growing materials to upgrade my weapons, strengthen my friendships with NPCs, and traverse the entire world of Prism as a Postknight who ranked my way to the top.
The game also got a pretty big update on August 2, with another coming in September, so now’s a great time to join the fun.
Commemorating the recent update, here’s my review of the Malaysia-made mobile game.
Attractive to both old and new players
At first, I was afraid I wouldn’t understand the premise of Postknight 2, as it’s technically the sequel to Kurechii’s Postknight.
Fortunately, the game works as a standalone game, so those who have never played the first title from 2017 can still enjoy the second game.
In fact, Postknight 2 is an incredibly friendly game for new players like me. While the game doesn’t flood you with a complicated UI from the get-go, it doesn’t bore you with a long-winded intro scene or lengthy tutorial either.
Instead, the game trusts its player and steadily introduces different characters through the plot itself, which is driven by dialogue rather than some chilling narration.
While some people probably just skip all the speech bubbles, I really liked this way of telling. It kind of sticks to the “show-not tell” philosophy.
A majority of the game’s characters also have different personalities. Take for example Pearl and Almond. Pearl is shy and nervous, determined by her inability to pass the entrance exam to become a Post Knight.
Almond, on the other hand, is ambitious and somewhat overconfident. Both are charming in their own way.
Even the innkeepers, merchants, blacksmiths and alchemists of each city have their own characterization.
Some characters, such as Pearl, are also interactive, and players can increase their friendship levels with them by giving gifts. However, there is a cool down time.
I genuinely enjoy figuring out what gifts each character likes through trial and error. We are also allowed to receive gifts from them, although I wouldn’t really say it’s a fair exchange. Oh well.
A good pace and well organized game
Overall, I appreciated the obvious motivator for our character, which is the desire to become an S-ranked postknight.
But while that goal is the overarching theme of the game, and players have to intentionally complete certain tasks and tests in order to move up the ranks, the smaller arcs limited to each city or village you’re in really advance us on our journey. . .
Another big factor I liked about the game was the excellent pace.
Aside from the plot or the way characters and game mechanics are introduced, this is best perceived in terms of difficulty.
While the game isn’t hard to beat, the difficulty increases noticeably, encouraging players to fully utilize the game to improve the stats and gear as needed.
Speaking of stats and gear, the way the levels work in this game is just *cook kiss*. It’s one of those games where you get a certain number of points when you level up, and you can choose which stats you want to improve.
There are four categories you can boost: strength, agility, intelligence and vitality. Strength and agility are quite basic while intelligence increases healing ability and vitality increases maximum HP.
When I say that the game is clear, I am mainly talking about the user experience (UX). The way you access your stats, profile, achievements, areas and all the different elements is so simple yet structured in such an aesthetically and functionally pleasing way. Basically they just make sense.
Not just a mindless clicker game
While the game’s combat mechanics may seem nonsensical at first, with the way it performs as a runner game that automatically hits enemies, it’s much more than that. I would even go so far as to say that there is a strategy involved.
The combat of the game consists of three parts: attack, defend and recover. The recovery element is particularly interesting, as I initially thought players would have to brew potions and have a limited amount of healing potions to use in combat.
However, having essentially unlimited healing abilities is not as OP as it sounds. There is a cooldown and some enemies can basically make you combos so you can’t block or attack.
The weapon categories also play out quite differently. There are three types of weapons: sword and shield, two-handed daggers and two-handed hammers (also known as heavy weapons). The last two weapons can both attack and defend.
Each location has its own sets, with each location’s weapons being better than the last. The sets include weapons, armor and helmets (ie helmets). Fully equipping the sets will also give you a bonus, such as extra healing, higher critical damage, and more.
My weapon of choice is the Heavy Weapon, which is quite surprising because I usually prefer swords or faster weapons in games.
I also liked how diverse the different enemies act. Virtually all enemies function differently, so they actually have a reason to exist.
You also don’t have to worry about running out of content in the game. In addition to completing your daily missions in the Prism Pass, players can also focus on climbing the Postknight hierarchy (C, B, A, S, in ascending order), which isn’t as easy as it sounds.
To do that, you need to earn enough tokens by completing delivery missions that are refreshed every few hours and meet the other criteria listed. Once that’s done, you’ll need to go to Postknight HQ and take a test.
It took me more than five attempts to rise to rank B, and it took me patrols to get enough material to upgrade my weapon and equipment.
After you progress to rank B, you also gain access to three divisions: Pyrodash, Neverwhisk, and Etherdawn. After joining, you gain access to the divisional bounties, where you must defeat a certain number of a certain enemy to get division tokens that can be exchanged for equipment.
I accidentally joined the first one that showed up, which is the Pyrodash division. I could still quit the division, but right now I’m too invested. Pyrodashers unite!
The epitome of a good mobile game
Perhaps most importantly, the game has a fast recovery time, which means you can play the game continuously. If you die on a level, you may have to wait a few seconds for your health to be fully replenished, but it’s honestly no problem at all.
As for the quick recovery time, I think Postknight 2 was made by people who not only understand what the audience wants, but also take it into account.
Postknight 2 is a game that you can fully experience even if you’re a free-to-play gamer, and it never really shows predatory behavior in terms of signing up or doing microtransactions to get the most out of the game.
I think this is further demonstrated by how Kurechii values his fans. Take the recent updates as an example.
This game is perfect for those looking for something light, fun and interesting. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it immersive, but the world-building is wonderful nonetheless.
At the time of writing, I am still a B-rank post knight completing my work in Caldemount, the capital of Kurestal. But hopefully I can visit neighboring country Quivtol before the 1.4 update comes out in September.
- Read more about Postknight 2 here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about gaming here.
Featured Image Credits: Postknight 2
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