Reviewed on the PS4
Black Clover Quartet Knights is a third party magical shooter based off the anime, Black Clover. I'll admit, I didn't know the first thing about the show, so I came into it with absolutely zero expectations. With my experience with anime-based games that I never heard about, the experience was usually a let down; I had no idea what to expect with this game.
So I fired it up and jumped straight into the story mode.
Graphics
The first thing I noticed was that the presentation itself wasn't the best. Fonts looked weird and cheap-ish, if that makes sense. The menus look like they were made for the PS Vita, and the same can be said about the character models and the environments. Right off the bat, it's not off to a good start.
In the story mode, the plot was unfolded for you by showing scenes from the anime (or what I assume are from the anime) and the very old school Japanese style talking 2D still drawings. I was not a fan.
It generally looked like even if it were published 8 years ago, it still would've looked just "okay." Good thing the effects were pretty fun to look at.
I hope you can get over how it looks because it's no way indicative of the way it plays.
Game modes
Jumping into the story mode, I immediately knew it wasn't going to hold my attention for very long. The animation and the talking heads was going to make my experience a slog. The single player experience was equally frustratingly simple, with its length artificially extended by asking you to complete the same missions under different circumstances. Sure, it'd be good to add a few new challenges to keep things fresh but you'll ultimately be experiencing the same thing over and over if you wanna complete everything.
It eventually dawned on me that the story mode was merely a tutorial for the actual meat of this game - the multiplayer.
When I started up the multiplayer, it finally clicked.
"OK. This game is fun" I actually said out loud to myself.
There are essentially four classes (sort of like Overwatch but not really) - shooter, fighter, healer, and support. A shooter is a long-range DPS character. A fighter is a little tankier and deals melee damage. The healer heals while the support gives buffs and debuffs.
I didn't like the melee combat too much so I found myself gravitating towards the shooter, healer, and support roles a little more.
The very first game I joined, there were 3 actual human beings who played with me. Thankfully, if you don't get a full lobby, the other players are filled with bots. It was actually really fun.
Unfortunately, after this game, I never got into another lobby with other human beings. I always ended up playing against AI, no matter the time of day.
In terms of game modes, I saw something like Paladin's escort mission, a CTF-like game mode, and a control game mode. I'm not sure if there are more, but those were the ones I played. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually, come to think of it, the gameplay reminds me of Paladins a LOT. Maybe it's the magic themes or just the way the powers worked and the characters moved, but it had a very 3rd person Paladins-vibe.
A lot of the elements were lifted from popular class-based multiplayer shooters like Overwatch. Instead of a play of the game, there's an MVP of the game. Plus you get to vote for your team mates after each match.
My favorite characters to use were Vanessa and Noelle because they were good support and healer characters respectively.
Nope. No other reason.
Yeah, no other reason.
All in all
Graphics are not great. Story mode is boring af. But the multiplayer is REALLY REALLY fun. Problem is there's barely anyone playing. I think if just more people got a hold of this game, it would build a niche community. Can it rival the likes of Paladins or Overwatch or even Fortnite? No, I don't think so, but it's a good option for anime fans.
Maybe one day, it'll go f2p and they make money off skins. Maybe then, it'd do better.
6.2Overall5Presentation7.5Gameplay6Value