The Knight Witch, the newest release from Super Mega Team and published by Team 17, is a shoot ‘em up-styleMetroidvania experience. In it, a young girl by the name of Reyna, who sadly wasn’t “strong enough” to be part of the Knight Witches originally, now has her chance after a new threat resurfaces to threaten the lives of everyone in Dungeonidas.
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The Knight Witchis a pretty challenging game, as it asks its players to micro-manage a Spell Card system, their mana, their health, and of course the enemies on screen all at once. With all those things to keep track of, it’s easy for people to make some common mistakes, and here are some of the biggest ones to avoid.
8Don’t Watch Only The Bullets
First up, one of the biggest mistakes to avoid inThe Knight Witchis treating it like a standard shoot ‘em up. This game is very much a blend of multiple genres that obviously inspired the devs (along with many others). But, sadly,its shoot ‘em up aspectshave been the source of many of the game’s minor complaints. Basically, Reyna’s hitbox for bullets is an incredibly odd shape given her silhouette contrary to most shoot ‘em ups where the player character is basically a small square hitbox.
Additionally, the bullet speed in comparison to Reyna’s flight speed is just slow enough to make moving between projectiles difficult. So, it’s much more important to keep an eye on Reyna at all times and react to the bullets just about to hit her than it is to try and move into perfect positioning ahead of time.
7Don’t Focus On The Spell Card System Too Much
WhileKnight Witch’sSpell Card system is unique, interesting, and ambitious, it does have its fair share of problems that’ll be covered a bit further down on this list. But, the main mistake players seem to be making early is focusing on the Spell Card System a bit too much.
Yes, using interesting spells to clear waves of enemies is fun, but worrying too much about what spell is coming up next, how the rotation works, or how much mana Reyna needs usually just leads to players not paying enough attention to the game in front of them. Thankfully, worst-case scenario, players who are still overwhelmedcan use the Cheat System.
6Stubbornly Refusing To Rebind Spells
By default, Reyna’s first, second, and third Spells are set to 1, 2, and 3 on the keyboard; alternatively, they are mapped to X, Y, and B on a standard Xbox controller. Now, while these inputs don’t sound awkward, remember that players will need to be pressing them pretty often during combat while also aiming with their mouse (or analog stick).
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So, one of the easiest mistakes players are making is not re-binding these inputs. For example, setting them to different mouse buttons (if applicable) or to the bumpers/triggers on a controller.
5The Underbaker’s Cupcakes Are Sort Of Useless
This next mistake might be something fixed in a future update for the game, but currently, there’s just no reason to use the Underbaker’s Cupcakes. The majority of the time there’s a Beacon right next to the shop, and when Reyna interacts with these she heals up to full anyway. So, why should she spend precious Energy Shards on a heal when there’s a free one right outside?
Additionally, players seem to be worrying about the Armor section of this shop a bit too much too. Yes, more Armor is unlocked the more recipes Reyna collects, but considering it’s just a one-time shield, Reyna is usually better off spending that currency elsewhere for more permanent upgrades. Other than right before a difficult Ambush or on a boss fight re-attempt, there’s not much of a reason to use them, even if they’re cheap.
4Getting Overwhelmed By The Spell Card UI
And for the last mistake related to the Spell Cards, there are a lot of players misunderstanding how to read the information provided by the Spell Card graphics. The cards have numbers, Roman numerals, and rotate together in a specific order. Because of all this info that can be hard to parse at a glance during combat, players often confuse the Roman numerals for the mana cost of the spell or the order in which that spell is in the rotation.
But, in actuality, the numerals refer to the input pressed to use the spell (AKA Spell Input 1, 2, and 3), the numbers refer to the mana cost, and players are supposed to remember the order their cards are placed in their Spell Deck, usually through repeated use or in the Training Area accessible through the Beacons.
3Watch The Cutscenes, They’re Worth It
While a lot of these mistakes feel like small digs atThe Knight Witch’squality, that’s absolutely not the intention. This game is visually stunning, incredibly ambitious, and has been overall positively received by the gaming community.
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And, one exceptionally great part of the game that people seem to be missing out on is the story itself. While there are some aspects ofThe Knight Witch’snarrative thatpeople aren’t huge fans of a bit later on, that’s only a small portion of a very wide story. Reyna’s underdog story, her relationship with her husband, the general setting of the story, and the mystery behind the Knight Witches, in general, are all very well done and absolutelynail the “storybook feel” the devs were going for.
2Don’t Expect A Dash Right Off The Bat
After playing through the prologue of theKnight Witchas Robyn, it’s understandable that players are a bit confused by their sudden limited mobility as Reyna. Robyn has a dash that made the game feel much faster as a result, and Reyna doesn’t, at least not right away.
So, a common mistake people seem to be making is spending their first few hours with the game trying to figure out how to use Dash, searching around for the Dash upgrade, or thinking that they need to reach a certain level to unlock it. Don’t do this, it’ll just make the game feel like a slog. Instead, just know that it comes not long after Reyna returns to the castle through the teleporter.
1Being Confused By The Default Crosshair
And lastly, let’s end things on a gameplay aspect ofThe Knight Witch. By default, the crosshair that Reyna starts with for her magic bullets is a bit confusing. There are two separate circles or crosshairs, one that players can move anywhere and one that seems to move back and forth along a line connected to the first crosshair.
And, while this crosshair can be useful when using Spell Cards unlocked later in the game, for the most part, it just makes a simple aspect of the game more complicated. Thankfully, there’s an option to disable it if needed, which many players don’t seem to be aware of.The Knight Witch, in particular,is a very accessible game, so it’s nice that they even have extra options like this on top of it.
The Knight Witchwas released on May 22, 2025, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
