Knights of the Ether

Knights of the Ether is a browser-based deck-building roguelike that challenges players with an unpredictable adventure, combining strategy and luck in a dynamic way. Players take on the role of a villager, a blessed villager, or a knight, each with unique health pools. The game unfolds on a procedurally generated map, though special events occasionally introduce a fixed map that all players tackle on a daily rotation.

Scattered across the map are various icons representing battles and key points of interest crucial to progression. These include standard battles, elite battles, shrines, and mysteries, each offering unique challenges and rewards that shape the journey ahead.

Gameplay

The gameplay revolves around procedurally generated dungeon runs, where your Villager or Knight attempts to clear each stage. At the start of a run, you’re typically given gold, which can be used in the next encounter—the deck-building stage. Here, you choose from various cards, trinkets, and buffs that will aid you in battle. Strategically building a balanced deck that complements itself is a core gameplay element, as encounters incorporate both strategy and a luck factor, similar to other roguelikes.

As you progress through the map, you’ll face waves of enemies until you reach the stage boss, which serves as the main objective of each run. The gameplay in Knights of the Ether is fairly straightforward—your character usually starts with three energy points per turn, which can be spent to activate card effects. These effects range from dealing direct damage to a chosen enemy to attacking random targets, as well as applying buffs or debuffs. Status effects are visually represented by icons, making them easy to identify during battle

After your turn, enemies will attack, and this cycle continues until you either defeat all enemies or your character dies, ending the run. Along the way, you can pick up potions that provide crucial assistance. The game features significant difficulty spikes between normal and elite battles, and each monster’s moves are telegraphed through visual cues, such as shield icons for defensive actions. This helps with tactical planning and reduces uncertainty. However, keeping an eye on your health is crucial—reaching zero HP results in a game over and a fresh start with a new map.

Unlike many other games, Knights of the Ether does not automatically regenerate health between battles, adding both intensity and strategic depth. If you sustain heavy damage in one encounter, you carry it into the next unless you use a health potion or find a shrine. Shrines offer valuable choices, allowing you to upgrade cards—enhancing attack power, reducing action point costs, or increasing buff effects—or rest to recover some health. During your journey, you may encounter shops where you can spend gold earned from battles to buy new cards, items, or potions. Mystery encounters add more variety, sometimes offering buffs at the cost of health or presenting unique trade opportunities.

This core dungeon-run gameplay is the foundation of Knights of the Ether, but the game offers additional depth through its character system. Players can choose between Villagers and Knights as their characters, with Knights having superior base stats and perks. These characters can be continuously improved by acquiring rare gear during runs, enhancing their overall stats. Eventually, players can initiate their character upon collecting the maximum amount of gear. Initiation is the process of equipping a Knight or an Initiated Villager with full gear and minting them as a new modular NFT. To initiate, all 10 gear slots in the armory must be filled, making character and gear progression an essential part of the game.

Despite the occasional bullet-sponge enemies and some overpowered foes that slightly disrupt game balance, Knights of the Ether delivers a compelling and engaging experience. The ever-changing maps and enemy encounters keep gameplay fresh, even after multiple runs. I spent several weeks playing 2 to 8 maps daily and remained consistently entertained.

Review

Knights of the Ether doesn’t have the most outstanding graphics, but for this type of game, visuals aren’t the most important factor. There are some minor animation bugs, and selecting which enemy to attack can feel a bit clunky at times. However, the game deserves credit for its visual clarity—card effects and status conditions are easy to understand by simply hovering over them, making it simple to track their impact. Most of the time, you can predict an enemy’s next move thanks to visual indicators displayed a turn in advance. While this helps with strategic planning, it does take away some of the thrill of unexpected encounters. The sound effects are fairly average but serviceable.

The combination of roguelike mechanics and deck-building isn’t new (Slay the Spire and Shogun’s Curse have done it before), so Knights of the Ether doesn’t necessarily break new ground. That said, it still delivers a solid gameplay experience with a decent variety of cards, monsters, and a well-designed gameplay loop.

Enjoyment of the game ultimately depends on the type of player. It caters to strategy-focused gamers and theory-crafters who enjoy optimizing builds, grinding for the best gear, and refining their characters. While it’s a good game, updates have been sparse over the past year, and the limited pool of cards and trinkets can make it feel repetitive over time. Still, for fans of the genre, Knights of the Ether remains a worthwhile experience.