Iron Knights

Iron Knights is an action RPG that can't decide if it wants to be a hack-n-slasher or a card-collector, and ends up managing to not quite pull off either trick.

So how come I can't seem to get it out of my head?

One thing Iron Knights gets right is its bombastic special moves. Even the basic abilities you'll unlock within the first half hour of adventuring are impressively flashy, and they have a satisfying feeling of impact.

It also tosses in something akin to a collectible card game, but the cards are actually creatures, characters, and pieces of equipment. Each can be upgraded to create a more powerful deck.

You'll be adding these other characters you've earned to your party, where they'll help you lay the smackdown with surprising effectiveness. You can also equip them with extra gear, although you'll probably want to keep the best stuff for yourself.

As flashy as Iron Knights can be, it can also feel like you're playing on auto-pilot at times. Especially when you enable the Auto Battle mode in previously-cleared levels and your character does all the work for you. That said it can be a decent way to remove the sting from all that grinding.

Energy timers that limit the amount of times you can go kill stuff before taking a break are also a bummer. Thankfully you also have the option to take part in special challenge dungeons and in player-versus-player combat using a separate (and limited) energy system of sorts, which definitely helps to pass the time.

On the surface - and even a little beneath it - Iron Knights seems like a decent if unremarkable action RPG. And yet I find myself anxiously waiting for my energy to refill so I can get back to it.

I can't promise it'll have the same effect on you, but if you enjoy action-heavy dungeon crawls it's certainly worth a look.