Nonstop Knight review, tips and tricks (iOS/Android)

Our Nonstop Knight game review and guide takes a closer look at this ‘Action RPG for lazy buggers’, and gives you beginner’s tips and tricks to get started with the game.

Nonstop Knight game review (iOS/Android)

We went into Nonstop Knight knowing very little about the game, but hoping for a simple, cartoony Diablo clone. As it turns out, this game is even more stripped-back than we expected. In fact, Nonstop Knight does most of the ‘work’ for you, to the point that you can basically leave the game alone and when you come back a few hours later, you’ll have made significant progress. If only life was more like that, eh?

For a start, you don’t actually have control over your little knight fella’s movements. He sprints through each dungeon himself, running straight up to any monsters he encounters before automatically hacking away at them with his weapon. The only direct control you have is the knight’s special abilities, which appear in the form of buttons at the bottom of the screen.

You start with just a pair of simple powers (leap and whirl), which help to batter crowds of gribblies when things get a little serious. With a bit of experience you quickly unlock bigger and better abilities of course, such as a handy power which temporarily clones you. Each ability has a cool down period, so you can’t just constantly hammer them; you’ll need to bust them out when the time is just right. And you can also improve your powers using collectible runes, adding extra damage and so on.

When you reckon you’re strong enough, you can choose to take on the level’s boss with a tap of the upper bar. These fights involve no real tactics or strategy; you just hit each other until one of you dies. If victory is yours then you get a new piece of equipment, and the game continues.

As you progress through the game you’ll earn buckets of cash, which can be spent on upgrading your armor, cloak and weaponry. Only one piece of each can be equipped at any one time, so again this side of Nonstop Knight is incredibly basic when compared with rivals. As loot lovers, we were hoping for a full costume to collect and upgrade.

The lack of direct control and its impact on exploration results in rather samey gameplay that’s best played in short bursts, so Nonstop Knight definitely suits its mobile platform. If you’re looking for a dinky Diablo clone then prepare to be disappointed, but if you want a simple and silly action title to kill a few minutes while you wait for your bus, then this game certainly ticks the boxes.

Nonstop Knight tips and tricks

• If you want to challenge the boss but the fight is currently listed as ‘impossible’ or ‘very hard’, then stay clear for now. You’ll certainly be wiped out and end up having to waste valuable revive potions. Instead, try upgrading your current best equipment, which boosts your attack and defence ratings. The listing should eventually drop to ‘hard’ (at which point the boss is killable, but you might still lose a potion) and finally ‘ready’.
• The Nonstop Knight shop is a great place to stock up on revive potions (check back every day to get freebies by watching a quick ad). However, you can also buy instant knight upgrades, which adds an attack bonus, defence bonus or coin gain to your knight’s stats.

• Rather than wasting real cash on gems, simply turn off the game and let your knight gather a pot of gold by himself. When the game is hibernating, your knight is still fighting away in the background, earning you cash and advancing through floors. You’ll only need to get involved to beat the bosses, otherwise you’ll not get the chance to claim a chest. By turning on notifications, you can make sure the game alerts you when a boss fight is coming. And don’t worry, you don’t seem to be able to die when the game is hibernating.
• Don’t forget to upgrade your special powers whenever you get a new rune. Head to the Skills menu and you may notice a gold cross in the top right corner of one or more of your powers. Give the icon a tap and you’ll be taken to the rune menu, which shows you all available runes and describes their bonuses. For instance, you may get a rune which adds fire damage to your attack, or reduces the power’s cool down period.

Got any top Nonstop Knight tips, tricks or cheats of your own? Let us know in the comments below.