For those unfamiliar with The Seven Deadly Sins, let's start with a quick summary of the story first. The action takes place in Britannia, in the kingdom of Liones, where we follow the adventures of Elizabeth Liones who goes in search of the Seven Deadly Sins, a group of seven knights chosen by the king personally. Driven out of the kingdom ten years earlier, they will have to return to Britannia to thwart a plot organized by the Holy Knights, a group of soldiers supposed to protect the king and his subjects. So much for the starting postulate which remains altogether classic for a shonen of the genre. Young girls with large breasts are obviously in the game, but it is above all the dantesque fights offered by the manga that have made The Seven Deadly Sins one of the most popular shonens of recent years. What could be more normal then to see the latter land on PS4 with The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia?
A FAITHFUL BUT BORING SCENARIO
Let's attack without further delay by the main game mode, and one of the only ones, of The Seven Deadly Sins Knights of Britannia: the Adventure mode. The latter retraces the events of the first season of the anime step by step (with some sequences taken from the second season currently broadcast) and allows us to relive the most important fights of the manga. As in the original work you will have to move on the back of Mama Hawk, a giant pig that serves as a structure for the tavern of Meliodas, the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins. During your journey through the Kingdom of Liones, you will have to face enemies or carry out side missions that will allow you to make the locals talk. The latter taking advantage of the joys of the tavern, they will tell you all the rumors of the moment which will allow you to spot the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins while discovering what is happening on the side of the Sacred Knights. Natsume Atari's fighting game then takes on the false air of RPG by offering a multitude of side and side quests that will allow you to progress in the adventure while recovering consumables. These will then be used to make objects that you can equip on your fighters so that they benefit from significant bonuses.
In fact, the Adventure mode follows the scenario of the manga to the letter. A good point for all amateurs who are always picky about these details. Nevertheless, we always have the impression that the teams of the game have contented themselves with the minimum. Starting with the cutscenes which are boring to death. The latter, made with the game engine, are content to bring together the key characters of a chapter so that they discuss together and advance the plot. If we recognize all the characters (who enjoy excellent modeling) they remain static, regardless of the situation. Don't expect to see some stylish cutscenes with action galore. Here the cutscenes just serve to provide you with the necessary elements to understand the story. Well almost, since the game sometimes takes a few shortcuts that obscure certain key passages of the plot. If players who have followed the manga will have no trouble completing the missing bits, neophytes may be completely lost. Clearly, The Seven Deadly Sins Knights of Britannia is a game aimed at fans who especially want to be able to fight with their favorite characters.
SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE FIGHTS
Fortunately, the Adventure mode is not content with a few cutscenes, and you will have to fight to progress. Once again, Natsume Atari kept things simple with easy-to-access gameplay. The Square key lets you unleash weak but quick attacks while the Triangle key lets you strike a powerful blow at the opponent. Finally, the Circle key allows you to use ranged attacks. You will also be able to trigger special attacks by pressing the R1+Square, Circle or Triangle keys while the R2 key allows you to use a character's ultimate attack (once the special gauge is fully filled) . In addition, the 25 fighters on the roster are divided into three categories: speed, power and magic. Each class has strengths and weaknesses that add a strategic side to the fights (especially in 2vs2), even if basically you can overcome any opponent without really worrying about your character category.
As you will have understood, no need to be a god of fighting games to master the gameplay of The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia. Nevertheless, the latter manages to offer us rather nice games that perfectly transcribe the feeling of power released by the characters of the game. A feeling reinforced by the possibility of destroying all the buildings that are in our path. Quick movements (dash and instantaneous movement) make it possible to energize the fights and each hero is entitled to his most cult moves. If the title of Bandai Namco does not revolutionize the genre, it does its job on this point. On the other hand, we can rail against the presence of traps to be triggered during the fights. If the latter inflict significant damage, they often end up coming back to us in the face. Their use is anarchic and after a few unsuccessful attempts we ended up doing without them without regret.
THE FARMING DEMON
Only small downside, to be able to unlock all the characters of the roster, you will have to complete the Adventure mode (not 100% but almost). The latter with more than a hundred quests, you can imagine that you will have to constantly chain the fights, even if it means being disgusted with the game even before the end of Adventure mode. And that is the problem. If the developers have of course added a few different game phases, such as gathering with Elizabeth or fighting against the red demons, they quickly ended up going in circles. The clashes are often too simple, just like the other missions which will require you to stupidly press a few buttons. Certain phases in musô mode, where you have to eliminate a certain number of enemies in the allotted time, add a little spice to the game but once again the formula quickly shows its limits. After a few hours of play, the frustration is felt and it feels like going around in circles for not much. Admittedly, the Adventure mode will keep you busy for several hours, but prepare to be bored. The height of all this is that of the 25 characters present in the roster, a good part of them are versions of Méliodas or Hendrickson (the main antagonist of the game). Many galleys, therefore, for not much.
GREED, THE MAIN SIN OF THE GAME
The finding is all the more heartbreaking when we look at the Duel mode. Again, you will have to settle for the minimum. In offline mode, you can face the computer or a friend (in 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2) while the online mode allows you to face players from all over the world. You can also carry out co-op missions with them (simple 2 vs 2 fights), but again the player is quite limited in his choices. Given the rickety content of the online mode, there is a good chance that the latter will be deserted quickly. On the other hand, the servers are more than stable and we did not find any problems during our online games. A good point which, unfortunately, will not be enough to make us forget everything else. In the end, we have the impression that Natsume Atari and Bandai Namco have not really sprained each other. It's a shame, especially since the game is far from ugly. On PS4 Pro, it runs at 60fps without ever flinching and the visual effects are quite pleasing to the eye, even if a huge banner announcing your attack somewhat spoils the action. The characters are carefully modeled and even if it looks like a slightly prettier PS3 game, The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia will satisfy the most indulgent fans.
