Bahnsen Knights takes place in the late 1980s, the same world as Varney Lake and Mothmen 1966. However, this one feels different from the other games. It is less grounded in myth and legend and seems to adopt some religious cults that popped up in the 1960s, 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
It is an interesting idea. Taking parts of religious cults and mixing them with this world where myth and legend exist. I still like the story of Varney Lake a bit more. Bahnsen Knights has better puzzles, though.
This game didn’t have the multiple points of view that I liked from the other two games. We’re following Boulder through this game. He is fine, and his character is better developed, but I would’ve liked to hear from someone else.
TLDR: Bahnsen Knights is the best-looking of the three games but is lacking in the story.
Narrative
Bahnsen Knights has the most straightforward story of the three games. It is about a religious cult led by a crazy person. The game has some parallels to real-world cults, which is pretty awesome.
There is only one perspective in this game. It differs greatly from the others, but Bahnsen Knights wouldn’t work with several perspectives. While I found it disappointing, I couldn’t think of another character I would like to hear from.
The main story is about Boulder. This isn’t his real name because he is undercover. He works for “the Agency” and is trying to find evidence of the Bahnsen Knights’s criminal activity. Psychopaths and killers surround him. It is also heavily implied that Toni knows that Bounder is a traitor.
Here are the good and bad characters in the game:
Good
- Boulder – Our main character.
- Cupra – Boulder’s Partner. He was investigating Toni first and was killed by the organization.
- Kevin – A friendly bartender.
- Lou – The writer from the previous games. He was asked to write a book about Toni or something like that. It isn’t explained.
Bad
- Toni – Cult leader.
- Vincent – A crazy person
- Lucca – A crazy person
- Keith – A crazy person
- Monica – Toni’s right hand. She can fly a helicopter.
The other characters are just there, aside from Boulder. It might be my fault for not fully exploring the game, but I didn’t see too many opportunities to do so; I spent most of the time with Boulder and Kevin.
The only connection to the other two games is the introduction of Lou. I believe the goat-man is in this game, but I didn’t see any dialogue from him. Lou doesn’t do much aside from almost dying. With how front and center Lou was in the other games, it is strange that he plays such a minor role.
Toni leads a religious cult in an area of the United States of America that seems to be perpetually having F5 Tornados. It is a little strange. The tornados are the cause of all this, as they broke Toni and turned him into a cult leader.
The story is fine. It is more straightforward than the other two, and the supernatural aspects are mainly nonexistent. A lot of the characters who could be interesting are just there. This is a game I might want to play again to see what I missed.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fine for a point-and-click adventure game or a visual novel. You’re watching a story unfold and in control of the dialogue. At some points in the game, you can play mini-games and solve some simple puzzles. The game isn’t hard at all.
The puzzles and mini-games are okay. Many of them are simple quick-time-events and puzzles where you avoid obstacles. It isn’t anything amazing, and most of what you’re doing is selecting dialogue options.
You have some control over how much of the story you see. You can choose who you talk to, who to ignore, and what you want to say. However, like some puzzles and quick-time events, you can reach a fail state where you’ll have to start over.
This happened to me a lot with the last puzzle in the game. You’re supposed to jump out of a helicopter, but it isn’t entirely clear when. It was mostly trial and error for me, but the solution was to jump out when the screen looked blue. You’re aiming for water.
Like the other games in this series, there is a card game/solitaire game that you can play. It’s okay, but this one has some overly complicated rules. I think I like the game in Mothmen 1966 more.
There is something odd with this game. There is this seven-bar thing that, I guess, can impact how people talk to you. I like the idea, but I don’t care about it. I could see how it would change the story.
I do like the gameplay. The puzzles and mini-games aren’t as much fun as the ones in the other two games. It is also a little disappointing that there is only one POV. There is a connection with the previous two games, but it is minimal.
Visuals
This game has the same graphics style as the previous games but uses a different color palette: Bahnsen Knights uses red, pink, and purple. It looks really cool!
I think this is the most stylish-looking of the three games. I love the colors used, and the images are fantastic. It doesn’t have the same creepy images, but it has some that are menacing.
There was one moment when the graphics impacted the gameplay. The final scene takes place in a helicopter. You have to jump out of it and land in a lake. You’re given the hint “Forest, Dirt…WATER!” You need to land in the water; timing it right can take some time. Thankfully, you have unlimited continues.
I love the graphics in this game. However, near the end, the images start to look creepy, especially when it is clear that Toni has gone off the deep end. The graphics can sometimes impact the gameplay, but it is rare.
8/10. This is a great game, but I liked the other two better. Bahnsen has the best graphics and puzzles, but the story isn’t as good as Varney Lake.
Pros
- Easy
- Great Graphics
Cons
- Short
- Not much connecting it to the other two games
Conclusion
This was an odd one for me. In some ways, it is better than the other two games, but it lacks some of the things I like from Mothmen 1966 and Varney Lake. It doesn’t have the supernatural stuff in it, and there is only one point of view.
The graphics were my favorite part of this game. The gameplay is fine, and the story is all right. There is just something about it that I don’t like. The puzzles and mini-games aren’t as good as Varney Lake, and the visuals aren’t as good as Mothmen 1966.
Bahnsen Knights is the third-best game in this trilogy. It is a great game with a very good story, but a few things bugged me. Mostly, the lack of multiple POVs and the abandonment of anything paranormal bothered me.