(AfroGamers.com) Every day, I’m looking at my phone and going through which games to keep and which ones to drop. Then I head to Google Play to find something else to play. It’s why my phone is rarely below 89-percent space. Well, it’s half the reason.
One game that stays on my phone is the 2D tactical RPG, Cyber Knights by the Trese Brothers. I couldn’t tell you exactly how many brothers there are but they handle the artwork and the development for the game. It came out some years ago and is one of the team’s first RPGs and personally I feel it’s their best work.
Cyber Knights or “How to Do A Mobile RPG Right”
So, what makes Cyber Knights so special? For one thing, it’s the setting. Most RPGs on mobile are fantasy-oriented. The ones that are sci-fi-based tend to be more space opera or puts you in the role of a starship captain—surprise, the Trese Brothers did one of those 
as well.
This one is a cyberpunk RPG. When I saw the artwork—which has gotten better with the more games released—I was like “Ehh, alright.” Then I read the description and it read like Shadowrun from the SNES and Sega Genesis only tactical. Pretty much, it’s a 2D version of the current Shadowrun games form Harebrained Schemes.
If you play the main story, you’ll be in the role of a pretty stock protagonist who works as a runner. These folks do any job from espionage to hits to escorting a client from one sector to the next. The main story isn’t how you’re supposed to play the game, it works as an extended tutorial that bleeds over into you just playing the game as this default character.
Now, the real game kicks in with you selecting anyone but the first person—although I guess you can with the first person as well. I tend to use the melee character who can’t use guns and has to be armed with clubs and gloves. I’ve always played that kind of character. In the Fallout games I walk around like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star punching everything and anything, so it works for me.
That said, there’s just enough story here to throw you into this post-apocalyptic, grim version of Boston and lets you run wild.
Gameplay
There’s a lot going on gameplay-wise. You have gain experience through combat and completing missions, and you need to go to particular bars where you can rent a room to allocate points for everyone in your party. Oh, you also have to hire mercenaries to join you but some will join you if you save them on the streets of Boston. They will develop a loyalty to you over time and will be easier to hire.
This 2217-version of Boston has been divided into sectors and each sector is ran by a different faction. It’s a common theme in most of the Trese Brothers’ grid/map overworld games—the factions, that is. Doing missions for a faction will raise your friendliness with that group and you can even get promotions and perks.
These factions have volatile relationships with each other so expect to run into trouble doing missions if they ever start feuding. One group might assign a mission that takes you from one end of the city to the other but you have to cross through enemy territory.
Sometimes, these factions will block off taxi travel meaning you have to go by foot which could result in a failed mission if you don’t get there in time. Being aligned with a faction gives you some perks such as more pay for jobs, more difficult jobs, and access to weapons only sold within their territory.
Again, there’s a lot going on just there. You’re also able to get enhancements for your runners. The more you get, the more capable you’ll be to handle the rough life of a runner but it strips away your character’s humanity and pushes them closer to being a machine.
I won’t say this is a simple RPG at all, it won’t get extremely complex but this isn’t an idle RPG or anything. There’s a free-to-play version which has some characters locked but there are no ads in the free version and nothing to pay-to-win.
Cyber Knights is just an RPG that you can play for hours at a time and might drive you to get the Elite version. If you love cyberpunk or enjoyed playing Shadowrun, snatch up this title.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.