Final Impressions: Black Knight Sword of Rage and CIDERCADE Dallas

Cary Hardy·video·15m 5s·analyzed·Jun 17, 2019

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Kerry Hardy: BKSOR is brutal, exhausting, well-designed but upper playfield needs more depth; LE version does game justice.

Summary

Kerry Hardy provides final impressions of Black Knight Sword of Rage after extended play at CIDERCADE Dallas, comparing the experience to her earlier first-impressions video. She found the game exhausting and fast-paced with well-executed mechanics, but remains concerned about upper playfield design lacking depth, Lexan degradation issues, and specific mechanical problems like balls getting stuck under the upper flipper. Hardy concludes the game excels for players seeking intense, demanding gameplay but may not suit casual players.

Key Claims

Upper playfield Lexan already shows fogginess after location play despite initial concerns
high confidence · Kerry observed visible haze on Lexan material after extensive play on the location machine and discussed potential buffing solutions (Novus 1/2)
Upper playfield gameplay feels clanky with insufficient content, requiring forward nudging to keep ball in play
high confidence · Kerry describes upper playfield as lacking meaningful gameplay; notes brother's experience where game entered ball search mode due to no targets being hit
Ball can become stuck under upper flipper bat when flipper is resting position due to metal forming
high confidence · Kerry observed this happen repeatedly on the location machine after seeing Facebook post; has footage documenting the issue
Missing rubber post left of catapult entrance increases clanky feel when missing catapult shots
high confidence · Kerry specifically noted the missing rubber on the location machine and correlated it with increased clanky gameplay
Game is exhausting and demands constant focus; not suitable for casual, laid-back play
high confidence · Kerry emphasizes multiple times the game keeps players 'on your toes' with frantic music and fast ball speed; contrasts with relaxed play styles
Best score achieved was $35-45 million on first play; concerned she would have spent significant money without free play location
high confidence · Kerry shares specific scoring experience and acknowledges limited time on machine affects her assessment
Steve Ritchie's voice acting sounds too much like his natural voice rather than a distinct character
medium confidence · Kerry wishes voice was modulated more, compares to Ritchie's Shao Kahn voice in Mortal Kombat as example of better modulation
Limited Edition version does Black Knight justice; has not played Pro version
high confidence · Kerry explicitly states she only has LE experience and makes point of noting she played LE not Pro

Notable Quotes

“This game is exhausting... it's not a game that you can just kind of casually play and just lean back and then hit the flipper. You have to definitely zone in and it's exhausting.”
Kerry Hardy@ 6:49 — Central characterization of the game's intensity and its core appeal/barrier for different player types
“The ball came right back down, ricochet straight down the damn middle. And it happened a lot. I would have easily dumped I don't know how much money into this damn machine.”
Kerry Hardy@ 7:43 — Describes specific mechanical issue with ball routing that impacts gameplay difficulty and player frustration
“It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be when it comes to the upper play field. I just wish there was a little bit more, like, just some drop targets.”
Kerry Hardy@ 14:14 — Final assessment showing modification of initial concerns; suggests specific design improvement (drop targets)
“Black Knight Sword of Rage is straight up your alley. If you're more of a laid-back, relaxed, have fun... then this may not be the game for you.”
Kerry Hardy@ 12:57 — Clear player demographic positioning for the game
“I have so much time on the predecessors that I'm having to calculate that into how I feel about this game. If I didn't have any knowledge of the previous Black Knights then this game would be rated even higher.”
Kerry Hardy@ 9:23 — Meta-commentary on how predecessor nostalgia affects perception; suggests inherent bias in evaluation
“I got the catapult shot down. And my brother was like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' So it became very satisfying to get that super skill shot.”

Entities

Kerry Hardyperson Steve Ritchieperson Black Knight Sword of RagegameCIDERCADE DallaslocationStern PinballcompanyShao Kahngame

Signals

~
sentiment_shift: Kerry Hardy's assessment shifts from cautious optimism based on predecessors to mixed reception after hands-on play, influenced by nostalgia bias
high · Kerry notes in first impressions she built high expectations; after playing, acknowledges upper playfield less impressive than predecessors; admits bias toward comparison
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competitive_signal: Game demands constant focus and forward nudging technique to maintain upper playfield ball control; exhausting intensity unsuitable for casual play
high · Kerry repeatedly emphasizes game requires 'zoning in'; explains forward nudge necessity to keep ball on upper flipper; contrasts with relaxed play styles
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design_philosophy: Upper playfield gameplay feels clanky and lacks meaningful engagement; insufficient content compared to predecessor Black Knight machines
high · Kerry describes upper playfield as lacking; brother's experience entering ball search mode; Kerry wishes for drop targets or more content
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community_signal: Steve Ritchie's voice acting insufficiently modulated; sounds too similar to his natural speaking voice rather than distinct character
medium · Kerry expresses wish for more modulation; references Ritchie's Shao Kahn voice work as example of better character voice differentiation
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product_strategy: Kerry only experienced Limited Edition version, not Pro version; LE is stated to 'do Black Knight justice' but specific LE-vs-Pro differentiation unclear
medium · Kerry specifically notes she played LE not Pro; saw Pro on location but didn't play it; questions about feature differences remain unaddressed

Topics

Upper playfield design limitations and mechanical issuesprimaryLexan material degradation and wear patternsprimaryGame difficulty and intensity for different player demographicsprimaryBall routing and specific mechanical problems (stuck ball under flipper)primaryVoice acting quality and character modulationsecondaryComparison to predecessor Black Knight machinessecondaryLocation arcade experience and accessibilitysecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.62)— Kerry respects the game's execution and design quality (positive on core mechanics, artwork, music, display) but has reservations about upper playfield depth, mechanical reliability issues, and whether it matches her play style. She doesn't hate it but wouldn't purchase one. Sentiment is respectfully critical.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.045

I'm tired and I've got sinuses attacking me so we're going to see how well this goes. What's going on guys and welcome back to my channel. My name is Kerry Hardy and I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you, then hit that subscribe button down below. Well I did it! I finally, finally played Black Knight's Sword of Rage and not only did I get to play a pro, I got to play the limited edition. Edition? Man, saying things weird because my damn sign is limited edition. So I'm pretty stoked that I got a chance to play that version, not just a regular Pro. In order for me to play games of this caliber, I have to make a drive down to Dallas, which is not extremely far away, but it is out of the way from where I live. So I took a trip down to the Cidercade, or better known as the Bishop Cidercade down in Dallas, where they tend to have all of the limited edition versions of new games that are out, vis-a-vis like Night Sword of Rage, the Munsters, ACDC, on and so forth. I will show some footage throughout this video showing you what they have in store. So if you live in the Metroplex area and you have not been to the Cider Cave, then by all means, check it out. I wish I lived closer to it. So why am I making this video? Well, because I made a first impressions video where I gave my thoughts and opinions and a little bit of foresight on what I believe this game was going to be like. And I think it's only fair that since mainly all of my opinions were based upon not playing the game yet, and just giving a final impression after giving it a lot of games, and seeing if my opinions either match up to what they were, or did I change my mind? So let's talk about my initial assessments whenever I first saw the game. And my first worrisome was the fact that the upper playfield seemed a little bit lacking and that it had a Lexan material, which led me to kind of be concerned about potential wear on the Lexan, making it foggy or showing really abrasions over time. um so with that being said um that still is there after putting all the time that i played on the game especially since this game was on location meaning it's getting plenty of plays i get to see what the potential of this lexan play field has and it already shows a little bit of fogginess to it. Now, I don't know if that can easily be buffed out using some Novus 1 or Novus 2. I don't know, but it does obviously show a little bit of haze on the Lexan. Then brings to the point of how I feel about the gameplay on the upper play field. I mean, my initial assessment was that it seemed very clanky and there wasn't much to do up there, and I think that's pretty much the basis of what I was you know assessing the upper playfield to be and so after my initial games my first few games it definitely felt like that but as I became more and more accustomed and learning the shots that I had on the upper playfield it became a little more interesting now granted I still believe that there is things missing on that upper playfield I kind of wish that there was a little bit more and that's because a lot of the times even though I learned the upper playfield it still felt very clinky like just hitting things and it just didn't it didn't feel like i was really accomplishing anything i want to see say even at one point um my brother was playing and he was clanking around up there and just hitting a bunch of posts and not much was going on so much so that the game actually went into ball search mode because he hadn't hit a single target or anything um which was pretty funny uh so it can be done if you've never done that then then yes it is possible to suck that bat oddly enough also the same day that i went to play this game i saw someone post up on facebook and they showed their ball stuck behind the upper plate filled flipper and the flipper bat so if you were to rest your flipper it would basically be resting on the ball and it's something to do with the way that metal is formed and i was kind of curious of how that was even possible until it happened repeatedly to me as well on this location pin now i'm not sure how that can be adjusted or fixed uh whether it be a little bit of finagling with the metal i don't know but that is definitely something that interfered with a lot of my gameplay and i have plenty of footage to show that it does that i think it did not help that on this particular machine there was even a rubber post that was missing to the left entrance of the catapult. Since the rubber was missing on that post then that was definitely much more clanky whenever I would miss my catapult shot. But I will say that whenever you get that catapult shot down it is very satisfying to get that super skill shot to feed the ball to the upper play field and then just immediately knock it into the catapult. I I was doing that so often, my brother was like, you've got to be kidding me. So it became, I got the catapult shot down. And, but, so the upper plate fill, it's essentially that. I felt that in order for you to really get the upper plate fill down, then you're going to need to be able to nudge the game forward to give you that bounce and momentum to feed that flipper continuously. Otherwise, it's just going to hit that lower portion and just roll right underneath your flipper. You've got to give that machine bounce if you want to keep that ball in play on the upper playfield. So keep that in mind. I want to say that pretty much narrows down and talks essentially about my main concerns with the game was the upper playfield. When it comes to the rest of the game, without a doubt, guys, this game is exhausting. it's not a game that you can just kind of casually play and just lean back and then hit the flipper the ball around and just watch and just have fun it is a game that keeps you on your toes you have to definitely zone in and it's exhausting and it literally is so if you're going to be playing pinball and you just kind of want a good time that i don't recommend this game because it's going to get you amped up. The music is designed to amp you up. It's kind of more of an anxiety on four legs So you just basically playing and it gets pretty frantic because then the multiballs come into play Then you you have the call that are going on and that something else I touch on in a little bit But definitely the music and how fast the ball is able to come right back to you. There is one particular post that if you hit that wrong, it will come right back down, ricochet straight down the damn middle. And it happened a lot. I want to say that if I didn't go to this pin on a location where it was like a $10 entry fee and all games were on free play, I would have easily dumped I don't know how much money into this damn machine because there were some games where I barely broke $5 million. And I think actually, honestly, the best I did was $35 or $45 million. now granted that is the very first time I've played the game and I would like to get more time on it but time was limited for me at the time so but and I will play this again obviously I don't hate the game I don't believe I'm going to own the game but I don't hate it I actually I think they did pretty good justice with the Black Knight game especially on the limited edition I have not played the pro but i was not against the pro when it came to how smooth it looked like it played so the only experience i have is with the le and the le does black knight justice i think it does pretty good even though i feel like the upper play field is a little bit lacking on things compared to the predecessors if i didn't have any other kind of predecessors to judge this game on then it would be a much differently rated game and it sucks that I have so much time on the predecessors that I'm having to calculate that into how I feel about this game so with that being said I think if I had no knowledge of the previous Black Knights then this game would be rated even higher now I don't have a rating system I don't really review or rate pinball machines. That's not what I do. I mean, maybe in the future. I don't know. But that's not something I'm planning on doing. I'm just trying to give you a final impression because I gave a first impression. I love the mechanics of the Black Knight in the center of the play field with the spinning flail and the moving shield. That was pretty damn interesting. I love that mechanic on that. The artwork is obviously spot on. The music is very good. I never got into retro mode. I wish I would have been able to play that. Maybe next time. One of the very slight nitpicks that I have about this game, and it seriously doesn't affect, you know, overall how I feel about the game. But as I was playing it, you had plenty of call outs from Steve Ritchie as the Black Knight. But I don't, maybe it's because I know Steve Ritchie's voice so well in my head. but every time I heard him speak, it sounded almost too much like Steve Ritchie. I kind of wish they would have modulated the voice more. Even so, and most of you, maybe even some of you know that Steve Ritchie actually did the voice for Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat. Now, I almost feel like if it would have sounded more Shao Kahn-esque, then I think it would have been better. And I mean that by saying maybe more articulate. To me, it sounded like it was just an easily slowed down voice of Steve Ritchie. It wasn so much of a different character I kind of wish that it would have been a little more modulated and kind of morphed to sound less like him Other than that though I love the call I wish there was an R-rated version because I think that would entice me to play it even more, and Black Knight was throwing a little curse word in there every once in a while. To have an R-rated mode in pinball machines, I think, is something that should be looked into. It should be an option. As far as the display screen goes From what I saw And I recorded a good chunk of it But from what I saw I enjoyed it I mean the call outs The music The visuals were all good There was no complaints on that Unless I want to be really nitpicky And I've already kind of stated a little bit of my nitpick But other than that I mean the game was good I mean if you own one Then you're not going to get shamed by me for it I mean so I know at one point I really wanted to get one of these games, and that was solely going by the predecessors and how I was assuming and raising my hopes up for what this game could be. And I think that's a big issue on my part for building up something so much to where I don't know if a designer could meet my needs for it. So I think that kind of has to be taken into account when it comes to how I feel about this game. Without a doubt, if you love games that get you amped up and you feel like you're rocking and you're rolling and you love fast-paced, intense games, then Black Knight Sword of Rage is straight up your alley. This is the game that you need to get. If you're more of a laid-back, relaxed, have fun, just have go lucky and play pinball, then this may not be the game for you this is a Steve Ritchie fast-paced stay on your toes because the ball's coming and it's mean it's brutal people were asking me how I felt about the game and I'm like it's brutal I mean it's going to take some time to learn it and uh and that's what I'm gonna look forward to doing in the future that's going to wrap up this video guys I really just wanted to give you a quick video just to look just to go through all of my thoughts on Black Knight Sword of Rage. Now that you've heard how I feel, I want to know how you feel. So let me know what you think about Black Knight Sword of Rage down in the comments below. Feel free to check me out on Instagram at Kerry Hardy Pinball. And if you haven't already, don't forget to hit that subscribe button down below. That way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. Until next time, guys. Peace out. Oh, what do you think? It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be when it comes to the upper play field. I just wish there was a little bit more, like, just some drop targets. You do pretty good on the upper play field. Yeah, I mean, it's missing a rubber next to the catapult right there, which I think would make it a little bit different. Oh. But I don't know. Yeah, I see.