Apple Knight 2

If Celeste and Dead Cells had a goofball cousin who couldn’t stop dodging into spike traps just for the thrill of it, Apple Knight 2 would be it. This high-octane hack-and-slash platformer takes everything you loved about the original and sharpens it to a blade’s edge, then hands you that blade, gives it a magical ability, and sends you into a dungeon full of fire-breathing maniacs and suspiciously placed treasure chests.

You’ll sprint, slash, and parry your way through beautifully dangerous levels, each one packed with enemies smart enough to flank you but dumb enough to leap into their own traps. Thankfully, you’ve got more than just good reflexes on your side. Apple Knight 2 hands you a fully loaded arsenal of swords, skins, and pets, each offering unique stats and bonuses. That’s right, your skin now has passive boosts, and your adorable combat pet has better battlefield awareness than half your team in a co-op lobby.

Combat, as expected, is the main event. Every encounter is a test of your timing and your twitch skills. Parry a goblin mid-swing? Feels great. Deflect a fireball back at a flying eyeball? Even better. You’re not just hacking your way through, you’re styling on the enemy, one sword flip at a time.

The real juice, though, comes from discovery. Every level hides two secret areas, and they’re more than just dusty corners with coins, we’re talking treasure-laden puzzle rooms, clever platforming detours, and the occasional enemy ambush that’s as funny as it is deadly. You’ll want to replay each stage just to see what weird reward’s hiding behind that suspiciously cracked wall.

Despite the chaos, the game feels good. Movement is snappy, attacks land with impact, and dodging is so responsive it almost feels like cheating. Whether you’re a casual slasher or a speedrunning lunatic, Apple Knight 2 delivers that tight, just-one-more-try loop in spades.

It’s goofy. It’s challenging. It’s lovingly crafted mayhem with a sword. And it might just be your next platformer obsession.