Lovish review: A knight in deeply insecure armor

The big picture

Sir Solomon has a princess to rescue and a support network to sabotage. His friends are ready to help, but he sends them away because Princess Tsuna might fall for one of them instead. Most heroic quests begin with a prophecy. Lovish begins with a man deciding that saving somebody's life is best approached like a dating competition with swords. The dragon-adjacent danger is almost secondary to the spectacular lack of emotional preparation.

That grubby little motive gives this colorful action adventure a useful identity. Solomon isn't just another small knight climbing through another pixel castle. He's a walking bad decision, and the game surrounds him with short stages and unpredictable interruptions that seem perfectly suited to a hero who cannot be trusted with a sensible plan. Lovish makes an appealing argument for keeping the adventure compact and letting the nonsense spill out around the edges.

Small rooms, substantial appetite

There are more than fifty stages, with additional objectives beyond simply getting through them. That distinction is important. A short level can be pleasantly direct on a first pass and still leave room for a more deliberate return. The interesting question becomes whether you want to solve the room or squeeze everything out of it, which are very different commitments when the room contains something trying to chew through your helmet.

This is the sort of design that suits players who like visible, local goals. You aren't asked to carry an entire expedition in your head. The castle provides a sequence of manageable tasks, and the optional objectives give completion-minded players a reason to be fussy. Solomon may have dismissed his companions, but apparently he hasn't dismissed the urge to make every outing unnecessarily complicated.

The trade-off is that the adventure's appeal depends heavily on enjoying that repeated rhythm. If your ideal fantasy game is about wandering a vast landscape and ignoring the main quest for three evenings, this is a different proposition. Lovish points you toward the next room rather than the distant mountain. Its sense of possibility comes from variations and interruptions, not geographical freedom.

Buying a better terrible plan

Items and upgrades add another layer to the action, and an in-game shop uses collected coins. The relevant fantasy here is wonderfully simple: do dangerous things, acquire money, become better equipped to do more dangerous things. Financial literacy remains questionable, but at least the purchase has an immediate relationship to the problem currently biting you.

That progression gives the individual stages a connection beyond their place in the castle. Collecting useful things can serve a longer-term purpose, while secrets give attentive players something to seek besides the most obvious exit. It's a good counterweight to the random events. Surprise keeps the adventure lively; equipment and improvement provide a little control amid all that theatrical interference.

A coin-based shop also adds a familiar little budgeting problem to the quest. Collecting money gives those purchases a connection to your progress through the castle. Solomon may be terrible at planning a rescue, but at least an equipment purchase offers a decision with a reasonably visible upside.

A castle with a busy guest list

The pixel-art presentation leans into the expressive possibilities of an eight-bit-inspired world. With more than a hundred characters and a substantial soundtrack composed by Matt Kap, the project clearly wants its castle to have more personality than a corridor with a health bar. The visual premise makes room for broad expressions and odd arrivals without having to pretend that any of this is a sober reconstruction of medieval life.

Lovish launched on February 5, 2026, and its verified versions span Windows, Switch, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Across that spread, the central pitch remains the same: a single-player action adventure with compact challenges and a pronounced weakness for mischief. There is no need to dress it up as a giant epic. A knight this insecure would probably order a larger banner if you did.

The verdict

Lovish has an attractive combination of clear action goals, optional fussiness and events that keep the journey from becoming too tidy. Its strongest audience is the player who enjoys small challenges but wants something sillier than a purely mechanical obstacle course. Come for the castle rooms, stay for the possibility that the next doorway will make Solomon's plan even worse. He has already removed all adult supervision, so the odds seem favorable.