Chillingo is no stranger to success on the App Store. The publisher has had a number of hits, a testament to their excellent ability to pick and choose the best of the best indie games for the iOS platform. Most recently, Chillingo published MoreGames Entertainment’s Knight’s Rush — the sequel to the popular tower-defense title, Knight’s Onrush. This time around, however, MoreGames have implemented a different gameplay system. Utilizing similar character models and environments, they’ve instead created an action-RPG effort that feels true to the platform.

But we’re not here to talk about Knight’s Rush, which we at DIYgamer will review soon. Since I’m following the Mobile Monday tradition of introducing mostly free games to the mobile gamer, we’ll be taking a look at A Quest of Knight’s Onrush — a free taste of what’s to come in Knight’s Rush. I believe MoreGames and Chillingo initially decided to release this title as an experiment… perhaps to see whether iOS gamers would be interested in the different direction. And man, am I happy they did it because this game rocks!

Although both the developer and publisher have made quite the effort to notify their followers that A Quest of Knight’s Onrush is only slightly indicative of the final product that is Knight’s Rush, we can identify similarities by simply viewing the newest game’s trailer (check it out below). In Quest – as I’ll refer to it from now on — players move their character around with a virtual joystick and have the ability to attack and jump. Quest is endless. This basically means that there’s a survival concept — get as far as you can without dying. With some minimal platforming and maximum combat, the randomization of Quest can keep you entertained through each play-through, provided you actually enjoy the hack-and-slash gameplay.

While the game may be endless, a leveling system is in place. Once a higher level is reached, there are 6 areas/abilities that can be improved: High Jump, Freezer (freezes enemies), Power Attack (strong physical attack), Caster (gives the ability to cast a special ability…I know it’s redundant but that’s the description in-game!), Health Booster (adds 10% to max health), and Recharger (abilities recharge 10% faster). Why is this good news? Because usually endless games tend to get boring after a while. That’s not to say that you won’t eventually get bored of Quest… but since it is a promo game, this is effective at having you look forward to the whole experience of Knight’s Rush. Quest can also be described as a side-scroller. But even as a side-scroller, it’s not entirely 2D. You can move your character up and down the planes, like the old arcade brawlers.

As a standalone release, Quest is mildly satisfying. But as a promotional effort, it certainly strikes a note and has me aching to play Knight’s Rush. Compared to the original tower defense title, Knight’s Onrush, Quest and Knight’s Rush are at a much different place. I foresee Knight’s Rush doing better on the App Store than its predecessor — and it has already cracked the top 25, so they must be doing something right.

[Download A Quest of Knight's Onrush. Buy Knight's Onrush. Buy Knight's Rush.]