When Scramble Knights Royale was revealed during the Day of the Devs: The Game Awards Edition 2025 showcase on December 10, 2025, I just knew I had to play it. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the battle royale genre—though I have enjoyed my fair share of time with games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s Blackout mode—but as a rather obsessive Zelda fan, I just knew I had to play Scramble Knights Royale for its very clearly and dev-admittedly Zelda-inspired gameplay and art style. Still, not even that could have excited me as much as what the game is now, after developer Funktronic Labs pivoted away from the battle royale format in June 2026 to embrace an MMO-lite action RPG model instead, effectively changing its name to Scramble Knights Online in the process. Now, I’ve recently been given a chance to participate in its playtest on Steam, and I seriously can’t stop playing.
What was once called a Zelda meets Fortnite battle royale game—which was already a rather inspired idea, in my opinion—is now far more like Zelda meets Monster Hunter, and to this player who absolutely loves both of those franchises, that makes it even better. PvP isn’t inherently bad, and it can even be great, but if there’s one trend we’ve been seeing in the industry lately, it’s gamers craving more casual experiences that don’t require them to go head-to-head with other players who might have more time on their hands. Scramble Knights Online doesn’t forego PvP entirely, but it does make it mostly optional, with an occasional quest that has it enabled. Nevertheless, as someone who isn’t particularly keen on competitive play but doesn’t necessarily mind it, after experiencing what Scramble Knights Online has to offer during its playtest on Steam, I can say with certainty that this is one of those games fans of Zelda and Monster Hunter simply shouldn’t pass up.
Leaving Battle Royale Behind Changed Scramble Knights for the Better
Upon launching the Scramble Knights Online playtest and then swinging that flimsy little stick in my custom character’s hand, the Zelda influences were abundantly clear. My little guy even sounded like Link when he performed an action, so I immediately felt at home when I entered the game’s colorful world. Trouncing around the multiplayer hub, I could hear other players nearby also wildly swinging their weapons, so I knew I wasn’t alone. At this point, though, I was ready for my first quest, which sent me out into the unknown in search of the hub’s blacksmith who had gone missing. And here is where Scramble Knights Online started to feel less like a Zelda RPG and more like if someone took Monster Hunter‘s winning formula and threw it into a world reminiscent of one of Nintendo’s most successful franchises.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
The gameplay loop for Scramble Knights Online is actually strikingly similar to your standard Monster Hunter game. Within the main hub, you accept quests from the Quest Maiden, which vary in objective, requirements, and rewards. From there, you embark on those quests by speaking to the Quest Transport NPC, who then sends you out into a world filled with plenty of enemies, secrets, treasures, and optional exploration opportunities. Completing a quest for the first time offers unique “First Clear Rewards,” but, like Monster Hunter, these quests can be repeated any number of times for a guaranteed number of gems and an assortment of random rewards. Despite being nearly identical to the gameplay loop of Capcom’s premiere flagship IP, it works, it’s solid, and it’s exceedingly enjoyable.
But that also means that Scramble Knights Online‘s progression is fairly similar to Monster Hunter‘s, which revolves around embarking on quests to gather materials that can be used to craft and upgrade gear. The main difference is that Scramble Knights isn’t solely about hunting down monsters and puts its quests within the framework of a traditional RPG. There are kill quests, fetch quests, and even escort quests, but they are varied enough to keep things interesting. One quest might see you venturing out to kill a handful of smaller rank-and-file enemies while another one tasks you with defeating a powerful boss. Another quest might require you to escort an NPC back to base camp, where they will become a valuable addition to your hub, whereas yet another may ask you to retrieve a stolen item.
Once the blacksmith has been found, Scramble Knights‘ Monster Hunter-like gameplay loop takes off in full force, because then it’s not just about completing quests for the story’s sake (which, right now, is understandably lacking), but about outfitting your character with the best armor and weapons that gems and crafting materials can buy. For starters, there is a generous number of weapon types you can use—including sword and shield, dual-wield daggers, bow, spear, greatsword, and more—each with a multi-path upgrade tree similar to Monster Hunter‘s own crafting trees. And of course, there are different armor sets you can craft that change the look and stats of your hero, most of which can only be made using special items you acquire through increasingly challenging quests.
Scramble Knights Online also lets you upgrade your character’s stats—like health, bag capacity, strength, and move speed—directly using gems and crafting materials.
The world itself is where the Zelda influences really shine, from its enemy design to its take on exploration and discovery. Like Monster Hunter, you’re not limited to only doing what a quest requires of you, and instead, you can explore to your heart’s content—especially considering there’s no time limit. But it’s how the world is laid out that makes it feel more like The Legend of Zelda. For example, you might cut down a weed to reveal a ladder leading underground, or you might stumble upon a bandit camp where, after defeating the enemies in the area, you can go inside the tent and break all the pots inside for some valuable crafting materials. There are also plenty of treasure chests hidden throughout the world that are worth hunting down.
And then the wide variety of Zelda-like biomes absolutely needs to be mentioned, as it’s one of my favorite parts of the whole experience. There are green fields, deserts, beaches, and more, and each biome even has its own soundtrack to help distinguish them even further. They all come with their own enemy types as well, from slimes and crabs (hello again, Zelda) to bandits themed after the biome itself—like Marsh Bandits, who are basically also Link wearing different clothes. But it’s that variety that makes exploring the world feel worthwhile and cuts down on monotony.
Like Monster Hunter, you’re not limited to only doing what a quest requires of you, and instead, you can explore to your heart’s content—especially considering there’s no time limit.
I will say that this is one of those games that absolutely needs to be played with a controller. It’s possible to play with a mouse and keyboard, but I personally preferred using the controller, largely because Scramble Knights Online‘s combat can be tricky at times. Firstly, enemies are tough, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed if you’re not on top of directional movement. And unfortunately, mouse and keyboard don’t fit well with this particular game’s demand for quick, directional maneuvers. However, when using a controller, I found it much easier to avoid enemy attacks and ultimately get the drop on them.
Scramble Knights Online Has the Best of Zelda and Monster Hunter
For me, though, the most addictive part of Scramble Knights Online was easily its progression. It got to the point where every time I finished a quest, I immediately wanted to see what I could upgrade before heading right back out again. Maybe I was only a few materials away from the next step on my weapon tree, or maybe I finally had enough gems to squeeze another stat upgrade out of my character. Either way, there was almost always something waiting for me back at the hub that made one more quest seem worth it. That’s exactly what I love about Monster Hunter. Even when you’re repeating something you’ve already done, you’re rarely doing it for no reason, because every run can push you a little closer to the weapon, armor set, or upgrade you’ve had your eye on. Scramble Knights Online managed to give me that same feeling surprisingly quickly, and that’s ultimately what kept turning “I’ll play one more quest” into several more.
But I think what I appreciate most is that Scramble Knights Online doesn’t feel like it’s simply trying to be Monster Hunter with a different coat of paint. The Monster Hunter-like loop gives the game a really solid foundation, but all of that Zelda-like exploration and presentation gives it its own personality. I can head out because I need materials for an upgrade, only to get distracted by a suspicious patch of weeds or some little corner of the map I haven’t explored yet. That combination works ridiculously well for me. Zelda gives me the urge to poke around and see what’s over the next hill, while Monster Hunter gives me a reason to keep coming back once I’ve seen it. Considering Scramble Knights started life as a battle royale, I certainly wasn’t expecting its new direction to hook me this much, but after playing it, I’m very glad Funktronic Labs decided to change course.
Scramble Knights Online is currently targeting a Fall 2026 release. Players can sign up for the playtest on Steam.
