Iconic kids show Knightmare is returning but not in the way you'd expect

More than three decades since its final episode aired on the box, British adventure game show Knightmare is being revived in a surprising manner.

A stone-cold cult hit amongst TV fans of a certain vintage, the programme was broadcast on CITV for eight series in total between 1987 and 1994, and was created by Tim Child of Time Busters fame.

For the uninitiated: Knightmare concerned the plight of four youngsters — one attacks the game via a groundbreaking blue screen reality, while the others guide and advise them — attempting to conquer an enormous medieval dungeon stacked with obstacles, brain-scratching puzzles, and a troupe of kooky characters including Treguard of Dunshelm, Mogdred, Lord Fear, Pickle the elf, and genie Majida.

Over on X this week, it was announced that a point-and-click video game adaptation of Knightmare was on the horizon. A nostalgia-tinged trailer accompanied the news, with the message reading: “KNIGHTMARE IS BACK! An official point-and-click adventure game based on the classic TV series — with actors from the original show. Coming 2027. But just remember — it’s only a game… isn’t it?”

It was a popular show back in its day. (CITV)

As you’d expect, word of the project went down a storm with everyone who noticed. One social media user and fan of the show replied: “The original intro soundtrack by Steve Barrett is one of the best. Some melodies never never fade. Already 40 years have passed since then. Oh man, how time flies.”

“Awesome. Love Knightmare and point n click games, seems a good match”, “Hell yeah! Loved Knightmare as a kid. As an adult, I used to watch on Challenge at 6am” and “It was so great being a kid with Knightmare on ITV and The Crystal Maze on Channel 4. We didn’t know how spoiled we were,” read a few more tweets.

A fifth individual assessed: “Everything looks to be on point as far as I can tell. Anyone who says the characters sound a bit off, well, you try sounding the same as you did when you were a couple of decades younger.”

“Oh my goodness! I loved this show so much back in the day; my brother and I would set up little obstacle courses to navigate each other through and play the enemies… I always wished I could go in it. This is going to be amazing to play as a point and click,” added someone else.

Bring on the nostalgia. (CITV)

Asked whether the point-and-click Knightmare will receive a console or mobile release at some point, its makers commented: “We’re focussed on PC for now. We’re just a very small indie team but would love to make it available for other platforms eventually. We’ll do our best.”

Original actors Hugo Myatt, Mark Knight, Clifford Barry, Katherine Bennett-Fox, Edmund Dehn, Iona Kennedy, Paul Valentine, and Alec Westwood are confirmed to be reprising their characters in this fuzzy new digitalised realm. Ewen Watson is credited as the game’s writer and developer, with artwork and animation coming from Sathya Schlosser.

As modern life gets worse by the day, will you be reliving your childhood through the Knightmare PC game?