GamesMaster described
Lionheart as "a technical marvel which looks, sounds and plays like a dream". They praised the number of moves the player can perform and the fact that they are all useful depending on the situation, comparing Valdyn's diverse moveset to what players would find in a
fighting game. They called the graphics "astounding", arguing that "Thalion have squeezed all the graphic power out of the Amiga" and praised the game's audio for offering "high quality atmospheric music" and "very convincing sound effects". They rated it 90%, concluding that "it's very hard to find anything bad to say about it", and "with all the cutesy platform games that seem to be the rage right now, it's nice to see an old fashioned hacker popping up. Sure, it's not a new theme, but this far exceeds anything else in the genre".
The One agreed and gave
Lionheart an overall score of 91%, stating that it's "without a doubt, the finest example of its kind, mainly because it actually tries to introduce some degree of originality into the gameplay rather than simply being content to just bombard the gamer with large sprawling levels and calling it 'a challenge' ... The variety of the game is amazing - one minute you can be swinging from vines, hacking at monsters, the next leaping up a giant tower as a bursting river creeps higher".
The One praised the diversity of the levels, as well as the difficulty levels' feature where the layout of platforms differ on different modes of difficulty, stating they "provide a level of longevity the likes of which we haven't seen before". They also praised the convenient placement of checkpoints, and the music, calling it "amazingly orchestrated". According to
Computer and Video Games, "Thalion has gone and turned in an extremely challenging variation on the old theme", with "excellent graphics" and enough depth "to keep you going for weeks". On top of that, "the double ending gives the player extra incentive to play the game beyond completion". They gave it a score of 92%, with Paul Anglin commenting that "the only slight niggle I have with
Lionheart is that some parts of the game are so frustratingly hard that it takes ages before you can even see what you're supposed to do, let alone actually be able to do it", but also said that
Lionheart is "excellent" game.
Amiga Force had similar feelings about the game. They called it "good news for just about everybody", explaining that "hard drive owners will be chuffed because it's installable; platform freaks will love it 'coz there's plenty of precipices to topple and bounce from; arcade fans will be dribbling over all the things you can kill", and said it is "fast, fun, frantic and good to look at.
Lionheart excels in all aspects". They gave it a score of 90% noting that, if they had to criticize anything, it would be "the absence of level codes" and the fact that "occasionally certain moves are tricky to access".
Amiga Format described the game's graphics as "gob-smacking" with lots of colours and brilliant parallax scrolling, stating that "if there was ever a game to match (and even better) the best console graphics, then it's
Lionheart". They also praised the soundtrack for "adding a real cinema-like air to it all" and the game's animation, "particularly the motion blur on the sword, and the dynamic movement as [Valdyn] turns and slashes". Despite the praise, they noticed that using the low kick can be "a little sluggish" and that sometimes "the objects and enemies can get confused with the scenery". They gave the game a score of 87% concluding that Thalion created "one of the best platform beat-em-ups ever, on console or computer (...) a graphical masterpiece with enough gameplay to keep you going for weeks on end".
CU Amiga rated it 84% arguing that "there really isn't anything new here", but they praised the game's "attention to detail and feeling of quality that you get when you play". They called the animation "excellent", noting that "Valdyn's teetering on a ledge when he needs to jump not only looks impressive but also becomes an integral part of the game" and said that the fans of arcade adventures will appreciate this title.
ASM described ''Lionheart's
presentation as "breathtaking", praising its smooth frame rate, graphics and animation, particularly the movement of the monsters. They also found its use of parallax scrolling to be "unparalleled" on the Amiga and commended the level design for introducing elements which felt like "a breath of fresh air" in a very worn out genre void of much originality. They rated it 83% stating that, while Lionheart'' isn't the quantum leap that Thalion wanted it to be, it's "definitely one step ahead of its competition".
Amiga Action agreed, explaining that "it is the attention to detail and the amount of thought that has obviously gone into it that brings it to the top of the pile", giving it 82%. They praised the game's combat pointing out that "there are plenty of different attacks that you can perform and learning how and when to carry them out will undoubtedly take a little time". They felt that the graphics were "top-notch with some great sprites and parallax scrolling" and praised Thalion's work in the level design for keeping the game interesting throughout, noting that "thankfully, with so many levels, the designers have provided us with a fair amount of variation between each one". ==Legacy==