Shovel Knight | Cheerful Ghost

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon Announced

Today Yacht Club Games announced an all new Shovel Knight game in development called Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeons.

"Delve with Shovel Knight into the depths of the Pocket Dungeon in an action-packed puzzle adventure mashup like none other! Join your mysterious guide Puzzle Knight as you shovel through scads of foes, procure new equipment, and battle bosses both familiar and new. Explore a tale with endless twists and turns, quest as your favorite heroes, and even challenge a friend for fast-paced head-to-head competition in Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon!"

No release date or platforms are announced yet but I hope the pocket part means smartphones as Shovel Knight on a... Read All

The Lineage of Shovel Knight Explained

Shovel Knight launched in 2013 and since then received a ton of free content updates. It might be a bit confusing what it all is so Noclip created this handy Shovel Knight Lineage video explained by Yacht Club Games David D'Angelo.

This last weekend I put Shovel Knight Showdown through the paces playing it with a friend. It's a fun addition to Shovel Knight Treasure Trove and is a worthy brawler game. I didn't quite get the feel for each of the Knights but I appreciate that they all fight very differently. If you have friends over and Treasure Trove is on tap, you should give it a go.

Nab These 3DS Games While You Can (Metal Jesus Covers Some of His Favorites)

Now that Nintendo has focused all of it's attention to the Switch many people are clearing out their old 3DS libraries and systems and because of that, if you collect for the system now is your time. I've been collecting DS and 3DS games a bit at a time and have nearly everything I need. The games I have yet to acquire are mentioned in this video such as Bravely Default and the Ultimate NES Remix. I'd also love to get Shovel Knight on the 3DS but I have it on PC and Switch so it's not essential yet the collector in me really wants to pick it up and compare it to the rest of the versions I have. Any 3DS/DS collectors out there looking for anything hard to find?

Shovel Knight Treasure Trove Ends With An Incredible Showdown!

jdodson gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

jdodson gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Back in 2013 a new Indie game hit Kickstarter that we covered here on Cheerful Ghost called Shovel Knight. We were immediately interested in its hilarious premise and chunky pixel art indie vibe. A month after Travis covered the Kickstarter for Shovel Knight we were able to interview Sean at Yacht Club games and it's a piece that I look back and am fairly proud of (interview linked below). Since then Shovel Knight launched to critical acclaim and later saw the base game morph into Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove which is a collection of the base game Shovel of Justice with every other new expansion game such as Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment included. Recently... Read All

The Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels Boardgame is on Kickstarter!

Back this on Kickstarter!

Shovel Knight is a Cheerful Ghost fan favorite indie game that keeps getting better with each update. The final King of Cards update is coming and before that ... the Shovel Knight board game? Looks like Yacht Club is partnering with Panda Cult Games to release an all new Shovel Knight board game that is heavily inspired by the video game. There are two Kickstarter funding options at $40 for the game with cardboard stand-ups and the $70 version with the full 3D plastic figure prints. What's included in box is pretty impressive at both price points and there is a cool stretch goal at 80k to have the bosses be playable characters. The game is on the way to get funded... Read All

Shovel Knight Showdown Coming Soon To Treasure Trove!

Shovel Knight had a very successful Kickstarter and because of that keeps getting a bunch of new incredible updates to the base game. That said, we're nearing the end of the Shovel Knight feature train and the last few stops seem to be some of the most compelling! Announced today, Shovel Knight Showdown looks to create a brawler style local multiplayer game featuring Shovel Knight and a ton of other boss characters. IGN got a 10 minute gameplay trailer linked above and from that it looks like a fun brawler that looks right at home on the PS4, Switch and XBox One!

"Duel with up to 4 players and scramble after gems as your favorite heroic or villainous knight in Shovel... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/29/2018 at 10:19pm

Is this why King of Cards is not out yet?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/29/2018 at 10:39pm

Yeah, I think so. It SEEMS like they might be wrapping up both in one huge final push.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2018 at 07:21pm

Getting a physical Switch version with all the content coming April 9th 2019! So Shovel Knight will get it's final update next year!

http://yachtclubgames.com/2018/08/the-shovel-knight-finale-treasure-trove-physical-version/

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 08/31/2018 at 01:57pm

That’s a long ways away. I will pick up the physical version even though I have the digital.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/02/2018 at 01:54am

Right. I'm not sure. I think I might pick it up. Playing it on the Switch seems like a good fit for the system even though I have it on PC.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Sign Up / Log In

Shovel Knight Getting Battle Toads Content On All PC Versions!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLZRuutUIAAyXSt.jpg

A while ago Shovel Knight on consoles got two updates I was envious of. XBone owners got a Battle Toads content update and PS4 owners of the game got Kratos content. I don't love console exclusives but the Battle Toads content looked really cool and I always wanted to check it out. Looks like Yacht Club is making the Battle Toads content free for everyone on PC today so we all can!

"Hop to it! The Battletoads are now available on PC/Mac/Linux versions of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove! Steam, Windows Store, Humble Store & GOG."

I linked to a good article from IGN about how to get the Battle Toads content along with the Battle Toads PC patch notes and update Tweet... Read All

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment Review

http://yachtclubgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/specterKnightLogoBlack.png

Specter of Torment is a prequel to the original Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope game. It follows Specter Knight as he "recruits" each member of The Order of No Quarter. It also dives into Specter Knight's backstory, which I will not reveal here.

The game itself is similar to both Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows. It is a 2D platformer that has you fighting boss battles at the end of every level. What is different from Shovel and Plague is Yacht Club Games has gotten rid of the world map. In the previous games you used the world map to travel from level to level (like Super Mario World), but in Specter, you just jump straight to any level via a portal (think Mega Man... Read All Specter of Torment is a prequel to the original Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope game. It follows Specter Knight as he "recruits" each member of The Order of No Quarter. It also dives into Specter Knight's backstory, which I will not reveal here.

The game itself is similar to both Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows. It is a 2D platformer that has you fighting boss battles at the end of every level. What is different from Shovel and Plague is Yacht Club Games has gotten rid of the world map. In the previous games you used the world map to travel from level to level (like Super Mario World), but in Specter, you just jump straight to any level via a portal (think Mega Man games). I missed the world map, and I wonder why they did not include it here. I think they were going for the Mega Man feel here, but it just feels like they dropped a feature due to time.

Speaking of time, this game is a lot shorter than both Shovel and Plague. It took me about six hours to beat the game, where Shovel and Plague took me ten and twelve hours, respectively. This is a quick game that you can beat in a day.

Another thing that I felt that Yacht Club Games scaled back on is story. Both Shovel of Torment and Plague of Shadows had great stories and characters. Specter of Torment does not have as grand of a story. This leads me to care less for the characters than in previous games.

The one thing that Yacht Club Games does nail is level design and controls. They are tight. The mechanics of Specter Knight are really cool with his wall scale, the ability to jump off walls, and the ability to do what I will call a "lunge attack" in air. I cannot tell if they reused previous levels from the other games, but it does not really matter, they are still great. I actually finished this game a while back, and then played it again for this review and I still had a lot of fun.

The boss battles in this game range from really easy to moderate difficulty, kind of inline with the previous releases of Shovel Knight games. I found that I could beat all bosses with some ground attacks and in-air lunge attacks. I was not really surprised by this given the difficulty of the boss battles in the previous games.

Secondary items, called Curios, were neat but not really needed to beat the game. The only one that I used all the time was the healing item. The rest were fun to get and try out but were barely needed to solve the puzzles and beat enemies.

Overall I enjoyed this game, and will play it again. The story wasn't quite there for me, but the level design and controls were top notch. Overall, I would rank it as my least favorite in the series, but still fun.

The review for this game came from the Switch version. Specter of Torment is also available on the PC, Wii U, 3DS, PS4, Vita, PS3, Xbox One and Fire TV.

Yacht Club Games provided Cheerful Ghost with a Switch download key for Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which Specter of Torment is part of.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/12/2017 at 03:55am

Cool review. I have it installed, but haven't tried it out yet. I haven't played Shovel Knight either.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/12/2017 at 03:36pm

You should give them a go. They are awesome.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/12/2017 at 03:44pm

I never beat Shovel Knight. I'm adding it back to my games to play based on your reviews. And because I had so much fun playing Mega Man 2.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/12/2017 at 03:46pm

I would say Plague Knight is my favorite, followed by Shovel and then Specter. Plague Knight is best played after Shovel though as there are some cool subtle story points of things that happened in Shovel Knight.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/12/2017 at 03:48pm

Cool, i'll make sure I check them out in order then. The new King Knight game looks interesting. I wonder if that card game will be fun? I guess if it's not there is plenty to like in the base game still

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 09/12/2017 at 04:03pm

I think I get that with Treasure Trove, right? If so I will have to review it when it comes out.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/12/2017 at 10:10pm

Yep. Treasure Trove means you get all the content updates included.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Sign Up / Log In

Shovel Knight King of Cards Will Be The Last Full Story Expansion For Shovel Knight!

Yacht Club games blasted on to the Indie scene with an amazing Kickstarter for Shovel Knight. The game was funded and all of the games strech goals were met giving the base game a TON of extra content. If you've had Shovel Knight since the beginning you've see it get update after update making the game get so much bigger and adding a ton of new story content like Plague Knight and Spector Knight campaigns as well as Gender Swap mode and Co-op. Shovel Knight is set to get it's final set of story based content in Shovel Knight: King of Cards in 2018!

"Shovel Knight: King of Cards is the final campaign in the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove saga, and it’s bigger and grander... Read All

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Nintendo Switch) Review

http://yachtclubgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/plague_of_shadows_title_black_bg.png

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is an add-on campaign to Shovel Knight. You play the role of Plague Knight as he goes through the Shovel Knight world collecting ingredients for a potion that will make him powerful. It takes place at the same time as the original Shovel Knight.

Plague of Shadows is an add on that uses all the same levels from the original Shovel Knight, while adding some new areas within those levels. Since it is pretty much the same game, it is Plague Knight's gameplay mechanics and his story that makes it stand apart from the original.

I think you will get the most enjoyment out of the story if you have already finished the original Shovel Knight. It... Read All Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is an add-on campaign to Shovel Knight. You play the role of Plague Knight as he goes through the Shovel Knight world collecting ingredients for a potion that will make him powerful. It takes place at the same time as the original Shovel Knight.

Plague of Shadows is an add on that uses all the same levels from the original Shovel Knight, while adding some new areas within those levels. Since it is pretty much the same game, it is Plague Knight's gameplay mechanics and his story that makes it stand apart from the original.

I think you will get the most enjoyment out of the story if you have already finished the original Shovel Knight. It is not a requirement, but there a lot of references, both obvious and not so obvious, that add a lot to the story.

As for gameplay, Plague Knight has a whole different set of weapons, special abilities and movement mechanics from Shovel Knight. His main weapon, a bomb, is highly customizable, allowing for different types of gameplay. I found myself focusing on a few combinations that helped me get through the game.

With the change of movement mechanics, the reuse of the old levels from the original Shovel Knight works. It feels like a new game. I also found that the levels were more difficult with Plague Knight than with Shovel Knight.

My main problem with Plague of Shadows is the same as the original Shovel Knight. The bosses are just too easy. Plague Knight makes the majority of bosses much easier than they were in Shovel Knight.

Overall I enjoyed Plague of Shadows as much as the original Shovel Knight, if not more. The story and platforming are so good that they outweigh the easy boss battles.

I recorded a video of the intro, first level and town. This video is from Hard Mode, where you carry over all unlocked abilities. You can view it here:

https://youtu.be/EPxbRGYixZ8

My original Shovel Knight review is here:

http://cheerfulghost.com/Will_Ball/posts/3294/review-shovel-knight-shovel-of-hope-part-of-shovel-knight-treasure-trove-for-the-switch

Yacht Club Games provided Cheerful Ghost with a download key for Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove for the Nintendo Switch. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is also available for the Wii U, 3DS, PS4, Vita, PS3, Xbox One, Mac, Windows, Linux and Fire TV.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/30/2017 at 09:50pm

Fire TV huh? Cool to see it get ported to so many systems!

Plague Knight seems pretty overpowered compared to Shovel Knight in your video. Are all those The abilities Plague Knight starts with?

If this happens alongside the original Shovel Knight story wise is Shovel Knight a boss? Also about how long is the game start to finish?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/30/2017 at 11:09pm

My video is from hard mode, so all power ups were already achieved. Plague Knight progresses much like Shovel Knight.

There are battles with Shovel Knight.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/30/2017 at 11:11pm

Oh, and it took me about 12 hours. 2 more hours than Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/01/2017 at 02:41am

That makes sense, thanks!

Does Plague Knight start off with the potion bombs you mostly use in your run? Also it looks like he can fly or float. Does that have any kind of cool down or can he do that indefinitely?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/01/2017 at 04:02am

Potion bombs are his main weapon. You can configure them as you acquire more items. Double jump is standard. The float is an ability you acquire later.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/01/2017 at 04:02am

Oh and no cool down for float or double jump. There is a magic meter for special abilities.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Sign Up / Log In