Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon review
Okay, maybe this is just me.
Because it’s a falling block puzzler in which you’re inside the grid!
You’re moving around as the blocks stream in from above.
And they’re not all blocks!
Most of them are monsters.
And if you don’t work quickly yet thoughtfully they will pile up above you!
They will block you in!
I should probably say right now that Puzzle Knight -ShovelKnight Pocket Dungeon - is an awful lot of fun.
You could say, I guess, that"everything fell into place."
I love the fact that Puzzle Dungeon -PocketDungeon!
- is not a platformer at all.
It’s a falling-block puzzle game innit.
But the more I play, the more this switching up of genres makes sense.
It’s Shovel Knight.
But there is a blood-pumping element to it.
Puzzle here is combat.
It is all super clever.
Enemies change as you move through the game.
Simple ones who don’t do much damage.
Simple ones who do quite a bit of damage.
Snakes that take up a load of space as they descend.
Weirdos that warp away when injured.
Some guys put up shields or explode.
Some are invulnerable to attack unless you hit something else first.
Will you be able to rejoin the action before it’s filled up and ended the game?
Will you be able to rejoin the actionandrecapture all the loot you lost before you died?
Victory conditions are simple.
The more baddies you do in, the more chances that chests will fall from above.
Get through that and you’re onto the next area.
Maybe a boss, which can feel like Auto Chess, or even just chess, you know.
New relics that provide perks - more gems, bigger explosions - and new weapons - freeze your foes!
Do more damage with each hit!
- that generally mix things up and then disappear once you’ve used them a certain number of times.
So yes, within the perks and the weapons there is a load of variation.
But really Shovel Puzzle - whatever!
- is just getting started.
Gosh, some of these playable characters are incredible.
Plague Knight poisons enemies on the first hit, which encourages you to be a bit reckless maybe?
My favourite, though, is Specter Knight, who absolutely turns the game on its head.
Specter Knight gains health by defeating baddies - which means you have to lose health to make it!
This is pretty sweet.
But get this: potions hurt Specter Knight.
So you have to train yourself to avoid something you had previously been running towards at every opportunity.
The hub - the hub!
- that is filled with secrets and upgrade opportunities.
Who knows how deep the tunnel goes?
Play it once, gone forever.
All this and the tone itself.
Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon is really, really tough.
And I love it.
I love it all.
It’s brutal and inventive and head-spinningly clever.
