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Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows


DIO
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So, Plague of Shadows came out yesterday and I spent a portion of the time between then and now playing it through (between arranging meetings and doing some artwork...oh and sleep). It was...different from the main game; Plague Knight is slower and somewhat more slippery than Shovel Knight, and it took some time getting used to all the air mobility and juggling bombs. But I have to say, I was very satisfied with the game once I got the controls wrestled down, even when it got particularly frustrating dying from a beetle knocking me into a pit/spikes/lava (Plague Knight's knock-back is obscene really.)

But I think my favorite part of Plague was the story and characters; the first Shovel Knight did an impressive job of creating simple but engaging characters to fill it's world, and while Plague does introduce a few new characters, the amount of depth they go into for everyone else is fantastic (turns out Shovel Knight is kind of a jerk;).

leaving the Order of no Quarter to hang for their lives after the boss rush.

But of course the stars of the game are our new duo; Plague Knight and Mona. Mona...was in the main game, but only as a mini-game operator and you could just as easily miss her really. In Plague, she's mission control for Plague Knight's crazy scheme, and the interactions between the two are both hilarious and eventually heartwarming.

The story was also rather nice, being a completely different objective that coincided with the main story's. It was interesting how you can't initially go into the village or the armor outpost, since your a infamous member of the Order of no Quarter, or how you actually get into fights with the same guards that originally aided (...kinda) Shovel Knight in the main story. Also, having the Exploditorium end with...

a boss fight with Shovel Knight that spams the relics and HEALS himself, like a real player would...

was utterly fantastic. the final boss was also really cool, if somewhat frustrating to figure out how to 'read' its attacks. All in all, I'm happy with what Yacht Club released and can't wait for the next expansion with either King Knight or Specter Knight. Anyone else played through yet? What are your thoughts?

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This really reminds me of how Mega Man Powered Up let you play as the boss characters (right up to apparently having the titular character take over their main stage) except done way more extensively and is probably a lot cooler as a result (which makes sense; Powered Up had like 14 playable characters, after all).

Edited by Refa
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This really reminds me of how Mega Man Powered Up let you play as the boss characters (right up to apparently having the titular character take over their main stage) except done way more extensively and is probably a lot cooler as a result (which makes sense; Powered Up had like 14 playable characters, after all).

Which would have been perfect if only some Robot Masters weren't as useless as Aquaman (not the Robot Master) out of water. Yes, I am looking at you, Oil Man. They should've done a better job with the movesets.

It's one of these games I wish would continue, but didn't. ç.ç

Anyway, never played Shovel Knight, and it's around 27 bucks here. Maybe I'll grab it in the next sale, if it gets below 20 bucks. That said, it sure looks good.

Edited by Rapier
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To be fair, most of them are useable enough. It's just Oilman and Guts Man that are a bit of a pain (and Guts Man has some cool tricks like being able to trap bosses and throw rocks at them until they die that makes him worth it), or in Oil Man's case incredibly painful.

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The DLC is finally out ? Holy crap, I have to play it !

Indeed you do!

Which would have been perfect if only some Robot Masters weren't as useless as Aquaman (not the Robot Master) out of water. Yes, I am looking at you, Oil Man. They should've done a better job with the movesets.

It's one of these games I wish would continue, but didn't. ç.ç

Anyway, never played Shovel Knight, and it's around 27 bucks here. Maybe I'll grab it in the next sale, if it gets below 20 bucks. That said, it sure looks good.

It goes on sale fairly regularly across pretty much any system (Steam of course has it on sale more often). And gee, you're almost making it sound like being able to tank bullets, lift up buses or buildings with little effort, and go toe to toe with Superman or Wonder Woman are some kind of horrible abilities...that sounds odd, and the only thing I can think of that would indulge that notion is a crappy 70s cartoon where EVERYONE was lame...

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Plague Knight's mobility is so different from Shovel Knight's, it really does change the game a lot, even when the levels are mostly the same. The boss fight in the Explodatorium is so far my favourite boss as Plague Knight. Mona is awesome, and I just really like the humour and the interactions with her. And it's free, so all in all, this is an amazing DLC.

If it weren't for the reused levels, I'd say this could be good enough to be a seperate game.

Edited by Knight
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Just beat it today. Flying through stages is so much fun, the customization is great, the story was really funny and cute.

What potion combos did y'all use? I stuck with Drop/Sparkler/Impact, it's great for hovering over enemies and bombing them and it messes up those knight enemies. For flying bosses I'd use Lob/Cluster/Remote, you can take off 3 hitpoints in one bomb if you time it right. By the end of the game though I'd come around to the default combo, it's very fast and versatile.

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Just beat it today. Flying through stages is so much fun, the customization is great, the story was really funny and cute.

What potion combos did y'all use? I stuck with Drop/Sparkler/Impact, it's great for hovering over enemies and bombing them and it messes up those knight enemies. For flying bosses I'd use Lob/Cluster/Remote, you can take off 3 hitpoints in one bomb if you time it right. By the end of the game though I'd come around to the default combo, it's very fast and versatile.

I didn't really play around with the powders too much, only using component when I wanted to 'cheat' a puzzle that required well-placed shots. I stuck to the Bounce, Lob, and Float casings for most of the game, and even after unlocking the other 3 I just gravitated back to the first three (orbit was nice for enemies through walls, and drop was good on knight enemies). As for fuses, I used the standard and sentry mostly, VERY handy against those damn fliers on the airship. All in all, my preferred build was a Bounce/Black Powder/Sentry bomb.

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Yes, I got it. And it was GLORIOUS. I remember watching a review (GameXplain's, I think) and someone said it was essentially Shovel Knight badass mode (just without the cheat codes), and I'm somewhat inclined to agree. It's really nice being able to just do whatever in combat, for the most part, and especially to just zip and fly around.

I pretty much stuck with the bounce and lob casings, with MOSTLY the cluster powder. And definitely the instant fuse. Although, I do like the Orbiting Cluster.

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I beat it!

I mostly kept the normal casting throughout the game, with the bullet blast, and I kept the same powder through most of it too. However, near the end of the game, where the platforming challenges were harder, I had to start using all that was in my arsenal. I have to say, this was very enjoyable. I still think I like Shovel Knight more though, but having 100%-ed the game and beat it on new game plus, I felt this was a breath of fresh air and it makes me look forward to the next two characters' DLC.

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Eugh, wanted to wait for a discount on the eshop......or the physical version.

I'm kinda struck by how good reviews this is getting though. Pretty impressive by the sound of it. Although the bounce mechanic for Shovel Knight was my favourite part really...

Does this DLC add any new content at all? Or is just all of the same levels?

Edited by Mrs Chrom
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Eugh, wanted to wait for a discount on the eshop......or the physical version.

I'm kinda struck by how good reviews this is getting though. Pretty impressive by the sound of it. Although the bounce mechanic for Shovel Knight was my favourite part really...

Does this DLC add any new content at all? Or is just all of the same levels?

All the same levels and bosses, however, there are two extra bosses, and every level has a small hidden section built around Plague Knight's mechanics. Also, there's an original story to this one as well, with a lot of funny jokes and characters. There are a few new musical themes as well, and the DLC comes with challenge mode as well.

The DLC is free, just so you know. So if you have the base game, you can just go to the eShop and download it.

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Anyone that's beaten the game and are interested in re-watching the post-credits scene, someone's uploaded it online.

Can I just say that this sprite work is fantastic? I'm okay with a shift from attempting to 1-1 emulate a traditional 8-bit style to instead creating as much detail with a limited palette.

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Beat it yesterday, it was pretty fun and I adore all these little touches they made between the two games.

I was boring and mostly went bounce/lob casing w/ black powder and a standard fuse, plus float bursts. Bosses were funny jokes imo because of the gameplay, the only one that actually killed me was the final one, which was slightly disappointing.

Missing a cipher coin in Plague Knight's stage and the fish bomb one even after re-runs, which is kind of annoying but besides a few coins and sheets in the early game plus the apparently five sheets in the final thing, I'm on the verge of completing everything in this particular run bar achievements. That was fast.

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Beat it yesterday, it was pretty fun and I adore all these little touches they made between the two games.

I was boring and mostly went bounce/lob casing w/ black powder and a standard fuse, plus float bursts. Bosses were funny jokes imo because of the gameplay, the only one that actually killed me was the final one, which was slightly disappointing.

Missing a cipher coin in Plague Knight's stage and the fish bomb one even after re-runs, which is kind of annoying but besides a few coins and sheets in the early game plus the apparently five sheets in the final thing, I'm on the verge of completing everything in this particular run bar achievements. That was fast.

I'm missing a few coins and pages in some stages. I think the last three Order of No Quarter stages, barring the tower of fate. I'm having trouble finding some of them.

Edit: Well...never mind. XD The Cipher Coin reward kind of hurts me, though.

Edited by Dai
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