Got this on the U & somehow 3DS(drunken purchasing ftw).
Fired it up today for a proper quick go on the first level. 4 levels later I had run out of time, but was grinning like a fool. Game is rather spesh, love it all so far.
I love the scene at the end of a level so much, I could leave it on the TV all day. Gotta blag a pic off the net & print it.
Suit of the Loom - Find woven armour.
...and the shirt off my back - Deliberately lose all items.
100% Panorama Cotton - Unlock hidden Sunsoft Megadrive game and complete it.
Cretin shop - Purchase Ramones armour.
loved the fact that as way of a sorry for taking so long to release it in the EU, Nintendo are offering 30% off the wiiu version if you buy it on 3ds!
Anyway the game is ok but don't get the love in as it's nothing special
Thought this was excellent. Not keen on the foreground obstructions or dark levels but the variety was impressive on the whole. Concise is a good word.
Pun frog is brilliant. I also enjoyed how secrets were hidden in all the places you check if you've played a game before.
The level in the vid was only one that took me multiple attempts to locate the magic. I've never watched a deconstruction like that but it was well done, all the observations made perfect sense and I appreciate the game even more now.
I follow a few people that break down game design nicely. Seems like there were only a few game designer that really understood games a decade ago. Now every kid with a webcam knows their shit.
I imagine Game Design is a more accessible mid-education course these days than it was 10 years ago too. I enjoyed his videos though wasn't sold on 100% of what he was saying. Gunpoint/Heat Signature Dev Tom Francis does a great blog, as does Mike Bithell of Thomas Was Alone/Volume fame, although that's more about the ways they find of overcoming their failings as coders, and the interesting stuff they shoehorn in via help from Unity forums.
Not perfect but I've paid to read articles written by people that didn't have that grasp. Mattewmatosis, Errant Signal, MrBTongue, and SuperBunnyhop are good too. I like to watch some of their coverage of a game then watch TotalBiscuit's version. There's a guy that doesn't understand game design.
One challenge left of the ten non-boss challenges on the Shovel Knight dlc. The design is brutal - as far as I can tell there's no hardly any leeway with routes, you just learn what the pattern to complete the level is, memorise it and execute it without running out of health. I hope they flesh this mode out for the forthcoming dlc; it means Shovel Knight is the most fun I've had with a game two years in a row. Managed to finish the cog bounce stage just as my train was pulling into London Bridge this morning. Reading on the commute is over for a while.
I've barely touched the Plague Knight quest yet, which is the main course of the add-ons. I'm not sure what the benchmark is for free dlc, but I'd be surprised if this isn't amongst the best. What a game.
I've finished plague knight - it feels damn near different enough to be new. Also has this sort of deliberately shaky feel to his movement that you soon discover is perfectly calculated. It's wonderful
Definitely not for everyone - even people who I'd assume would love it often aren't overly taken with it (@retroking1981). I honestly think it would've been the best 8-bit game ever made, and I was a huge fan of the era. It takes all the best bits and punts all the worst out the window (insane trollface levels of difficulty, for one - the game is hard towards the end, but fair).
Its a brilliant homage to 8Bit, there's no arguing that. For me it just comes down to having played the games that influenced it back in the day...
Sean Velasco has stated that the game is influenced by NES games, specifically Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, DuckTales, Super Mario Bros. 3, and the Mega Man titles.
... and its hard to beat (for most impossible) memories like that, so I couldn't help but feel a little meh about Shovel Knight.
I think its kinda like your love for the GBA moot. Not having a NES/SNES meant you were blessed with playing SMB3, SMW and YI for the first time. For me I was disappointed, its the only Nintendo HW without a new Mario title.
SFIV is better than SFII but what will be the one me and you boot up in a few years for a laugh?
BUT Shovel Knight IS excellent and well worth getting for anyone who likes 2D games imo. Its a must buy really.
It's not bad. And there's got to be praise for actually making a tight fun game. Maybe expectations are high because of the hype. Retro isk probably near where my thoughts are, as an homage to old greats its a pretty fine reproduction but it's not got enough of its own to be amazing.