The Spectre Knight thing is a separate quest with a different hub that uses regjigged levels with a very different moveset. I thought it was a lot harder than the main game and wasn't overly keen, but it all worked. I just found it too easy to get carried away and double jump down holes, so it had to be played cautiously. I've said this before, probably on this page if I look, but I think the main game is a [10].
There's also a brief challenge mode with plenty of precise death/inst-restart route planning that should appeal to your inner Meat Boy.
Yep. I must've replayed a lot more levels than I thought along the way as it took me over 8hrs - bought all the armour/stat boosts and found all the magic (can't remember if the latter was optional). I might've got all the music sheets but I'd have to load it up to jog my memory.
Up there with Super Meat Boy, Mighty Switch Force and Braid as one of my favourite DL only games.
As good as it is I don't seem to be as amazed as others. Not sure if its because I played the games it took inspiration from back in the day, and to be honest they were pretty much 10/10 games back then and therefore I have a strong nostalgia for them, so this was always gonna have a tough job stacking up.
Don't want to sound to down on this though, its execution was perfect and its tight like a tiger. Anyone who grew up playing the NES games this pays homage to should definitely check it out.
Had a bit of time to play this again recently. I kept meaning to go back after the first round of dlc but got sidetracked. Challenge mode is done, which is an excellent addition, was nice to do all the bosses again, some of them are excellent. It's not too tricky, but the majority of the tasks took multiple attempts, so the difficulty nicely judged as a post-game thing. The Spectre Knight quest on the other hand....ehhh. I applaud the effort, and the way they've implemented the character/moveset and rejigged the layout, but he's just not that fun to control, and there's far more item juggling in menus. It's still a tight enough game, and it certainly all works, but it's not a patch on the main game and it plays like what it is - a new character shoehorned into levels designed for the old one. DLC no.2 might be better, but the Spectre Knight quest is a [6].
As part of the Kickstarter campaign they promised a certain amount if free dlc (correct me if I'm wrong on this someone). Plague of Shadows was the first round, which gives you control of Plague Knight for a slightly altered campaign. He can't shovel, he throws bombs, so it's a bit like trying to play Wonderboy in Monsterland with [insert character to finish analogy that's better than 'Kyle Reese in the first level of The Terminator on Megadrive']. It also added a challenge mode, which has a sort of Crazy Box assortment of sections to play, as the main character, under different restrictions, which is very good.
Shit I thought Spectre Knight had dropped there for a second. God I love this game. Finished og shovel 3x times (twice on 3DS, once on WiiU) and Plague Knight twice (once on each).
I went frantically looking for the next update after your post.
I love Shovel Knight but don't find Plaguey quite so fun. Far more damage potential, and more agile but fiddly to control and he gets knocked back a long way. I think I've completed two levels with Plaguey so far.
Really looking forward to the next two - the surprising thing about these updates is that they are not simply providing a new character, they are refining the levels to suit, and in the case of one of the next updates, providing some new levels as well.
Spring is the best I can find on the next set of dlc. I hope they continue to support the 3DS version post Switch, it'll presumably be the same time next year for the King Knight stuff.
Played with Plaguey a bit more (PC and Vita) and the extra weapon upgrades do make things easier. The float burst jump, and the heavy armour are very helpful.
Plaguey's getting on my nerves, I need to slow down otherwise I'll just keep losing the money I pick up. How far in is the heavy armour, and does that prevent you from getting knocked backwards into chasms?
Just been looking at the PS4 version, in anticipation of the battle mode (I only have this on 3DS, which won't support that mode). Whilst fiddling around online I discovered the Wii U version has full campaign co-op using the SK Amiibo. Mind blown.
Is there no limit to the awesomeness? I'm sulking a bit as buying that version + the figure would cost more than double the disco copy on PS4, but it's still a magnificent thing.