Author: Rich Meister
Shovel Knight is a masterpiece. That’s a buzzword I don’t like to throw around recklessly, but it rings true here. Shovel Knight’s humor, gameplay, homage to classic games, as well as its music and art, are second to none, and it is without question one of the best games of the past ten years. It’s because of this that I jump at the chance to play anything Yacht Club Games puts out, especially if they’re feeling confident enough to attach the Shovel Knight IP.
Puzzle games are also one of my weaknesses, so Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon was a must-play for me. Pocket Dungeon does a marvelous job of blending the things that make Shovel Knight great with classic puzzle game ideas, all while bringing something entirely unique to the table.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
Developer: Vine/ Yacht Club Games
Publisher: Yacht Club Games
Release Date: December 13, 2021
MSRP: $19.99
At the outset of Pocket Dungeon, our shovel-wielding hero finds himself trapped in the titular dungeon with the mysterious Puzzle Knight. Puzzle Knight explains that he’s been trapped here trying to solve the Dungeon for some time and that if you’re to stand a chance at escaping, you’ll need to recruit the help of others.
A single match of Pocket Dungeon plays out visually, much like classic puzzle games Tetris or Puyo Puyo. You’re presented with an 8X8 grid where blocks sometimes fall in the form of familiar enemies; other times, blocks of sand, stone, or even health potions. Unlike other puzzles games, you don’t control the blocks, but Shovel Knight himself, who moves freely about the grid striking tiles to destroy them, lining up rows of blocks, allows you to clear them all at once and increase your gem multiplier. The catch? You have health points, and the blocks hit back. Striking health potions allows you to restore your health and keep in the game.
The cast of Knights from the original game makes a return as bosses who become playable upon their defeat, each with their own unique play style. For example, Spectre Knight is damaged by health potions but heals by clearing blocks, while Plague Knight poisons enemies, making them take extra damage after his attack but starts runs with less health. Newcomers Prism Knight and Scrap Knight also join the fray.
One of the most unusual and versatile elements of Pocket Dungeon’s story mode is how customizable the difficulty is. You can choose to play it like a classic puzzle game; when you die, you respawn and lose once the board is completely full and you can no longer advance, or you can choose to play with a stock of lives, adding more rogue-like elements and making the game incredibly punishing.
To add to the rogue-like feel of Pocket Dungeon, you can also spend gems earned from matches to add new upgrades to the slew of power-ups that drop by purchasing them back at your camp. These upgrades range from increased health and higher damage output to freezing enemies and preventing them from attacking. These skills can turn the tide when facing off against heavily armored enemy types in certain areas.
I worked with the unlimited lives for my first few clears, but something is satisfying about clearing boards with the increased difficulty spike.
There’s also a Puzzle Fighter-like versus mode that only feels truly fleshed out once you’ve unlocked most of the knights but will likely be what gives this game staying power. Some of the AI can be tough, but once you’ve learned what character you play best with, there’s nothing quite like going head to head against another human opponent.
There’s also a daily challenge run that has players see how far they can get with a specific character and set of abilities. I can’t imagine I’ll remain high up on the leaderboards once this game is released to the public, but I had a decent run.
Jake Kaufman returns for another phenomenal soundtrack that keeps the classic Shovel Knight flare and will likely remain in my work music rotation for years to come. Art design mostly remains identical to the original game, even if the characters are a little more chibi and squished to fit their tile-based surroundings. Making Polar Knight fit on this board seems like it was probably a bitch.
Verdict: I had high hopes for Pocket Dungeon, and if anything, it exceeded them. Far from a quick cash in on a recognizable name. Pocket Dungeon can stand toe to toe with most any puzzle game, and I hope it isn’t the last we see of our horned knight branching out into other gaming genres.
Buy it
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher]