Shovel Knight is one of my favorite games of all time. This was not a game I expected to see in the greater Shovel Knight universe, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is not really a puzzle game. It is more of an action game that lets you take out enemies in chains. However, the game does require you to use your noggin at times.

The story is Shovel Knight is trapped in a puzzle dungeon and has to fight his way back into his world. That is pretty much it is. However, the story isn’t really the reason you would play this game.

The gameplay is very simple. Enemies and blocks fall from the top of the screen, and you have to survive until the end of the level. This is done by attacking enemies, healing when life is low, and planning out your course of action. Despite this, the game can get very challenging as more complicated foes are introduced.

At different points, the game will introduce a boss battle which is one of the bosses from the original Shovel Knight game. They are very fun and feel like they are an adequate challenge for the player. Once they are defeated the player can play them in future runs.

An Odd Roguelike

The game lets you play the game as a Roguelike which is how I played it. That made the experience better in my opinion because I like Roguelikes quite a bit, as you may have guessed.

While not an issue the game feels weird that it gives you the option not to play it as a roguelike, as it seems too easy to play it any other way. However, the player can do a level selection which is unlocked after a level is beaten.

The game is tricky, but it can be solved fairly quickly. I was able to beat the game in only 6 hours which is kind of short, but I had a good time. However, I don’t know how replayable it is.

A good portion of the characters were uninteresting, and I only played them once. Treasure Knight and Propeller Knight were my two favorites.

Is it a Sequel?

I don’t think this game is a sequel, and it feels like a Shovel Knight fanfic. However, It was fun to see some of my favorite characters in Shovel Knight back again.

I am a big fan of Shovel Knight, and I have currently played every piece of Shovel Knight media. This is by far not the best in the series. However, that is a hard group of games to compete with.

A game that is so different from the rest of the series should be judged individually. However, I think this game has minimal appeal if you are not already a Shovel Knight fan. The game is filled with fan service that will fall flat, and the core gameplay isn’t fantastic.

Conclusion

It was a good time, and I will probably come back to the game at some point. The game has enough variety to be a fun little roguelike to play for thirty minutes or so. However, if you are not already a fan of Shovel Knight I would watch some videos of the gameplay first.

7.5

A surprisingly fun game that is perfect for any fan of Shovel Knight. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and that is perfect for this game.