Shovel Knight

[The Shoemaker]

I'm surprised it's sold so well on 3DS, considering how stingy some of the players are. It's one of the costlier games at $15, and I saw someone complaining just the other day about a $6 price point for Picross e6.

I haven't started the DLC yet. My Shovel Knight enthusiasm has had time to cool down, and it's not the kind of game I can jump in and out of easily.

[edit] I guess "30%" isn't necessarily a lot, if the overall sales weren't good, but I thought I read somewhere that they were.

I think the exact sales as of June 2015 were 700K units. So, 3DS would have sold 210K copies, but we can assume the number is higher now. It's also interesting that despite PS4 and XBOX One getting exclusive content, those versions only made up about 15% and 4% of the total sales respectively.

I think it will be really interesting once the game gets its physical release this fall. I know it's on Wii U and 3DS, not sure if the other platforms are getting physical releases as well.

[pdSlooper]

Well, Xbox1 and PS4 came out, like, a year later. Though it still surprises me that there'd be THAT much of a difference. I wonder if the X1 and PS4 players that wanted to play it just got it on another platform? Are there more exclusive Nintendo platform owners? Did Nintendo advertise it more? Did people buy it more on one console due to that console having fewer similar games? I'd really like to know.

[The Shoemaker]

Well, Xbox1 and PS4 came out, like, a year later. Though it still surprises me that there'd be THAT much of a difference. I wonder if the X1 and PS4 players that wanted to play it just got it on another platform? Are there more exclusive Nintendo platform owners? Did Nintendo advertise it more? Did people buy it more on one console due to that console having fewer similar games? I'd really like to know.

Yeah, even as sales grow I would expect the ratios to stay pretty stable, unless there are massive sales, which I don't think Yatch Club has done on any platform yet. But totally, a lot of factors that would be interesting to know. I think Nintendo had a decent amount of advertising for the game, it also helps that it was a really good game on a digital service without too many big hits. And now they have the exclusive Shovel Knight amiibo coming too.

[Humphries90]

Slowly making my way through the DLC. I'm definitely not finding it as fun as the original but it's nice to have. I think it's mainly down to the controls. Shovel Knight had perfect, precise controls, whereas Plague Knight's propulsion is much more wild and unpredictable.

[The Shoemaker]

The physical release is coming out on November 3rd in NA, and October 30th in Europe. The XBOX One physical version has been canceled due to Microsofts publising policies - but of course the game is still available as a digital download. No updates on the amiibo release yet.

http://yachtclubgames.com/2015/10/retail-update/

And Humphries, Shovel Knight did control really well, so it's definitely a change of pace to play as Plague Knight. I do like the change though, just as something that's different, not necessarily better.

[The Shoemaker]

I've been messing around with the Amiibo for this game lately, and this is probably the most I've enjoyed an Amiibo in a game so far.

The main thing the Amiibo does is unlock the Custom Knight quest within the game. Essentially what this does is change the flow of the game so that instead of gathering money to buy upgrades, you gather money more like experience points and level up when you reach certain thresholds. Bonuses for leveling up include upgrading your health, gaining new relics, new abilities and fun aesthetic modifiers. This kind of changes the flow of the game because you level up while you're playing so you can be in the middle of a stage and gain new relics.

You start off earning a lot of the relics that are already in the main game, but you do get some new ones as well like an anchor you can latch onto to shoot you in an arc, make a double of Shovel Knight to attack enemies, a new explosion wand ect. The real interesting part is the abilities. This actually makes the game play a little more like Plague Knight as you're able to customize what new moves Shovel Knight will have. These range from giving you a gentle glide as you fall, give you a double jump, letting you absorb money around you, give you a new shovel technique, ect. You can even change your attacks to how Plague Knight attacks. It's neat and really changes how you play. You also gain new aesthetic changes like turning your head into a fish head, vomiting rainbows and leaving a trail of fire behind you everywhere you go.

Ultimately it gives you another reason to play through the game again. The new skills let you tackle the stages in new ways while also making it feel a little fresh with the level up system. It's not a game changer, but a fun bonus for anyone who has already played the game. The Amiibo also unlocks more challenges and Co-op in the Wii U version. You can also use the Custom Knight mode with any of the cheat codes as well I believe.

[The Shoemaker]

Specter Knight has arrived! (over a month ago actually).

The Specter Knight campaign is great. The gameplay feels quite different as you can run up walls now and the big focus is on your ability to diagonally cut through enemies to reach higher (and lower) places. Unlike Plague Knight all the levels are remixed so it's essentially a new game, but with the same locations as the original Shovel Knight. The game is also a bit more story focused, expanding on those moments in the original Shovel Knight where you have to catch Shield Knight, but with a story that carries all the way through.

There's this fun gauntlet mode hidden in the hub world where you climb this procedurally generated tower, very tough. I made it to the top after several attempts.

I believe the game is now available on all platforms, or is very close to being. If you already own Shovel Knight this is a free update.