I couldn’t help but compare this unlock schedule with Dead Cells, a game that showers you in a tsunami of skins, weapons and secrets. I’d unlocked all the items, most of the characters, and had completed my first run within a few hours. It’s just I always felt I was snacking on them, not filling up. This isn’t to say these mechanics are bad, as unlocking characters and items, earning gems to spend on each run, and saving keys alongside other resources to net better rewards are welcome additions. The roguelite elements of Pocket Dungeon are one such plate, with the chef making sure you taste the word lite. Every time you select a new character though, a new plate gets put on the table, allowing you to taste the flavours of the game for a while longer, and they’re delicious. Sure, it all tastes good, but before you know it each plate is empty. Imagine going to a top quality buffet where all the different dishes are served like tapas. Without the plethora of characters though, Pocket Dungeon would start getting weak at the knees. Mastering a character like that takes some time, and it creates a new gameplay scenario for you to experiment with. If you play your cards right, he can one-shot individual opponents and reset the combo by taking out a massive chain with just one hit. Every time I chose someone new how I approached the game almost reset It takes what you knew about the core gameplay loop, each boss and specific level, and asks you to recontextualise how you tackle it all.Īs an example, Propellor Knight takes one extra damage when attacking a chain, but gains an extra damage combo for every lone enemy he defeats. Credit: Yacht Club Games/Vineįor a puzzle game with a simple premise, the character-change-up delivers such an exotic dose of flair that could only really exist thanks to the wider Shovel Knight franchise. The other characters all have special abilities as well, which means whoever you play as modifies the core gameplay loop to differing levels. All of them offer a different playstyle: Shovel Knight is run-of-the-mill, Tinker Knight collects scrap for a mech, Prism Knight can teleport, and Spectre Knight heals by defeating enemies. Almost every boss, some side characters, and even new faces are available to unlock. That’s until you start playing as one of the many characters, as the sire and his shovel aren’t alone on this adventure. Unless you mess around with the settings, the core gameplay of Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon doesn’t evolve all that much (but it’s already excellent). This difficulty plateaus quite quickly though, as you know exactly how to deal with each opponent, when to go for potions to maximise health, and how often to use keys on chests or spend the hard-earned gems you collect on each run in the shop. This means how you approach each opponent changes as you interact with the stage: you might take out stragglers to set up bigger combos, make a beeline for the items to use against them, or always keep an eye out for the potions that heal you, making sure they’re never more than a few moves away.įiguring out the intricacies of each level and its enemies is initially quite the challenge, as the speed of each encounter seems incredibly daunting (unless you slow it down or only have the screen move as you, by changing the options). You can’t brute force each level, as the enemy will either kill you – which makes you respawn whilst the screen slowly fills, unless you play one-life mode – or put up a defence, meaning you need to rethink your strategy. Having the enemies/puzzle pieces deal damage when you attack creates a risk-versus-reward take on puzzle solving I truly found myself enamoured with. The core premise is somewhat similar to Tetris and Bejeweled, as enemies slowly move down the screen taking up space, and if it fills you lose. Here it’s street rules Tetris though, where the Tetrominoes would throw hands if you tried to match them. I like Shovel Knight as a character and the world he inhabits, and I’ve played my fair share of puzzle games, but Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon still managed to present me with a truly fresh take on puzzle-solving, like Cadence of Hyrule did for adventure games. I admit this as someone with no real expectations. It’s safe to say Pocket Dungeon does the latter. It manages to balance itself between frenetic puzzle-combat and action-adventure design – alongside a few sprinkled-in roguelite elements – to make sure its 8×8 play area never stagnates. Raised by their uncle Enter The Gungeon, this puzzler could either coast through life or use this lineage to its advantage. If Cadence of Hyrule and Tetris had a one-night stand, the ensuing love child would be called Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |