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All Articles: Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows will infect all platforms on September 17
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight‘s Plague of Shadows expansion will be available to download on all platforms and in all regions on September 17. The free update will completely transform the game, allowing players to take control of the villainous Plague Knight as he does battle with his fellow knights of The Order of No Quarter.
However, this challenge is only for expert players as the Plague of Shadows campaign will remain locked unless you’ve beaten the game as Shovel Knight.
Unlike some cinematic knights, prospective Plague of Shadows players won’t need to choose wisely as Shovel Knight is currently available for the PC, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One. Yacht Club will continue to expand the world of Shovel Knight in the future as campaigns centered around King Knight and Specter Knight are in the works. In the nearer future, a Shovel Knight Amiibo figure, which will unlock a Co-Op Campaign on the 3DS and Wii U, will be released sometime this Fall.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Shovel Knight Amiibo figure (and possibly a sequel) officially announced by Nintendo
Wii U and 3DS owners were left out in the cold earlier this year when Shovel Knight‘s PS4 and Xbox One debut included exclusive platform-specific content. We could only sit back and watch as our knightly brethren did battle with Kratos and the Battletoads. However, the wait was probably worth it as Yacht Club Games had a very important Shovel Knight-related announcement to make during Nindies@Night, Nintendo’s pre-PAX event at the EMP Museum.
This news is three-pronged, and huge, so let’s start small. You know what else is small? Amiibo figures are small. Even a Shovel Knight Amiibo figure, which will be available this Fall and which unlocks exclusive content in the 3DS and Wii U game. On the Wii U, players will be able to team up with a friend and take on the Order of No Quarter in a co-op mode. In addition, customizable gear (featuring new visual enhancements, relics, and abilities) and a special Challenge Mode will also be available on the Wii U and the 3DS.
Let me pause for a moment and mention that Nintendo did not announce Shovel Knight’s addition to the DLC slate for Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U, even though an extensive fan campaign has been pushing for the character’s inclusion in the fighting game for months. However, the commission of an Amiibo figure (the first to be compatible with a Nindie game) is certainly a strong indicator that Nintendo is at least considering it.
Moving on, Nintendo also confirmed that the Shovel Knight Amiibo will be compatible with future games released for Nintendo platforms. So, in a roundabout way, Nintendo just confirmed the existence of Shovel Knight 2 (or a Shovel Knight appearance in Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U).
Yacht Club teased a “MEGATON” announcement earlier this week, and the announcement of a sequel to their beloved debut game (or an appearance in Smash Bros.) certainly fits the bill. Though, I suppose, the upcoming expansions would also count as “future games.” So we probably shouldn’t start talking sequel just yet.
Finally, the developer revealed that the Plague of Shadows expansion will be available to download in September. And if you’re interested in seeing the Shovel Knight Amiibo figure “in action,” I recommend checking out the comedic trailer from Game Grumps after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows release date is “imminent”
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, their free expansion to Shovel Knight, will be available to download very soon.
According to the latest Kickstarter update, development was completed on August 5 and Plague of Shadows is now going through the submission process with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. So while a final release date is still up in the air, Yacht Club is confident that the expansion’s launch can be considered “imminent.” To celebrate, they’ve released a brand new trailer for the expansion, which gives us a glimpse at some of the new areas and the wide array of potions that Plague Knight has access to.
However, if you’d prefer to hobnob with the development team on the eve of their next triumph, you can. Yacht Club Games is planning to attend Nintendo’s pre-PAX Prime party, Nindies@Night. If you’re in the Seattle area this Thursday, be sure to stop by the EMP Museum at 8:00 PM (Pacific Time) to give Shovel Knight’s Challenge Mode a whirl.
Yacht Club Games will also have a booth at PAX Prime proper as well, so you can test out Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows in Seattle all weekend long.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Yacht Club will uncover a retail version of Shovel Knight on October 13
After selling more than 700,000 copies of Shovel Knight across seven different platforms, Yacht Club Games has announced plans to release a retail edition of the game on October 13. Yacht Club will self-publish Shovel Knight’s retail edition, which will be priced at $19.99 on the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One. Our friends in Europe will also get the chance to buy a boxed version of the game for the PC if they so choose.
The boxed version of Shovel Knight will come complete with the Plague of Shadows expansion, which Yacht Club says will be available for owners of the download version much sooner than October. Whether you own the boxed version or the download version, all Shovel Knight players will eventually receive free access to all the planned updates including the Specter Knight expansion, the King Knight expansion, Battle Mode, and Body Swap Mode. Naturally, Shovel Knight’s retail edition will also include a retro-tastic instruction booklet.
You can visit Yacht Club’s official website for an even more in-depth look at Shovel Knight’s retail edition and the upcoming Plague of Shadows expansion.
The cartridge-based console is coming back with Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage
The cartridge-based console shuffled off this mortal coil more than a decade ago when Nintendo discontinued the Nintendo 64. The format had a great run, but the lower cost and higher storage capacity of compact discs killed it for good. Or did it? Retro Magazine‘s Mike Kennedy recently sat down with VentureBeat to talk about the Retro Video Game System, a new cartridge-based console that he plans to release next year.
Repurposing the case mold from the Atari Jaguar, Kennedy’s Retro VGS will bring classic game design to a new generation using the time-tested delivery method of cartridges. However, the innards of the console will be brand new and the cartridges will use flash memory similar to that seen in USB sticks. The Retro VGS team has also partnered with Interworks to produce a branded controller for the system that evokes the fusion of classic and modern controller design found in the Wii U Pro Controller.
With the huge resurgence of retro-style gaming in recent years, Kennedy and his team have reached out to these developers in the hopes of bringing their games to the Retro VGS. The consolemaker cited Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage as two games that he’s reasonably confident will be released for the Retro VGS when it’s available. At this year’s PAX East expo, Yacht Club’s Nick Wozniak told me they “very much want to” release a retail version of Shovel Knight. I imagine a retail cartridge version of the game would be a dream come true.
Kennedy considers 2D titles like Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage “the sweet spot” for the Retro VGS. The system’s main focus will be sprite-based games from the 16-bit era, but he’s open to the idea of including enough power for developers to create polygonal PSX/N64-type games (or maybe even PS2-like games) as well.
A Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of the Retro Video Game System will launch sometime this Summer with plans to release the cartridge-based console next year if all goes according to plan.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Retro City Rampage, Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight PS3/PS4/Vita/Xbox One Review: Still Digging It
What a difference a year can make! This time last year, Shovel Knight was just a promising platformer that was still two months away from release. A lot of people backed its Kickstarter campaign and still more got their hands on it at PAX East and PAX Prime, but most people were probably unaware of its existence. While we liked what we saw at those preview events, we had no idea just how good the game would actually turn out to be.
So here we are in 2015. Shovel Knight made its debut last June and instantly won the hearts of gamers everywhere. Perfect review scores (like this one from us) piled up like the sacks of gold collected by the title character. Six months later, a gaggle of “Game of the Year” awards rained down from outlets across the Internet (including a selection to Warp Zoned’s “Apocalypse List”).
So what does Yacht Club Games do for an encore? They put the exact same game on the PS3/PS4/PS Vita and the Xbox One and add a pair of platform-exclusive bosses. If you bought it last year, there’s no need to buy it again, but everyone else needs to fill the Shovel Knight-sized hole in their tool shed right now. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Shovel Knight, State of Decay: Year-One Edition, Project Root, more
Steel thy Shovel, gentle knave, for Shovel Knight is now available to download on the Xbox One. Yacht Club’s retro-inspired platformer will also include an appearance by the long-lost Battletoads, who will challenge Shovel Knight in a special boss battle hidden somewhere on the game’s map. And here’s something else you’ll dig… the game will receive a free expansion, Plague of Shadows, in the coming weeks, as well as two more updates before the end of the year.
Also available for the Xbox One this week is State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition, an updated and enhanced version of Undead Labs’ zombie survival simulation. In addition to a fancy new graphical presentation, the package also includes both of the game’s downloadable expansions.
One last Xbox One release this week is Project Root, a shoot ’em up developed by OPQAM.
Finally, Ubisoft has added a video game adaptation of Risk on the Xbox 360 side of the Xbox Games Store. Players will be able to use the 2010 rules as they attempt to crush their opponents in the game of “Global Domination.”
More information about all of these new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Project Root, Shovel Knight, State of Decay
PS Store Today: Shovel Knight, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, more
Prepare thee, future Knights of Shovelry, for Yacht Club Games has added Shovel Knight to the PlayStation Store today. Shovel Knight is the final selection in Sony’s 2015 Spring Fever promotion, and it’ll be available for the PS3, PS4, and PS Vita as a Cross-Buy title. The game will also offer Cross-Save support across all three platforms and a special battle with God of War‘s Kratos that is sure to be epic.
Also available this week on the PS4 is Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, Ubisoft’s first entry in the “Chronicles” sub-series of side-scrollers. In China, players will have to make good on the vendetta of Shao Jun, the last remaining Assassin of the Chinese Brotherhood, before venturing to India and Russia in two additional games scheduled to be released this Fall. The PS4 is also now home to LA Cops this week. LA Cops doesn’t take place in a foreign land, but its setting is no less different as this overhead two-man (but not two-player) shooter is set in a stylized version of the 1970s.
More information on all of these titles (along with a few additional new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, Shovel Knight