Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is a 2D top-down puzzle roguelite game and an entry in the Shovel Knight series in collaborative development by Yacht Club Games and Vine. Its gameplay and graphical designs are based on Puzzle Knights Deluxe, a remake of Puzzle Knights which Vine was developing.
Unlike the Treasure Trove compilation before it, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon has multiple alternate endings, a normal one and a true one to be exact, similarly to Shovel Knight Dig.
Yacht Club Games announced their intention to release at least three DLC packs for the game post-launch.[1] The first of these DLC is known as the Puzzler's Pack; the second DLC is known as the Paradox Pack.
Official Description[]
| “ | Delve with Shovel Knight into the depths of the Pocket Dungeon on an action-packed puzzle adventure mashup like none other! Join your mysterious guide Puzzle Knight as you shovel through scads of foes, procure new equipment, and battle bosses both familiar and new. Explore a tale with endless twists and turns, quest as your favorite heroes, and even challenge a friend for fast-paced head-to-head competition in Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon! | ” |
Gameplay[]
Dungeons[]
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon has its own world map and stages called Dungeons. Each Dungeon presents itself as a 8 by 8 grid being slowly filled from the top with enemies, obstacles, potions, and objects from the top. The longer the player character survives the Dungeon, the more Treasure Chests they can obtain, and eventually reach the exit. As they progress through the Dungeons, more Items and Relics are randomly acquired, usually by purchasing, increasing their strength in various ways. Dying inside a Dungeon however results in losing all Items, Relics, and progress towards the end of the Pocket Dungeon, but lets the player character keep their Gems and newly recruited knights. The Gems can then be used at Camp or Castle Quandary to buy upgrades, such as fast travel points from Percy, new possible items and relics to appear in dungeons from Chester, or Hats from Mr. Hat. The game's Dungeons are:
- Plains
- Pridemoor Keep
- Lich Yard
- Magic Landfill
- Iron Whale
- Chromatic Caverns
- Clockwork Tower
- Stranded Ship
- Flying Machine
- Scholar's Sanctum
- Tower of Fate (if the Key Fragments are all collected)
The Explodatorium and Lost City don't appear as full Dungeons, but rather as arenas for boss fights against Plague Knight and Mole Knight respectively. The former also presumably appears in the secret room in which Mona is unlocked.
Plot[]
Characters[]
Playable Characters and Default Abilities[]
Most knights must be defeated in battle in order to be unlocked, with a few special exceptions. Once a special Quandary has been cleared, most of the playable knights will receive an additional, alternate ability, which can be freely switched between with their main one in safe areas.
- Shovel Knight - Strike the Earth! - Fatal blows do extra damage to chains. Finds more potions. (Unlocked by default as the starting character.)
- King Knight - Gold and Glory - Press ☆ to Bash! Hits harder based on distance, but you'll take 1 more damage.
- Specter Knight - From the Shadows - Slay enemies to recover 2 HP. Potions hurt to drink.
- Plague Knight - Time for Research - Poison your foes with attacks and bombs! Reduced max HP. Immune to poison. Starting HP is 4. Attacking foes will poison them, including chains. Bombs now have the same poison effect on enemies, but the player is damaged normally by them.
- Mole Knight - Toil and Trouble - Press ☆ to burrow and swap positions!
- Treasure Knight - Everything Has a Price - Deals more damage when striking foes from below.
- Tinker Knight - Time for Tools - Gather metal, then press ☆ to build mech! Mech explodes when metal is depleted. Starting HP is 3. Metal is gathered by attacking blocks, with one per hit times the number of blocks in the chain. A maximum of 20 metal can be held, and the mech can be built if you have at least one. The mech increases HP and attack by 2, but attacking costs one metal when in it. When metal is depleted, the mech explodes, dealing 3 damage to all adjacent enemies and leaving Tinker Knight at 1 HP.
- Polar Knight - Power Overwhelming - Fatal blows freeze chains. Deal 1 more damage to frozen foes.
- Propeller Knight - The Spin Controller - +1 attack for each lone foe defeated. Chains reset your attack and deal you 1 more damage.
- Scrap Knight - Scrounge and Scavenge - Press ☆ to bag stuff and release it elsewhere! Items have more durability.
- Prism Knight - Prepare to be Dazzled - Press ☆ to Swap or Teleport! Swap nearby foes. Teleport a short distance.
- Puzzle Knight - Fall into Place - Press ☆ to rotate units around you clockwise. (Unlocked upon completing the game once).
- Black Knight - Steel Thy Shovel! - Spend Gem Meter to enhance attack. Diminishes when you drink a Potion. Reduced max HP. Pressing ☆ expends all current gem meter levels, increasing Black Knight's attack by 1 per level. As long as a potion isn't consumed to reset it, this buff can stack indefinitely. Starting HP is 3. (Unlocked when the third Key fragment is first found).
- Shield Knight - Gain a barrier after chaining. Survive 1 fatal blow per level. Reduced max HP. Starting HP is 4. A barrier can nullify one instance of non-hazard damage of any strength, and Shield Knight can have up to three at a time. A chain of 3 to 5 grants one barrier, 6 to 8 grants two, and 9 or more grants three. (Unlocked when the first Key Fragment is first found).
- Mona - Press ☆ to explode nearby potions! finds more potions. (Unlocked upon reaching 100 points in her minigame, then surviving a sideroom portal hosted by her and Percy).
- Random Knight - Transforms into a random knight when starting a new run. (Unlocked upon unlocking 3 knights; a certain hat blocks his transforming abilities).
- Shuffle Knight - Transforms into a random knight when starting a new level. (Unlocked upon unlocking 10 knights, not including Random Knight; a certain hat blocks his transforming abilities).
- Quandary Sage - Caretaker of Castle Quandary - Extended reach, but cannot equip Relics under normal circumstances. (Unlocked upon surviving 100 waves in Marathon).
- Spinwulf - Move two spaces at a time. Increased attack, but reduced HP. (Unlocked after using Polar Knight's Refract Ability to throw a Spinwulf into Percy's cannon).
- Chester - Added in the Paradox Pack DLC.
Antagonists[]
- The Pocket Dungeon Master - An individual shrouded in mystery who is supposedly the ultimate ruler of the puzzle box and the person behind the kidnappings.
- The Enchantress - Dance into the Abyss - The Enchantress, both as herself and as her alias Cloaked Figure, is conspiring in the shadows to take advantage of the situation. Added as a playable knight in the Paradox Pack DLC.
Supporting Characters[]
- Chester - Ever the shrewd merchant, the imprisoned Chester will sell both chances for Relics to appear in dungeons, as well as the Relics themselves if met inside one of said mazes.
- Puzzle Knight - A newcomer character. Trapped in the Pocket Dungeon like everybody else, this puzzle expert guides Shovel Knight's effort to escape by offering him advice.
- Big Bohto - Blissful Beetle - Chester's trusty towed animal, now in a well deserved sleep by the pond.
- Mona - Game Master - The Imprisoned Mona spends her time challenging whoever is able to find her hiding spot, in a game of quick reflexes. Reaching a high score in her game however, may inspire Mona to seek new explosive thrills elsewhere.
- Percy - Shortcut Practice Cannon Operator - The imprisoned Percy will offer a service to quick travel to deeper dungeons via his trusty cannon, once paid to unlock said routes.
- Troupple King - Immortal King of Fish and Fruit - Once met, the imprisoned Troupple King offers two types of Ichor that will last until the end of that particular dungeon.
- Tipp - A knight found at the base camp who shares his experiences from defying the Dungeon.
- Kee - Tipp's brother, he shares tips about Chester and Relics in the Dungeon.
- Tief - Inconspicuous Fellow - A burglar raccoon who is trying to break into Puzzle Knight's safe. Unseen, he provided Shovel Knight with the Guidebook.
- Glitzem - Emcee of the Relic Chance Game - A flamboyant Wizzem that plays card games for a chance to win a Relic.
- Myriad - Mysterious costume salesperson - An unidentifiable being that sells color palettes.
- Shrinemaster - A mysterious Super Skeleton that guards 4 shrines behind locked gates. Each shrine has a different toll to pay in order to open its gates: 3 keys (Lich Yard), one max HP (Chromatic Cavern), 20,000 gems (Stranded Ship), and a boss fight against the Shrinemaster (Flying Machine).
- Adult Bean - Seasoned Legume - He may be young, but this magical plant can achieve remarkable heights if allowed to grow. His yellow mustache is so attractive, someone may be tempted to steal it and keep it for themselves.
- Hedge Farmer - Knows a lot about beans, but is allergic to them / Gardener with spiked quills and planting skills - Ever industrious, the imprisoned Hedge Farmer has set a small vegetable patch in the Dungeon. If helped grow a certain giant bean, then it may lead to new unexplored locations.
- Fleeto - Unaffected by regular attacks - A pest that will hinder the growth of Adult Bean, once defeated once, it will return later on, and can be hit as many times one desire as a distraction.
- Beefto - 22 HP Beeto - A Beeto who has achieved both the ability to speak and a chiselled body of muscles. If someone distinguisces themselves by doing an impressive feat of endurance, Beefto will reward them with his most prized possession.
- Plague Minion - Reflex Test Intern - Ever at the service of Plague Knight and Mona, this imprisoned Plague Minion will be forced to substitute one of his bosses if they ever vacate their post as a minigame host.
- Mr. Hat - Connoisseur, haberdasher, and proprietor - Just like Chester, the imprisoned Mr. Hat also has set up shop in the Pocket Dungeon, selling Hats to any paying customers. He is however very protective of his wares, and may seek retaliation to those who wears an eccessive ammount of them.
- Bricks - Renovation Rat.
- Sledge Farmer -Hammer wielder, sculptor of stone - One of Hedge Farmer's Brothers, Sledge Farmer is an artist in search for the right model for his next sculpture; if one of the prisoners achieve some impressive challenges, he may chose them as his next art subject.
Synopsis[]
Sometime during the events of Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope and Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows,[2] while Shovel Knight slept near his fireplace, a present box magically appeared before him. After waking up, Shovel Knight, intrigued, decides check its contents, finding inside the Pocket Dungeon, a magical box in which he is trapped inside. After falling in it, Shovel Knight is rescued and taken care of by Chester and Puzzle Knight, who stumbled upon him while traveling around in their Bohto Wagon. After teaching him the basics of how the Pocket Dungeon works, Puzzle Knight takes Shovel Knight to the camp in which the two were living. Shovel Knight then sets on to reach Scholar's Sanctum and defeat the Pocket Dungeon Master, a being which, according to Puzzle Knight, once defeated would allow them all to escape the cube. While traversing the Pocket Dungeon, Shovel Knight encounters many familiar characters who were also trapped in the cube, whom he defeats and subsequently recruits, making them all join the camp.
Within the levels, Shrines holding the fragments of the key to the Pocket Dungeon, which Puzzle Knight had accidentally shattered after being trapped in the cube, can be found which are required for the true ending. In the Flying Machine, Shovel Knight meets Prism Knight, whom he briefly sees talking to Puzzle Knight about trapping more knights. She then mentions her father, who was thought to have gone missing in the Pocket Dungeon looking for its key, but Puzzle Knight stops the conversation to run away as someone was approaching. Shovel Knight and Prism Knight then fight, and she joins the others in the camp. Eventually, at Scholar's Sanctum, Shovel Knight learns that Puzzle Knight was actually the Pocket Dungeon Master all along, looking for a keen mind to replace him as the cube's ruler so that he could finally leave. If he is defeated without the fragments collected, the dungeon explodes and Shovel Knight flees through a portal, leaving everyone else behind.
If the key is complete, however, after Puzzle Knight is beaten, Prism Knight appears and tells him about how the key has been assembled. He rejoices and attempts to place it in the keyhole in the center of the room, which creates a hole that leads to one final area: the Tower of Fate. There, the three encounter The Enchantress, who reveals to have been the one behind all of the new imprisoned heroes with the help of Prism Knight, who had been projecting her clones outside the Pocket Dungeon and placing it in strategic spots. The Enchantress had manipulated her by promising she'd see her father if all had gone as planned. Shovel Knight then fights The Enchantress, who, once defeated, transforms Puzzle Knight into the Master Mind. After both of them are defeated, a portal appears in the middle of the arena and, just as the Pocket Dungeon collapses, the three escape with all of the other imprisoned heroes.
In the post-credits scene, it is revealed that Puzzle Knight is Prism Knight's father, and the reward for clearing the Pocket Dungeon is a telescope that summons a shooting star in the sky when used.
Gallery[]
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