Despite coming out back in 2021 it’s been a busy few days forShovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. The single-screen falling-block dungeon puzzler saw the release of a beta test on Steam of its online multiplayer on July 2, starting off a two-week trial to put the Pals Pack DLC that the online component is a part of through its paces. This continues Pocket Dungeon’s annual tradition of the last few years, with the Puzzler’s Pack coming out June 2023, Paradox Pack in August 2024, and soon enough the Pals Pack DLC once the feedback from the weekend’s test is integrated. Admitted, it’s hard to say why it’s called “DLC” when they’ve been more like major game updates, no separate download required, but it’s still a fairly ambitious update cycle for a game that’s now almost four years old.
The Answer to “Will It Blend” for Game Genres Is Frequently And Surprisingly “Yes!”
The core gameplay of Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon is a combination of turn-based movement in a single-screen arena and falling-block puzzle game which, yes, is a very strange combination that’s even more impressive due to how well it works. The blocks are mostly monsters but sometimes dirt, treasure chests, bombs, or other bonuses scattered into the mix, and they fall from the top at a constant but manageable pace. Shovel Knight can move anywhere in the eight by eight arena, with the gravity bringing down the monsters not affecting him in the slightest, and to clear a block he just needs to ram into it. Ramming into dirt or other inert items is free, but hitting a monster means both Shovel Knight and the creature lose a hit point apiece. A standard block type is for potions, though, so topping off health is fairly easy until the screen starts getting complicated. When a monster or any other block type is cleared it takes out all others of the same type that may be touching it at the same time, and the more that are cleared at once the bigger the gem bonus.
Review: Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon might be a pocket-sized dungeon, but there’s a huge amount of fun in it.
Over the years new DLC packs have added more game modes, more characters to play as, more monsters and dungeon types, and a near-uncountable number of other tweaks, adjustments, updates, and changes. The Pals Pack’s headlining addition is the online VS mode, where two players compete with an agreed upon or randomized set of rules, each in their own dungeon running in split-screen. This is the same as in local play but, like with all previous updates, new modes and modifiers are being added to the mix. The update also includes changes to Endless mode, new hats, and even a secret new playable character.
The free weekend does bring with it a lingering question, which is “Didn’t the Steam Summer Sale just wrap up?” Yes, yes it did, but in addition to being free to play from right this second to July 14 (ending 1PM EST) the sale price remains in place for a while longer in case you decide you really love and just can’t live without the game. In the meantime it’s four full days of free access to a great combination of block-clearing puzzler and turn-based dungeon crawling, so if you haven’t had a crack at Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon in the last several years there’s never been a better time to test it out.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
