Yacht Club Games, an indie company that I have shown the uttermost respect towards ever since I've started playing their games. Playing Shovel Knight for the first time back in middle school has to be one of my favorite gaming memories. My older sister got the game for her 12th birthday and immediately loaded it up on our Nintendo Wii U to play. Unlike most people at the time who owned either a Playstation 4 or Xbox One, I was one of the very few who still played on Nintendo consoles. I didn’t have access to games like Bloodborne, God of War, Nier: Automata , or any other high quality game. It was just me, Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and whatever else I owned at the time. So when my sister decided to get Shovel Knight for her birthday I was quite confused with what this game was. I knew it was a 2D side scrolling platformer, but I don't understand what the game was trying to aim for. My sister didn’t really seem into Shovel Knight after the first few hours of playtime, so instead she gave the game to me to play. I started up a new save file and was slowly drawn in by how charming the game was. It was challenging at first since all the games I played before were Mario and Zelda, but soon I ended up loving how well designed Shovel Knight was. How it taught me the mechanics of the game by simply playing through the opening level and wanted me to overcome each challenge through trial and error. I played it from beginning to end, found every single collectible, and replayed it over and over without getting tired.
Shovel Knight is a game I hold very close to my heart for how it got me knee deep into gaming and it’s one of my few most favorite games of all time. It’s not only a perfect example of how to do a video game, but how to lead an indie project. Without the creation of Shovel Knight, some indie developers wouldn’t be motivated to start their own projects. Making a video game is hard and starting your own company is even harder, but once these developers put their heart into something they enjoy they can achieve whatever they can. Shovel Knight originally started off as a joke made by a few men, but then it eventually became a Kickstarter campaign. Yacht Club Games ended up exceeding the funds they needed and were able to add in some of the bonus goals they had. This meant they were not only to create the main game and ports to all modern consoles, but they were to expand the game over time. For the next few years, Yacht Club Games would constantly update the game by filling it with new content.
The campaigns took the formula that made Shovel Knight strive and added interesting mechanics and ideas. Each of the expansions added to Shovel Knight was big enough to be their own individual game, and the accumulation of expansions got so big that Shovel Knight ended up transforming into the fantastic Treasure Trove. A collection of the whole Shovel Knight saga. It consisted of Shovel of Hope which was the original base game, Plague of Shadows which was the first expansion, Specter of Torment which was the second expansion, and finally the recently released King of Cards which is the third and final expansion to the Treasure Trove. Man the wait was worth it.
When it came to the development of Shovel Knight: King of Cards, Yacht Club stated that they wanted to make this the biggest and grandest expansion yet. Take what they learned from Shovel of Hope and their most acclaimed expansion Specter of Torment, and shoot the quality through the roof. More goofy written characters, new levels and environments, unique mechanics, and the staple they followed for the Shovel Knight series. Now that King of Cards is finally out I can safely say that Yacht Club has lived up to everything they promised. I would like to thank them for making such a fantabulous collection of games, for being an important contributor to my love of video games, and whatever projects they're working on now can continue bringing out joy for the entire world. With that said we'll now be talking about why I loved King of Cards and why it deserves your attention. So polish your golden crown, grab a deck of Joustus cards, and prepare for a royal journey across the land.
Story
Out of nowhere a new card game known as Joustus begins to sweep throughout the land and burn like a wildfire. Everyone was picking up on the new craze. Purchasing packs of Justus cards, gathering up in local taverns, and competing with each other to see who would become the very best at Joustus. Along with the release of the new card game came a tournament being held by the three kings who ruled the land. There is King Pridemoor who peacefully rules from his throne at the glistening castle of Pridemoor Keep. The Troupple King who looks after his several Tropple followers in the swampy Tropple Kingdom. And King Birder who has never been seen physically in person and rules the thundering peaks of the Birder Kingdom. A rumor has been spreading around the land stating whoever can beat each of the three kings in a fight would be given an unholy amount of wealth and be crowned the title: King of Cards.
Who could be so interested in being called the King of Cards? Well King Knight of course! Well he’s not actually a king, but he wishes to one day grow up, become a king, and rule his own people. King Knight hears about the Joustus tournament and the royal reward, and decides to embark on an epic journey to become the King of Cards. Prove to all the people who called him a fool that he can be a true monarch. King Knight is provided support by his mother who has raised him his entire life and eventually heads to a nearby tavern to learn how to play Joustus. King Knight quickly picks on the card game, heads to a nearby tavern, and ends up becoming the best player within the place gathering the attention of two individuals. A whimsical singing Bard and a fancy chicken named Cooper. Cooper tells King Knight that he has been searching for a Joustus champion to travel with for days now, and that he and the Bard will help King Knight along his journey. Cooper takes King Knight to his airship high in the sky where they can set up a goal and chart out where to go next. The journey to become a king will be harder than King Knight thought, as multiple foes will stand his way. From there King Knight must battle his way through unexplored lands, gain followers who will aid him along his journey, and earn the title as King of Cards.
Gameplay
King of Cards is possibly the most challenging entry among the Shovel Knight collection. It contains levels that really push the players skills, reflexes, and reaction time to the max. The developers really wanted them to understand how King Knight works and how the level mechanics build up overtime. The world map is larger than before and contains multiple levels & paths for the player to take. Unlike Shovel Knight’s campaign where each level for a region needs to be beaten to progress, King Knight can take any path he wants and still reach the end level of a region. It plays out like some of the New Super Mario Bro games. At first you follow a linear path, but sometimes they branch out offering some form of choice. Everytime the player completes a level they unlock the next one and unravel more of the world. Explore as much of the world as you can, because you may encounter characters who want to support you along your journey or items that can be used to solve new problems.
The goal for each level is pretty simple: navigate your way around every obstacle, fight the baddies that lunge towards you, and reach the goal at the end. Unlike Shovel Knight who always has a boss at the end of each level, King Knight has a simple flying handle he can grab onto. Bosses for certain sections will only pop up if you complete the three levels within a sector. What I also like is that they are optional, and much like Specter of Torment some fights are changed entirely to fit and test King Knight’s moveset. Speaking of which, let's talk about some of King Knight’s unique abilities.
King Knight has a powerful bash that allows him to propel himself forward even when in midair. Using the bash carefully, King Knight can traverse across long gaps and by bashing into enemies or surfaces he can perform a spin. By spinning you can bounce off enemies and even reach areas you wouldn’t normally be able to access, but once you land on the ground the spin is over. Be careful where you bash though, because you can only use it one time while in midair. You can only bash again if you either touch the ground or bounce off of two enemies. Otherwise you may end up in instant death.
Scattered throughout every level is treasure the player can collect and as a Shovel Knight veteran I am about to offer you a piece of advice. Collect as much treasure as you can and check every wall for secrets, because treasure is needed to unlock upgrades that make the game much easier. If you die you lose a fraction of your treasure, but you are offered the ability to get it all back. If you die again while trying to retrieve it you lose more treasure and the treasure lost from before is lost forever. Think about how blood echoes work in Bloodborne. If you refuse to learn from your mistakes you won’t get stronger, you are punished even more, and won’t make any progress.
Along with treasure there are the Merit Medals, which are cleverly hidden through each level. You’ll have to look carefully if you want to find them all. Merit Medals can be used to purchase new weapons and upgrades for King Knight to use. You may get a hammer that uses up a lot of magic, but gives you hearts to replenish your health whenever you successfully hit enemies with it. Maybe a projectile that flies in a straight line and pierces through waves of foes. Side weapons are useful once you understand their benefits. Eventually you’ll be forced to fight bosses and you have to be ready if you want to take down each one. They have numerous attacks and will take multiple tries to defeat. All it takes is a little practice and skill. Mastery of combat is key.
Another aspect that’s new to King of Cards is the minigame known as Joustus, and you're gonna encounter a lot of these throughout the game. They are challenging, confusing, and require strategic thinking skills if you want to beat each one. However, the player can unlock better cards throughout the game allowing them to create new strategies and make certain scenarios much easier. That’s all I have to say about King of Cards. Another fun entry in the series with an odd card game inbetween. It’s a game that requires brains and brawn and luckily both of them will be on your side.
Thoughts
King of Cards is the finale Shovel Knight fans were looking for and has been promised after so many years. It’s tough, memorable, and just fun to play through. The amount of content and care put into King of Cards makes it one of the biggest games out of the Treasure Trove. The story is a joy as always, giving personality to characters I didn’t know I would care about and expanding the Shovel Knight universe I love so much. Besides Specter of Torment, the entire Shovel Knight storylines are so positive that it always puts a smile on my face. I like the amount of levels in King of Cards, the branching paths, and how each of the level mechanics stack up to provide a consistent scaling challenge. If you decide to play each and every level the game should last about ten hours long which is pretty good for Shovel Knight standards.
The new abilities King Knight brings to the table pack a punch, and I had to be careful when it came to getting the most out of King Knight’s spin. I don’t like King Knight as much as Shovel Knight’s simplistic moveset or Specter Knight’s stylish skills, but he is still very fun to play as. You would expect him to be slippery or hard to control like Plague Knight due to his dash, but he controls very finely. I really love King of Cards and I hope much like the rest of the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, it too gets the attention it deserves. Another worthy entry in an excellent quadropoly of games.
It’s not my favorite game out of the trove, because it does have a few minor flaws. While Joustus was a unique minigame to help provide a breather between platforming challenges it actually turns out to be harder than the main game itself. It can be very frustrating to play, trying to know what moves to make and where you can place your cards. Sometimes you don’t even know where to place your cards because the game doesn't tell you what spaces are open. Some of the Merit Medals are hidden in very vague locations and the difficulty spikes pop out unusually with the bosses.
Besides those minor problems, King of Cards is another perfect example of how to do an expansion. I’ve been saying it for years now, “DLC should be free," and if you are going to make us pay for it make sure you pack in enough content. Don’t make it one of those things where you add it, because the main game lacked content and you needed a way to pull more money out of your customer’s pockets. If I had to rank the entire Treasure Trove from least to most favorite title, this would be the order: least favorite is Plague of Shadows, King of Cards, Specter of Torment, and finally Shovel of Hope. Shovel of Hope will forever be my favorite campaign and game of all time, because even though Specter of Torment has the best level design and the most satisfying character to control, Shovel of Hope will remind me why I love indie games and gaming in general. Overall King of Cards is a good game and I strongly recommend you picking up the entire Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove just to experience the entire package. In the end I am giving Shovel Knight: King of Cards a 9/10 for excellence at best.
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