I was worried I would have to go back and get a better ending to save Shield Knight, the relief when she finally stumbled and laid beside Shovel Knight near the fire was immense and the scene was heartwarming. I am not sure how to comment on the difficulty given there are a lot of moments where a challenge feels impassible without taking damage, though difficulty is entirely circumvented by the relics (especially the Phase Locket) which makes it to where the game without relics is frustrating and the game with relics is mindless. Relics need an in-between, I don't want to trivialize all challenge and I don't want to miss out on the unique tools the game provides.