A perfect way to cap off Shovel Knight Treasure Trove. I'm amazed at how Yacht Club Games managed to reimagine these levels so well across four separate campaigns, with four unique control schemes. King Knight, like Plague Knight, takes a while to get used to, but handles like a DREAM once you get it down.
The way they expanded on his character is particularly impressive. He's such a nothingburger in the original campaign, serving only as the first simple boss to beat. Through his own adventure, he becomes surprisingly compelling, perhaps being the most fleshed-out character in Treasure Trove. That final cutscene was impressively powerful after the journey he went through, the decisions he made, and the knowledge we have of what happens next.
[EDIT: Returning to this review after a month of mulling it over to say that this is 100% my favorite ending to any video game. I can't stop thinking about it.]
Lastly, Joustus. I hated Joustus at first, but the more I stuck with it, the more I loved it, and by the end of the game, I was legitimately sad there were no more Joustus matches. What I thought would be a lame diversion of a card game turned out to be one of my favorite aspects of Treasure Trove.
Yacht Club delivered everything they promised in their Kickstarter. That alone is impressive. But even more impressive is that the quality never dipped. Every bit of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is treasure indeed, and King of Cards was a worthy ending to the greatest retro pixel art game ever created.
The way they expanded on his character is particularly impressive. He's such a nothingburger in the original campaign, serving only as the first simple boss to beat. Through his own adventure, he becomes surprisingly compelling, perhaps being the most fleshed-out character in Treasure Trove. That final cutscene was impressively powerful after the journey he went through, the decisions he made, and the knowledge we have of what happens next.
[EDIT: Returning to this review after a month of mulling it over to say that this is 100% my favorite ending to any video game. I can't stop thinking about it.]
Lastly, Joustus. I hated Joustus at first, but the more I stuck with it, the more I loved it, and by the end of the game, I was legitimately sad there were no more Joustus matches. What I thought would be a lame diversion of a card game turned out to be one of my favorite aspects of Treasure Trove.
Yacht Club delivered everything they promised in their Kickstarter. That alone is impressive. But even more impressive is that the quality never dipped. Every bit of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is treasure indeed, and King of Cards was a worthy ending to the greatest retro pixel art game ever created.