Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
Year: 2021
Rating: E
Time Played: ~270 minutes / 4.50 hours
With the overabundance of Roguelike games these days, I appreciate that Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon at least put a unique spin on it. As a puzzle game, it’s really no different from a Tetris or Panel de Pon. However, the difficulty curve is such that you need to unlock items/health with the resources gained from multiple runs. Getting to the end, unfortunately, can be a matter of luck of the draw as much as it is your skill of the game.
Using the retro-inspired characters from the Shovel Knight series makes the Pocket Dungeon aesthetic work. Even if you haven’t played the original game, the characters are visually interesting and have quite a lot of personality. The game developers added new characters specific to this game that also mesh well with the established bosses and enemies. Because everything has a pixel-art feel to it, I had no trouble playing this on my phone. In fact, the “pick up and play” fusion of Roguelike and Puzzle made it easy to play a round here and there when waiting for something.
What makes this game perhaps a little more difficult than a “match three” puzzler is the rhythm aspect. Somewhat similar to Crypt of the Necrodancer, there were many times where being off rhythm caused me to take more damage than I would have liked. Additionally, once I finally reached the end credits, I felt little motivation to keep playing. This has been my main issue with Roguelikes (like Dead Cells), where there’s a lot of focus to get to the end, and a lucky run gets me there but I know I probably won’t be able to repeat it.
A unique genre blend of Roguelike and Puzzler, I give Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
