Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32

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  1. hypernewbie
    May 27, 2017
    5
    Fighting is pretty good.

    The jumping puzzle completely make this game unplayable. These timed jumping puzzle sequences are like trying to thread sow while blind, you just poke your fingers with the needle over and over again. I feel like this should be renamed to Plague of the **** Jumping Puzzles Because Why The **** Not. Especially bad is the starting burst ability, that needs to    Fighting is pretty good.

    The jumping puzzle completely make this game unplayable. These timed jumping puzzle sequences are like trying to thread sow while blind, you just poke your fingers with the needle over and over again. I feel like this should be renamed to Plague of the **** Jumping Puzzles Because Why The **** Not.

    Especially bad is the starting burst ability, that needs to just get deleted from the game. Even time it goes off you might as well be playing pinball.    … Expand
  2. Asmodeus
    Sep 17, 2015
    10
    It is a truly amazing achievement to take a game and make it feel completely different, simply by changing how your character behaves. That's what Yacht Club Games did with Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows.

    You are now playing as Plague Knight, going through all the same stages as before, but with some twists. Plague Knight also has his own goals, own story line, play style and special    It is a truly amazing achievement to take a game and make it feel completely different, simply by changing how your character behaves. That's what Yacht Club Games did with Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows.

    You are now playing as Plague Knight, going through all the same stages as before, but with some twists. Plague Knight also has his own goals, own story line, play style and special weapons.

    The humor, tight control, stellar platforming and music are still there, exactly what you would expect from Shovel Knight.

    This is DLC done right, for free!    … Expand
  3. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    8
    Plague of Shadows review: I have to commend Yacht Club Games on an excellent addon overall, and though I have some complaints, for what was technically a free dlc (though it was funded by a kickstarter stretch goal) its in a class far above the usual paid fare. Plague Knight plays so completely differently from Shovel Knight that you are essentially playing an entirely new game, despitePlague of Shadows review: I have to commend Yacht Club Games on an excellent addon overall, and though I have some complaints, for what was technically a free dlc (though it was funded by a kickstarter stretch goal) its in a class far above the usual paid fare. Plague Knight plays so completely differently from Shovel Knight that you are essentially playing an entirely new game, despite the fact that the core stages have only been subtley altered from the base game. Unlike the additional character modes in say, the Castlevania games, Plague of Shadows gives the mad alchemist his own unique dialogue, story and motivations, and greatly expands the role of Mona, previously a mere bored mini-game operator. Plague Knight lacks the ability to pogo-jump on enemies and is considerably more fragile then Shovel Knight, with fewer health upgrades overall, and is knocked back much further when hit. Plague makes up for this with an exponentionally larger arsenal of customizable explosives, allowing him to engage almost any enemy from a safe distance, safely dealing with threats that Shovel Knight would often have no choice but to tank damage from. I particularly enjoyed the use of the spark powder, which causes your bombs to emit periodic bursts of electricity as they fly. The beaked bomber can use a number of magic items called arcana, which run off a regenerating mana bar rather then the finite numerical mana that Shovel Knight's relics use. You will learn to love the "vat" arcana, which summons a large purple beaker underneath Plague Knight that acts as a temporary platform, and can save you from an otherwise inescapable fall. Plague excels at airborne combat and has the ability to bomb-jump across large distances, and can jump a second time in the air before or after using a blast jump. This makes several of the games more fiendish jumping segments a bit easier, especially the pits of Polar Knight, Treasure Knight and Propeller Knight's stages. However, the aforementioned lack of pogo jumping makes some segments that were relatively simple to negotiate, such as the cannonball segments of Propeller Knight's stage and the gears in Tinker Knight's stage, significantly more hair-raising to complete. Plague Knight's movement style is much faster and twitchier then Shovel Knight and I propelled myself into instant-death hazards many, many times over the course of my playthrough, in spite of the use of the slow fall blast jump. In particular, the optional "hazard" stages are completely different in Plague Knight's story and substantially more frustrating, and though Plague Knight laughs at any of the original boss fights, Plague of Shadows throws a completely new final boss at you that I died on so many times that finally killing it felt rather unsatisfying- though the ending cutscene made me smile nonetheless.… Expand
  4. whataboutringo
    Oct 3, 2015
    10
    This game has broken the mold and created something truly fresh in the platforming genre... just when I thought Shovel Knight had raised that bar... Initially I had serious trouble with the controls, but once I got going it was an experience like no other. Yes, the stages could feel more Shovel Knight friendly at times but I still can't get over how amazing this game is... or is for me, atThis game has broken the mold and created something truly fresh in the platforming genre... just when I thought Shovel Knight had raised that bar... Initially I had serious trouble with the controls, but once I got going it was an experience like no other. Yes, the stages could feel more Shovel Knight friendly at times but I still can't get over how amazing this game is... or is for me, at least. Everyone should try it out, it is just as good if not better than Shovel Knight and offers the best platforming since Mega Man X/ Super Castlevania 4/ Brutal Mario World- you name it! This is the second coming we've waited for and the polished platformer we never had. I actually found it difficult to go back to Shovel Knight's campaign. Still both solid titles, but once you master Plague Knight the gameplay is a challenging and addictive mess of an awesome experience I simply can't put into words. PLAY IT! Slippery at first, but the controls are tight, the story well executed and even heartwarming, the aesthetics like comfort food of an era bygone. This game really rocked.… Expand
  5. harlan10
    Nov 7, 2015
    10
    this a great expansion added to a already great game for free. It adds to the expariance and has enought diffrence from the original game to play thought.
  6. Gontrand00
    Apr 3, 2021
    5
    Although Shovel Knight was excellent and Specter Knight was great, this one sucks so much. The jumping mechanic is completely unplayable and so complex for no reason. It's a platform game. You jump 90% of the time in this type of game and when you wanna do it, you need to press 2 buttons and be super synchronise to double jump. They clearly missed the point where game controls needed to beAlthough Shovel Knight was excellent and Specter Knight was great, this one sucks so much. The jumping mechanic is completely unplayable and so complex for no reason. It's a platform game. You jump 90% of the time in this type of game and when you wanna do it, you need to press 2 buttons and be super synchronise to double jump. They clearly missed the point where game controls needed to be intuitive lol.

    AND. Oh my god. The **** knock back. It was already frustrating in Shovel Knight because this kills you so many times where normally you would just lose one HP. But no. When you get hit, you get send 5 feet away and fall into holes. There are a huge amount of holes everywhere in every stages. And when you die, you lose part of your money over and over. So you just quickly get that this game will be a major pain in the ass.

    I rushed through the first 2 games because they were well done (even if some mechanics in Specter Knight were a bit limit), but there I just stopped after 2 levels.

    This is what happen when you promise to do a whole lot of game instead of focusing on only one. This kickstarter gimmick really make them do the first best game, and then the other were between good and terrible. This doesn't serve you at all. And I can't believe they never fixed the things like the knock back ''mechanic'' in the sequels. It's lazy game dev, in my opinion.    … Expand
  7. voiceofreason69
    Jul 22, 2023
    7
    I don't particularly enjoy this game, its alright, but has lesser controls than its predecessor, shovel of hope. Its also has the exact same graphics and in my opinion just a slightly better story, its controls as stated before are very wild and aren't that responsive, so I gotta give it a 7/10, still a meh game tho. try it if you have the chance

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. SpazioGames
    Oct 25, 2015
    85
    Want to see how a DLC should be made, oh aspiring developers? Look no further! It may add few new areas, and recycle most of the bosses from the original, but Plague of Shadows is so well crafted, so utterly brilliant in its gameplay changes, and so FREE, that it's impossible to have something against it.
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  2. LevelUp
    Sep 20, 2015
    88
    Well done, endearing and completely free, this new expansion of Shovel Knight fulfills the Kickstarter promises of Yacht Club Games in an spectacular fashion, presenting us the charming pair of Plague Knight and Mona in an adventure full of comedy and charm that honours the name of indie gaming.
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  3. GameTrailers
    Sep 17, 2015
    86
    Plague of Shadows is a great addition to an already wonderful game. There’s a lot to experience, and considering the asking price is absolutely nothing, it’s a generous offering. It’s so good in fact, that we’ve enjoyed Plague of Shadows more than most other DLC, which sometimes feel like you’re being charged a lot for little in return.
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