Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon Reviews

A microsurgical blending of genres results in a lovely balance of precision and chaos.

The puzzle genre is an intriguing one, continuously challenging our brains. The games that comprise it come in many forms, too, from the classic Dr. Mario to the sophisticated Portal. Growing up, I’ve not been shy to admit my JRPG fascination is thanks to my father. Well, he wasn’t the only gamer in the family, as my mother was usually on the SNES. One title she’d regularly play was Wario’s Woods, an obvious inspiration for what’s here. Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon immediately caugh...

Methodical puzzle games and frenzied roguelikes sound like apples and oranges, but Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon makes a delicious smoothie out of the two genres suitable for all tastes.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon brings one of the best puzzle games of the year while staying true to its roots.

Despite its frustrations, you’re likely to get sucked into Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon‘s gameplay loop. With an adventure mode, a daily challenge and a versus mode, there’s plenty to go at, too. Even if you do die frequently, you’ll probably want to jump straight back in, each time vying to get just that bit further. And the assistive options are a nice touch, even if they do disable trophies and achievements.

Shovel Knight is back and now, he's starring in a brand new roguelike that just happens to be one of the best puzzle games of all time.

Shovel Knight’s first spin-off is just as good as his mainline games, with a clever take on tile-matching puzzlers that offers an enjoyably unique challenge.

Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon combines familiar tile-matching puzzle mechanics with rogue-lite elements to make one of the best puzzlers in years.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is an easy game to misjudge. It would be simple to dismiss it as a casual puzzle game. It is far from that. This game is as deceptively difficult as it is engaging. The difficulty level may even turn off those just looking for a relaxing romp. However, for those looking for more teeth to their puzzle games, Pocket Dungeon is going to offer that in spades... or shovels.

It's a puzzle game, it's an action game, it's a rogue-lite, and it does all three of those very well. It might not be bursting with content, but this is an extremely unique, captivating experience that's sure to have players eager for just one more go.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon might turn some people off with its roguelite framework and randomization, but there’s a deep puzzle game at work here; one that’s worth exploring if you’ve grown up on the action-puzzle genre. This is something I can see myself playing again in the years to come, especially with versus mode augmenting some of the leaner elements.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon adds a heaping pile of fun, innovative puzzle gameplay and retains the same charm that many Shovel Knight fans fell in love with years ago.

When the adventure finally wraps up and the final bosses lay vanquished on the dungeon floor, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon has still more to offer. There's a VS mode where two players can trade junk blocks as they clear groups of enemies and a daily mode that offers robust leaderboard support. Both of these modes add hooks to keep players solving puzzles, but the gameplay itself stands on its own here. In fact, the only real flaw in the whole package is how quickly the main campaign can wrap up. While times will vary, it's not impossible to figure out the path to the true ending with one character in just a handful of hours. The multiple playable characters and random runs do add to that length, but someone who just wants to see the story through may not find a long journey ahead of them.

Pocket Dungeon grabbed me immediately and hasn't let go. Everything in this puzzle game works; the aesthetic, controls, modes, bosses, replayability. A puzzle game that has this level of polish will stand the test of time with the likes of Tetris.