New Shovel Knight Spin-Off Game Announced

Today, indie developer Yacht Club Games announced Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon, a brand-new adventure featuring the hero of shovelry. While the character’s debut game was an old-school sidescroller, Pocket Dungeon promises a unique mash-up of falling block puzzle games (think Tetris or Puyo Puyo) and dungeon crawling! In the Roguelite game, players chain opponents together like they would blocks, and higher chains earn players keys and other items that help them progress to different areas. The game will feature a number of familiar faces from the original Shovel Knight, including fan favorites such as King Knight, Propeller Knight, Plague Knight, and more. It sounds like a bizarre mix of genres, but if anyone can make it work, it’s Yacht Club Games!

The title was announced during today’s Yacht Club Games Presents stream. Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon will offer a two-player versus mode, though the publisher has not yet revealed if online play will be supported. All platforms for the game have yet to be announced, but the game has been confirmed for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The latter version will be playable this weekend at PAX East.

In addition to the announcement, the developer offered a vague release window for Shovel Knight Dig. Unfortunately for fans, the title won’t arrive until sometime in 2021. Co-developed by Nitriome, the game puts a greater emphasis on Shovel Knight’s tool of choice, as players must dig through procedurally-generated areas, and deal with subterranean enemies, such as the all-new Hive Knight.

It will be interesting to learn more information about Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon in the coming months. The title looks gorgeous, and Jake Kaufman’s new tracks already sound every bit as charming as those in the original game. That said, both Pocket Dungeon and Dig will have their work cut out for them, as Yacht Club Games attempts to turn Shovel Knight into a longterm brand. The first game was an instant classic; hopefully the character’s sophomore outings will prove every bit as endearing!

Which Shovel Knight game are you most looking forward to? Are you a fan of the original game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!