Crypt of the NecroDancer: Shovel Knight Character DLC Review Summary

Fun Shovel Knight mechanics and fresh, accessible-yet-deep gameplay shine, but fast music hampers rhythm tracking and later tempo spikes make it too difficult.

Fun Shovel Knight mechanics: Shovel Knight's moveset, including bounce attacks, combos, and floor digging, is repeatedly praised as fun and engaging. The character's unique mechanics make him enjoyable to play and master.

Unique and fresh gameplay: Shovel Knight introduces a distinct playstyle that changes how the game is approached, with mechanics like riding enemies and digging through floors. Many find it a refreshing and interesting addition to the roster.

Accessible but deep character: Shovel Knight is easy to pick up and play, with straightforward controls and high mobility, yet offers depth for mastery. Some note it requires less positioning skill than other characters like Hatsune Miku.

Great music and collaboration: The soundtrack, featuring nostalgic Shovel Knight tunes and strong collaboration with VIRT, enhances the experience and excites players. The music is a highlight of the DLC.

Valuable and cute DLC: The DLC is considered high quality, affordable, and cute, providing good value for players. It adds enjoyable content without being overpriced.

Fast music impedes rhythm tracking: The high BPM and offbeat patterns make it difficult for players to keep the beat, often causing them to lose track and fall behind. This is especially problematic for average players who have little time to react.

Music tempo increases later zones: Players report that songs in later zones become progressively faster, with some tracks feeling faster than Death Metal. This tempo increase is noticeable from area 3 onward and peaks in zones 4 and 5.

Tempo makes game too difficult: Many players feel the increased tempo raises the overall difficulty, with some only able to reach specific zones due to the speed. The music is often matched by BPM without considering playability, leading to frustration.

Shovel Knight music hard to get used to: Some players find Shovel Knight's soundtrack initially difficult to adjust to, particularly because it wasn't slowed down. This adds to the challenge of syncing with the rhythm.

Character unusable in multiplayer: The character does not function properly in multiplayer modes, including online co-op, rendering it ineffective for cooperative play.

Shovel riding combat: The shovel weapon cannot damage enemies from the front; instead, players ride on top of them. Moving to an adjacent tile while riding deals damage based on the shovel, and chaining rides on adjacent enemies grants +1 attack each time.

Riding enemies and walls: Players can ride on enemies and walls, gaining invincibility while riding. This mechanic allows for strategic positioning and traversal.

Shovel determines attack power: The damage output of the shovel weapon is directly determined by its quality or strength. Upgrading the shovel increases attack power.

Floor digging utility: Floor digging allows destroying traps by landing on them while riding, and creating floor cracks and holes to move to the next floor for speedrunning.

Wall riding with digging: Players can ride walls if the shovel is capable of digging them. When not riding, players can dig walls normally.

Strong overall player satisfaction: Multiple reviewers express that the game is heavily worth the purchase, highly recommended, and thoroughly enjoyable. They would buy it again without hesitation.

Recommended for NecroDancer veterans: Players who have prior experience with Crypt of the NecroDancer find this game thoroughly enjoyable and worth recommending. The challenge and mechanics resonate strongly with veterans of the original title.

Swap soundtrack for beginners: Using the original Crypt of the NecroDancer soundtrack instead of the new album makes the game more approachable for less experienced players. It reduces the initial difficulty spike significantly.

Demand for continued DLC support: At least one player explicitly requests that the developers never stop making DLC for this game. This suggests a strong desire for ongoing content updates.

NecroDancer Veteran Purist: Plays rhythm stages with customized albums, replacing the default BGM with the original Crypt of the NecroDancer soundtrack and using BPM matching for multiplayer. Motivation: Nostalgia for Crypt of the NecroDancer and a desire to experience its characters and music in a new rhythm game. Stance: buy.

Online Co-op Social Player: Organizes online and local co-op sessions, choosing specific characters and expecting full feature parity across modes. Motivation: Playing cooperative runs with friends online, especially using guest characters like Shovel Knight. Stance: no buy.

Virt soundtrack used for bosses: The Virt soundtrack is featured during boss fights according to reviewer feedback. This highlights the composer's contribution to the DLC's audio experience.

Request for more DLC content: There is a clear request from reviewers for additional DLC content. This indicates strong engagement and a desire for continued support.

Collaboration DLC includes character and album: The collaboration DLC bundles both a playable character and an album set. This combined offering provides both gameplay and musical content for players.

DLC compared to Rift of the NecroDancer: Reviewers compare this DLC to Rift of the NecroDancer's DLC, which they find overpriced and unimpressive. This comparison suggests value expectations may be higher for the current DLC.

Boss music features chiptune remixes: Boss battle music consists of chiptune remix versions according to the feedback. This stylistic choice ties into the retro-inspired aesthetic of the crossover.