Yacht Club Games has announced an expansion to their award-winning indie title Shovel Knight called Plague of Shadows. The expansion will be completely free to those who own (now or after the fact) Shovel Knight on Wii U, 3DS, Steam, and, later, PS4 or PS Vita systems. The studio aims to release the expansion sometime during Q2 2015.
Plague of Shadows features the Shovel Knight boss character Plague Knight as the main and playable character. The expansion will feature many of the same levels as Shovel Knight, but with new paths and secrets to discover. Brand-new levels will also make an appearance. Plague Knight himself plays much differently from Shovel Knight, and his arsenal seems to be composed mostly of bombs and other explosives (including the “bomb jump,” which I suspect will be comparable to Shovel Knight’s pogo-like jump). He’ll also be able to collect treasure and materials to concoct potions and craft new and better equipment.
The expansion won’t be a slouch in terms of music and story, either: Plague Knight is on a quest to “overthrow the Order of No Quarter,” of which he was part in the core Shovel Knight game. It looks like he may also have a love interest (oddly). New and returning music tracks are sure to make their way to the expansion also.
Shovel Knight was widely praised as one of the greatest games of 2014. Current fans will no doubt be ecstatic about this free content, and prospective fans would, in my opinion, do well to just get Shovel Knight ASAP in preparation.