The King is dead… handsome, that is! Long live the King (Knight)!
Shovel Knight: King of Cards
What is the plot? In a peaceful time before knights menaced the land, a card tournament was organized. Everyone is playing Joustus, and King Knight seeks to prove his mettle/be showered in treasure by becoming the King of Cards. Of course, King Knight is a bit of a brute, so his plan to win this card game involves smashing some skulls.
How does it play? The actual level-to-level gameplay is about what you would expect from a Shovel Knight campaign. Your offense this time is a (surprisingly weaponless) shoulder bash/dash that can be utilized on the ground and in the air. After hitting an object, King Knight will then break into a pirouette that can gain some vertical height, or additionally bounce on other objects/enemies. It is the least “elevator pitch” gameplay of any of the campaigns, but it is fun once you get the hang of it. The real change here is…
How does he get around the world? King Knight has a vastly expanded world map with about 300% more areas to explore (math may be wholly inaccurate). Individual “stages” are much shorter, and are no longer permanently attached to a boss. But there are hidden exits, wholly optional challenge areas, and variable paths to steer King Knight to his ultimate goal. This is easily the largest campaign in the Shovel Knight universe, and that’s even before we get to…
What is money good for? You have the usual “game” upgrades available in town areas that have been seen in other campaigns, but King Knight has a few more expenses on top of that. First, there are Royal Decrees, which work similarly to relics/arcana/curios, but are over-powered and single-use, so you need to shell out if you want to use ‘em regularly. Additionally, there is an entire card game minigame, and that means buying booster packs and “cheats”. Assuming you want to 100% your card collection, you will need more treasure than you would ever naturally find across this world. Unless you are really lucky with those blind boxes, of course.
What do you collect? Merit Medals are mostly found in stages in groups of three. They are also available when beating a new challenger in cards. Don’t worry, though, you can buy all the Heirlooms and Vigor Cream Pies you will need without engaging in Joustus. Just play all the levels you can, and always keep an eye out for doodads. You’ll be able to afford the Turn Coat in no time!
Care to dance? Pay for a round of juice from the Juice Maid, and you’ll earn those Horns of Heralding that King Knight has been utilizing since his first boss encounter. But, more importantly, you’ll get the whole House of Joustus up and dancing. That must be worth more than a random Heirloom! Not like you will be dancing with the Troupple King when you are trying so hard to kill each other.
Best Heirloom? King Knight acquiring a flaming sword that flips him through the air does not feel very natural for a dude that otherwise employs rats with bomb hats, but I enjoy the Scorching Saber. Tumbling forward and shredding everything within range and the additional hop of verticality is a-okay in my book.
Best Movement Heirloom? Bubble Frog lets King Knight recover from a fall, and maybe he can dig himself out of that hole by shoulder bashing his way upwards. It is super helpful! And makes King Knight look like an idiot! Obvious plus there.
Anything else? This is definitely the most “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” of all the campaigns. An appropriate end to the Shovel Knight project, as it does give one the feeling that this is the most we can get out of a Treasure Trove. Still leaves you wanting more, though…
Let’s Play Shovel Knight Treasure Trove
Night 5
February 3, 2026
Random Notes:
- Welcome back to the second half of Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. Today we will be tormenting BEAT, Chromes, Caithness, fanboymaster, Cassandralyn, Ample Vigour, Morning Song, and Caliscrub.
- Let’s teach Chromes about Neon Genesis Evangelion! This technically does not count as abuse!
- “I have figured out what the fourteenth year of Luigi would be spelled like.”
Everybody please flex your Golgo 13 muscles.- We try to determine our individual Epstein numbers… even though we are terrible at even the most rudimentary of math.
- Megs is in the chat, and we should all be aware that she is funny, and likes Shovel Fairy.
- If you ever have the chance, listen to Arnold Schwarzenegger DVD commentary. It is informative on the subjects of what is happening on screen, who Arnold has slept with, and possibly dog murder.
- The Mortal Kombat to Robin Hood (1973) to SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron pipeline needs to be studied.
- “Any animal that has a move called the death roll? I’m down.”
- SkreamnRedSkull joins the chat just in time for the Red & Scarlet skeleton dance.
- Now we must discuss which Dragon Ball Z characters should kiss.
- “Space Camp Pervert is the anthem of the Epstein files.”
- Specter of Torment is completed as we discuss great/terrible break up songs.
- Okay! Moving on to King of Cards! Sorry, no more red skulls in this one (mostly).
- Even Worse Streams is wholly against huffing gasoline and cats.
We play one (1) tutorial match of not-Triple Triad just to showcase its existence. We will play one (1) more game during the bonus stream (give it two weeks), and that is it.- We must determine Shaq’s fursona. It must be enormous.
- And, having beat Baz for the final time, we call it a night.
Next trowel on Shovel Knight: The final, final boss. Article six of eight.