PixlBit

It's been a crazy week what with teaching classes in a hybrid format for the first time, getting through a couple syllabus days, then having classes cancelled due to hurricanes. We got lucky and they missed us so now we just have a lot of water bottles. I plan to take them into work since water fountains are questionable. I mean, I have COVID-19 antibodies so nothing is likely to happen to me, but it seems like a huge no these days as far as spreading. I'm probably just being paranoid but seems like a good use of this artisan water either way  (I bought two 24-packs of Dasani and a six-pack of Fiji ... and it turns out two 24 packs of Dasani is the same price as one six-pack of Fiji). 

Aaaanywhoozle, I'm actually glad we had part of week 1 cancelled as it gives me more time to work on planning classes, which I desperately needed. 

So far, what I've accomplished is I'm pretty sure I now have every medal in the King Knight DLC for Shovel Knight (King of Cards). 

The game features a lot of short levels that are redone versions of Shovel Knight stages that fit the mechanics of King Knight, just like each DLC has basically been level redesigns that fit around the mechanics of the main character you're playing. It took a while for this one to come out and I think most people overlooked it, but the dash and bounce mechanics are super fun, if nerve-racking at first. I've been playing Celeste with a group of friends over on the Reading Gamebow Discord and I said this is like a more accessible version of the dashing in that game with much less of a focus on constant deaths. 

Whereas Celeste has you jumping mid-air all the time, you have to dash into objects, enemies, and walls in order for King Knight to progress and twirl, after which you can bounce on enemies and objects much like the original Shovel Knight. I compare the two games mainly cause there's a lot of hitting the dash button and a lot of falling to your death, at least in my case. 

There's also a card game within the game called Joustus where you have to shove cards onto gems in little puzzle like matches against an opponent. I suck at it very badly (definitely way more draws and losses than wins, according to the statistics witch you can call upon for your game stats) but it's fun and interesting enough I still wouldn't have minded some online capability. 

It's very simple at first to pick up and play but to be honest I had no idea what all the rules were behind some of the more advanced cards that explode or move other cards in weird directions you might not expect just by looking, which is why I just bought cheat cards from the treasure chest merchant guy to flip all the cards so that I landed on the gems. You still have to time that right but it's much easier to let your opponent do all the heavy lifting then turn the tables on them. I do think what I did should be banned in real matches, but I didn't feel like going too in depth with the card game right now and wanted to get the medals. 

The game is fun and if you have Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and are in the mood for a good platformer, I highly recommend it. I think if you love card games this is an interesting one too. 

I'd also recommend Celeste, but only if you're a masochist. I feel for this person who had some of the same trouble I did in figuring out how to climb the mountain. It's rewarding when you get to the top though. And I will say I died a LOT on King Knight's final boss fight. 

And that's the gaming I've been doing.