Some big changes are coming to NES-inspired platformer Shovel Knight, beginning with a new name, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which will contain the original Shovel Knight campaign, now known as Shovel of Hope, as well as the Plague of Shadows campaign and the upcoming Specter of Torment. To break that down a bit: Plague of Shadows was a free DLC campaign first released in September 2015, while Specter of Torment is all new.
The renaming was necessary because developer Yacht Club Games will soon offer each campaign, which were originally intended as free updates, as separate, standalone games.
"We want to keep our promise of releasing free content for all players. We also want to continue building these campaigns and features to be the best! Somewhere along the way, the game has simply gotten too big!" Yacht Club said in the Treasure Trove FAQ. "It’s difficult for many players out there to find everything or even know that these campaigns exist. We believe that providing standalone versions will provide better entry points for different types of players and allow more people to continue enjoying each adventure on their next favorite platform."
Yacht Club also announced plans for a new, not-yet-officially-named four-player "Battle Mode" (local only, not online) and a fourth campaign for the King Knight, which it described as "a crazy campaign with the gilded goob himself." Both are expected to be ready for release later this year, and will be included with the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.
Another bonus: local co-op, previously only available on Wii U, is coming to the PC for free, too.
All existing Shovel Knight owners will automatically be updated to the Treasure Trove edition, "and will continue to get each of the planned free campaigns and features via updates." The price of Shovel Knight will be going up sometime in the spring, but until it does, purchasing it at the current price ($15/£11/€15) will get you the Treasure Trove upgrade. If you want it, in other words, better to do it now than later.
