Shovel Knight Will Be a Nintendo Switch Launch Title
Yacht Club Games have brought forward the release date of the Switch version of Shovel Knight from launch window to launch day! Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove will be available from the eShop for USD$24.99 (Australian pricing not yet available) which contains the original Shovel Knight game as well as all currently available and announced expansion content, including the Plague Knight and Specter Knight campaigns, local co-op without the use of amiibo, and more. Also available on launch day will be a standalone digital release of the Specter Knight campaign for the game, Specter of Torment. If you buy Treasure Trove then you will get Specter of Torment included in it, but if for some reason you want the expansion by itself you’ll be able to buy that for USD$9.99. Specter of Torment won’t be available on other platforms until April, so Switch owners will be the first to play it.
Nintendo’s website listings for Shovel Knight and Specter of Torment detail the amiibo functionality for both games. In Shovel Knight, tapping the Shovel Knight amiibo provides similar functionality to the Wii U version of the game (minus unlocking co-op, as that is a feature of the base game now). The Shovel Knight amiibo will unlock the Custom Knight feature, which changes the game’s progression system – Shovel Knight will now unlock new abilities by levelling up when he collects gold. You’ll also be able to customise this Custom Knight’s appearance to give them a personal touch. In both Shovel Knight and Specter of Torment, the Shovel Knight amiibo is said to also summon a spirit of Shovelry to accompany you, which appears to be a new amiibo feature and isn’t detailed elsewhere.
That now makes two amiibo-compatible Switch games at launch, with Skylanders Imaginators also providing a Toys to Life offering on launch day. The Nintendo Switch launches March 3rd 2017.