The newest installment in the Shovel Knight franchise is here with Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, and it’s so good to see this indie success shovel-touting savior back again.
In this game, Shovel Knight is suddenly sucked into the "Pocket Dungeon”, along with many of the other characters from the mainline game who were apparently already there. And, many of these figures are actually unlockable as playable characters, all with their own starting health, special abilities, and more. So, let's take a look at how to obtain each and every charming character in Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon.
How Characters Are Unlocked In Pocket Dungeon
Unlocking Pocket Dungeon’s playable characters is actually relatively easy (even if the puzzle part of the game is insanely difficult) and is designed to synergize with the “roguelike” nature of Pocket Dungeon’s Adventure Mode. To put it bluntly, the majority of the unlockable characters in this game are obtained after beating them as the boss of specific levels.
Thankfully, there’s a way to tell which Knight is the boss for each level, as they’ll be visible on the world map when walking into that zone. So, for those who keep getting King Knight over and over, despite already having him unlocked, just reset and try again.
Each of these Knights has a specific level they’re “tied” and have a chance to spawn as the boss of. Thankfully, there is a “Shortcut Canon” that’s unlocked after a certain point so that players can just take the shortcut, see if the Knight they’re trying to unlock is the boss of the stage, and reset.
How To Unlock Every Character
Character | Special Ability | Location Unlocked |
|---|---|---|
King Knight | Has the Bash ability. Damage is based on distance but deals one point recoil damage. | Lich Yard |
Spectre Knight | Slaying enemies recovers two HP but Potions hurt to drink. | Lich Yard |
Plague Knight | Has reduced Max HP but Poisons foes with attacks and bombs. | Lich Yard |
Mole Knight | Can burrow and swap positions with enemies, blocks, and Potions. | Chromatic Cavern |
Treasure Knight | Inflicts extra damage when striking foes from the tile below them. | Chromatic Cavern |
Tinker Knight | Can gather metal within the stage to build a mini-mech. While in the mech Tinker Knight has extra HP and Attack, but without it, he has very low Max HP. | Chromatic Cavern |
Polar Knight | Fatal Blows freeze enemies in the Chain and he deals one extra damage to frozen enemies. | Flying Machine |
Propeller Knight | His attack increases with every lone enemy killed but this bonus is reset if he ever gets a Chain. Additionally, damage taken while inflicting a Chain deals one extra damage. | Flying Machine |
Scrap Knight | She can put obstacles, items, enemies, and even treasure chests in her bag and then replace them wherever she wants. | Flying Machine |
Prism Knight | Can swap nearby foes or can also choose to teleport herself a short distance. | Flying Machine |
Shield Knight | Gains a damage barrier after a Chain and can also survive one Fatal Blow per level, but has reduced Max HP | 1st Shrinemaster Portal (3 Keys) |
Black Knight | Spends Gem Meter to enhance his Attack, but this buff diminishes whenever he drinks a Potion, has incredibly reduced Max HP. | 3rd Shrinemaster Portal (20,000GP) |
To go a bit more into those final two character unlocks specifically, Black Knight and the ever-popular Shield Knight aren't unlocked by defeating them but are rather found in special areas. Within some of the levels, players can break a rock to find a purple portal underneath. Sometimes this leads to a "Clear the Room" challenge but other times it leads to the Shrinemaster. Behind the Shrinemaster is a door that requires something special to open it, and here are the two Shrinemaster portals both of these knights are hiding in:
- Black Knight: Through the third Shrinemaster portal and behind the door that costs 20,000 GP to open.
- Shield Knight: Behind the first Shrinemaster door that requires three keys to open.
And so far, those are all the unlockable characters Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon has to offer!
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.