Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon Review (DrQuint)
The game balance is completely off.
With very small exceptions, the more stuff I unlock for Chester's store or for the in-board chest, the worse they become which is something I never felt with Necrodancer, the closest game to this unlock setup I know.
I have no idea why Lich Yard is an early level. It is far harder than anything in the areas leading up to the next boss.
Most of my deaths come from being boxed in nearly unwinnable scenarios and making a single wrong move at the whim of the RNG's cruelty. Or zero wrong moves. Like, I died this one time from a chest (meant to be a good thing) spawning a regular bomb on my face and then as I take a step, a stupid rat bomb enemy shows up exactly where it needs to be to block my escape path a move later. Had I moved up instead of right at first, then I'd be home free, but you just know that rat would have spawned on block to the left and blocked me there instead. That was several runs prior to my current and I'm still mad.
I dunno. This doesn't hitch my board puzzle hitch, but whatever, I can tolerate Roguelites. But this doesn't feel satisfying like a roguelite usually does. Progression isn't feeling very rewarding and the RNG that comes to my mind is not the same kind I typically see on the genre.