Shovel Knight free expansion 'Plague of Shadows' announced

Thanks to the magic of Kickstarter stretch goals, charming platformer Shovel Knight is getting a free expansion. This time, you're playing as a baddie.

Yacht Club Games is making good on the promise to deliver playable boss knights, and up first to the protagonist spot is Plague Knight. The alchemist will star in the Plague of Shadows update, in a quest to become the head of the Order of No Quarter.

Rather than a simple reskin, Plague of Shadows will add new story and systems. Plague Knight's skill set includes explosives, bomb jumps, and alchemy—with a new crafting system that will allow him to turn loot into equipment and power-ups.

Plague of Shadows will also bring new objectives and bosses, new routes through levels, and new 'Feats'.

The expansion is due out in Q2 2015, which is fancy talk for 'Spring-ish'.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.