Shovel Knight Showdown Mechanics – Hit Flash, Parry, and Clashes Detailed

Yacht Club Games may bid farewell to Shovel Knight after December. Until then though, it’s hard at work with King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown, the latter focusing on four player competitive battles. In a new blog post, the developer has detailed some of the essential mechanics that players can utilize in the fighter.

Hit Flash is one of the more familiar mechanics – it grants the player invulnerability for a short period of time after taking damage. You have a brief window to counter-attack your opponent, but this will immediately cancel the invulnerability. The start-up time for the attack is also increased, so a skilled opponent could counter your counter if they know it’s coming.

There’s also Parry, which is enabled with a button press. Before an attack connects, Parry it and your opponent will be knocked back. The downside is that it does no damage and doesn’t trigger Hit Flash, so opponents can keep attacking. Finally, there’s Clash – when two opponents connect with their attacks at the same time, they’ll both be pushed back.

Shovel Knight Showdown will be a free update to owners of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove across various platforms. It can also be purchased standalone when it releases in December. Even more Shovel Knight is on the way with Nitrome’s Shovel Knight Dig, so stay tuned.