Shovel Knight meets the Battletoads in his latest update
Ain't easy being green...
The Battletoads have escaped the confines of Microsoft's corporate grasp and have made their way to the greater PC audience through Shovel Knight [official site] update. You can now meet, battle and befriend the burly amphibian trio in a whole new level. This was initially exclusively to Xbox then spread to the Windows 10 version, and thanks to last week's update (full patch notes here) everyone on PC can now play it.
It's an impressively fun level at that, and a real nostalgia trip if you have any fond/painful memories of the cult platform-brawler series. The Battletoads stage (unlocked through a secret area in the Hall of Champions) is split into three distinct segments, one of which reprises the infamous Turbo Tunnel level, destroyer of souls and devourer of extra lives.
While you should ideally experience it yourself, here's a video from 'Prepare to Game' of the level getting thoroughly beaten. While not quite as brutal as the notoriously frustrating NES original, it's a respectably tough challenge, although not without its rewards in the form of loot, posing and terrible puns.
At this point, the only thing the PC version of the game is lacking is the Playstation-exclusive fight against Kratos from God Of War, which you can watch on Youtube here. But let's be honest; Angry McMurderguy is probably a poor fit for the game, plus his level is a little underwhelming anyway.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is out on Steam, Humble and GOG for £19/€23/$25, with the final expansion - King of Cards - due for release in early 2018, free for all owners of the Treasure Trove edition.