The worst a part of Smash Bros. is that it isn’t on PC, and the most effective a part of Rivals of Aether—other than platform-generating rhinoceros beetle Kragg—is that it’s on PC. But the wonderful sequel, Rivals of Aether 2, lacks the character I bought on with most within the quick time I performed the unique sport: Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club Games’ signature dude was a gimmick-laden agent of chaos who pounded gems out of his foes and used it to buy upgrades mid-match. To my delight, that playstyle is lastly returning, with just a few fishy twists.
The newcomer, Slade, is a rakish pirate shark who slices enemies up with a cutlass. But, like Shovel Knight, each hit attracts out piles of foreign money which he can spend on upgrades. The costliest one proven off within the trailer permits him to cheat dying as soon as, whereas one other lets him hook onto opponents and draw them in. That and his slice-and-dice normals make him look a bit like Link from Smash Bros., if that is your factor.
He additionally cycles by means of bombs, boomerangs, shurikens, and different nonsense within the moments between scraps, so it appears protected to say he’ll be perplexing to struggle in expert palms.
Hands-down, although, the most effective a part of this trailer is Slade reeling in a fish from off-screen and letting it flop right into a treasure chest he had left behind, the place it then flies out and strikes a downed opponent. This is the sort of absurdity I come to platform fighters for.
The final two Rivals of Aether characters had been a folding chair-flinging ant wrestler and a magnet-powered dinosaur, so it is clear the dev group is conscious that the roster needs to be completely stacked to compete with the likes of Sephiroth, Mario, and John Fire Emblem.
Slade first confirmed up in Dungeons of Aether, the apparently-pretty-good turn-based spinoff, so this information needs to be significantly interesting for anybody who principally performs video games with the phrase “Aether” within the title. Slade will launch April 7, 2026.