Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight is a 2D side-scrolling platform game with an 8-bit graphical style.^[11][12] In the base campaign retroactively titled Shovel of Hope,^[11] players control the eponymous adventurer as he goes on a journey to rescue his partner Shield Knight while fighting the Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter.^[11][13] Shovel Knight can attack with his shovel, dig through dirt blocks, unearth treasure, or use this tool to bounce upon enemies and objects.^[14][15] Levels are themed around the individual knights of the Order of No Quarter, feature several checkpoints, and end with a boss fight against one of the order's eight members. Each section of the world map contains three knights, and the player must defeat all of them to progress to the next area.^[11][16] Aside from the main quest, players are encouraged to collect treasure inside levels to improve Shovel Knight's abilities.^[14][17]

By finding a salesman named Chester hidden inside levels, the player can purchase items called Relics with treasure. These Relics provide helpful effects and are powered using a resource called magic.^[16] Examples of Relics include a magical locket that grants temporary invulnerability, or a wand that shoots fireballs.^[11][18] The player can further use treasure to buy useful upgrades for Shovel Knight's health, magic capacity, armor, or shovel. For example, an upgrade for the shovel allows it to shoot out damaging projectiles whenever Shovel Knight is at maximum hit points.^[14][16] Some levels contain hidden music sheets that the player can grant to a non-player character called the bard; trading these sheets awards the player treasure and the ability to sound test each of the game's music tracks.^[16][18]

Dying in Shovel Knight will cause the player to lose a portion of their treasure at the location of death, and the player can return to this location to recover their lost gold. However, if the player dies again before claiming this treasure, it is lost forever.^[16][19] As an optional challenge, players have the choice of destroying checkpoints to be awarded treasure, at the risk of being sent back to an earlier location in the level should they die.^[11][19] Completing the game unlocks a more difficult New Game Plus mode, which reduces the number of available checkpoints and increases the damage Shovel Knight takes.^[20]

Downloadable content

Free downloadable content (DLC) updates add new features to the game, including a "Challenge Mode" where the player can complete difficult tasks such as speedrunning or repeat battles with the game's bosses.^[21] A local cooperative multiplayer DLC allows for two players to complete the main campaign in tandem, and co-op on Nintendo platforms is compatible with a Shovel Knight amiibo, which allows for the player to create their own custom playable character or summon a cosmetic fairy.^[22][23] A body swap mode allows players to alter the genders or identifying pronouns of certain characters, though it is only available for Shovel of Hope.^[23]

Three additional single-player campaigns titled Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards focus on different playable characters, each of them being a boss character in the Shovel of Hope campaign.^[24] Plague of Shadows casts players as Plague Knight, who uses bombs to attack enemies and can use both a double jump and a powerful "burst jump" to launch himself through the air.^[25] Specter of Torment is centered around Specter Knight, who can run up walls, jump off of them, and use his scythe to slash enemies and obstacles.^[11] King of Cards puts players in control of King Knight, who has a shoulder bash which turns into a spin attack upon colliding with enemies or objects.^[23][14] King Knight's campaign features a card battle mini-game called "Joustus", in which players place cards on a field to claim spaces marked with gems.^[26]

In addition to the DLC campaigns, Shovel Knight features a multiplayer fighting game called Shovel Knight Showdown, in which up to four players compete in various game modes using playable fighters based around characters in the Shovel Knight franchise. Showdown includes single-player story mode which can be completed to unlock new fighters and playable stages.^[27][28] The game has several version-exclusive features such as unique boss battles; a boss version of Kratos from God of War appears in the PlayStation ports,^[29] while Rare's Battletoads are included as enemies in the Xbox One and Windows versions.^[30]

Shovel Knight and his partner Shield Knight are renowned and successful adventurers, but while exploring the Tower of Fate, an amulet curses Shield Knight and leaves Shovel Knight stranded outside of the sealed tower. Grieving for his friend, Shovel Knight gives up adventuring and goes into self-imposed exile. During his absence, a powerful being known as the Enchantress rises to power, spreading evil across the land. Upon hearing that the Enchantress has unsealed the Tower of Fate, Shovel Knight resolves to journey back to it, hoping to find and rescue Shield Knight. To reach the tower, Shovel Knight confronts and defeats the members of the Order of No Quarter, a group of knights serving the Enchantress.

Along his journey towards the Tower of Fate, Shovel Knight continuously battles with his old rival Black Knight. After he defeats Black Knight for a final time at the outskirts of the tower, Black Knight reveals that the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, who is possessed by an evil spirit that inhabits the amulet. Shovel Knight ascends the tower and defeats the Order of No Quarter again, before battling the Enchantress. He manages to exorcise the evil spirit, turning her back into Shield Knight. The amulet transforms into a powerful monster known as the Remnant of Fate, which Shovel Knight and Shield Knight defeat together. Shield Knight holds back the Remnant of Fate as the tower collapses, while Black Knight carries an unconscious Shovel Knight to safety. He leaves Shovel Knight by his campfire and departs. A post-credits scene shows Shield Knight, who managed to escape the collapsing tower, lying next to Shovel Knight as he sleeps.

Designer Nick Wozniak stated that the idea for the game started out as "sort of as a joke conversation over lunch that kind of got too serious".^[31] The team had already planned to make a game in the style of the NES classics that they grew up on, and eventually the sword-thrust move from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was brought up as a move that both designers liked. They soon thought that this move would be better suited in their game for a shovel instead of a sword.^[31] Other specific inspirations include Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, DuckTales, Super Mario Bros. 3, the Mega Man series, U.N. Squadron, and Dark Souls.^[32][33] The decision of the character's name was "pretty much settled" after the first brainstorming session, with the name "Plummet Knight" being the only other suggestion.^[34]

The game was announced on March 17, 2013, alongside the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund development, with a minimum funding goal of US$75,000. The campaign reached this goal in late March and went on to collect a total of $311,502, fulfilling all announced stretch goals for additional features, by its end on April 13.^[35] Those goals include a four-player battle mode, a mission-based challenge mode, an additional mode that swaps all the characters' genders, and additional playable story campaigns for three boss characters. To promote the Kickstarter, Yacht Club distributed copies of its initial Penny Arcade Expo demo to several prominent gaming personalities on YouTube, including Two Best Friends Play and Game Grumps.

According to Shovel Knight programmer David D'Angelo, Shield Knight was originally supposed to be a princess, as the creators were using NES era damsel-in-distress characters like Roll, Peach, and Zelda as inspirations.^[36] Originally, due to her lack of character, she was referred to as "Princess MacGuffin" within the development team.^[37] For the "Body Swap" mode, Yacht Club created male versions of Shield Knight and the Enchantress. The "Enchanter" was one of the first body swap concepts Yacht Club explored, and his creation process led to many of the design rules Yacht Club's artists subsequently imposed on themselves. The Enchantress' design was inspired by traditional Japanese attire, so Yacht Club initially experimented with kimono and robes for her male counterpart as well. When this did not work out, artists moved on to a samurai-inspired design, similar to that of Ganondorf in the Super Smash Bros. series. Yacht Club's artists originally explored skirted designs for male Shield Knight, but these did not make the cut. Certain ornamental aspects of Shield Knight's armor were removed or reduced in size in order to make the character look more masculine.^[38]

"Strike the Earth!"

The music in Shovel Knight is written to use the VRC6 sound chip, which adds three additional audio channels to the NES.^[7]

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Shovel Knight features a chiptune soundtrack in the style of older video games from the NES era and were composed by Jake Kaufman, with two contributions by Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae. The game's soundtrack was released for download via Bandcamp on the same day as the game, as was a rearrangement album.

Shovel Knight's graphics and music mimic the style of video games from the NES era and shares the NES's limits of color palette (plus four colors) and sprite count. This means that larger sprites are superimposed on a black background to limit the onscreen colors to a realistic maximum. Other trickery to properly honor the NES limitations include camera shakes that only act on a single axis and a GUI that acts as a background layer instead of being overlaid on top of the gameplay.^[39]

The game was originally slated for release in September 2013, but was delayed into early 2014.^[40] After various further delays,^[41][42] Yacht Club Games announced on June 5 that the game would be released on June 26, 2014.^[43] The game was eventually released on several additional platforms including both the PlayStation 4^[44] and Xbox One, featuring exclusive boss battles, with Kratos from God of War on PS4^[44] and the Battletoads on Xbox One.^[45][46] Various platforms got a physical media release in October 2015.^[47]

Prior to 2017, the game was sold with the name Shovel Knight, with various additional campaigns appearing as free downloadable content. An update in April 2017 made the original story campaign and additional downloadable campaigns available for standalone purchase on certain platforms, with the original campaign being subtitled Shovel of Hope.^[48] A compilation containing all three campaigns was released as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, with all previous purchases being updated to the Treasure Trove edition.^[48]

Shovel Knight received universal acclaim, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^{[49][50][51][52]} Reception was "generally favorable" for Wii U, Xbox One and PC.^[53][54][55] IGN editor Colin Moriarty awarded the game a 9/10 rating, calling it "arguably the best game released so far in 2014."^[56] Infendo.com called it "a brilliant homage to a bygone era, yet an equally fresh, captivating and innovative game"^[58] and Nintendo Life praised the 3DS version's "excellent controls, gorgeous graphics, an incredible soundtrack and endearing characters ... top-notch level design, varied gameplay, hidden rooms, optional challenges and a deceptively rich combat system."^[57]

Including Kickstarter backers, 180,000 copies of Shovel Knight were sold within one month of the North American launch. 49,000 copies were sold on Wii U, 59,000 were sold on 3DS, and 66,000 were sold on Steam.^[59] By December 4, 2014, more than 300,000 copies had been sold across all platforms.^[60] As of June 30, 2015, more than 700,000 copies had been sold.^[61] By December 14, 2016, 1.5 million copies had been sold.^[62] Yacht Club Games revealed in April 2018 that 2 million copies of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove had been sold.^[63] By September 2019, 2.65 million copies had been sold.^[64]

Accolades

Merchandise

An Amiibo figure of Shovel Knight was released in 2015, as the first Amiibo toy produced by a third party.^[81] An Amiibo 3-pack containing Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight was released in 2019 along with a gold variant of the previously released Shovel Knight figure.^[82] Shovel Knight collaborated with Arby's in March 2021 to release a set of toys, which included Arby's themed cheat codes for the game.^[83]

In other games

Shovel Knight appears as a playable guest character in several games^[83] including Indie Pogo, Blade Strangers, Cook, Serve, Delicious: Battle Kitchen, Move or Die, Dino-Run DX, Runner3, Riverbond, Rivals of Aether, Blaster Master Zero, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Road Redemption, Epic Manager, C-Wars, Starr Mazer, Runbow, All-Stars Dungeons and Diamonds, Ghost Police, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, Pixel Noir, and Mighty Quest.^[84][85] Shovel Knight characters make cameo appearances in Brawlhalla,^[86][87] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2,^[88] Two Brothers, Yooka-Laylee, Aegis Defenders, The Reward: Tales of Alethrion,^[89][90] River City Ransom: Underground, Creepy Castle, Puzzle Depot,^[91] Crypt of the NecroDancer, Enter the Gungeon, Katana Zero, and For Honor.^[92] Its music appears in Just Shapes & Beats and Voez.

Spinoffs

In February 2020, spinoff titled Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, a dungeon crawler puzzle game was announced, and released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.^[93][94] A prequel titled Shovel Knight Dig, was co-developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade.^[95]

• Official website