SHOVEL KNIGHT REVIEW

Updated: (Includes New Game Plus and Plague of Shadows)

Shovel Knight is a game by Yatch Club games, and the first I have played from them. Having seen a few previews, and hearing about it, Shovel Knight did look like an appealing game. Originally, I thought it was going to be just another "retro" style game, or rouge-a-like, which we've seen an entire flurry of in the past five or so years (many great, others not so much) so at first it didn't hold my attention as much. Having seen a trailer, prior to its release though, I saw great potential. Not only was it more of an action platformer (more of my genre) but the gameplay and presentation looked fantastic, so I had to pick it up there and then.

My first impressions of the game were excellent. From the moment the title screen comes on, you are greeted to some fantastic chiptune music, which feels both fresh and new, but yet familiar and nostalgic. This game will definnitely appeal to people who grew up on the NES and SNES, but also anyone who wants to get into 2D platformers. I could easily go on tangents to talk about one thing to the next, but I'll seperate them into different categories.

GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay of Shovel Knight is what you'd expect from an action platformer. Your shovel is your main weapon, and it can be used both to bash enemies, as well as using it as a kind of pogo stick, to bounce off enemies and obstacles, much like in Ducktales the game on the NES. Speaking of which, the main influences I got from this game were Legend of Zelda (items and map screen), Ducktales (the pogo mechanic) and Mega Man (music and some stages). The jumping in the game feels slightly delayed, but having played countless amounts of old games on Nintendo systems, it's easy to pick up on it and master, like riding a bike. You start off on an intro stage, which teaches you how to play the game, by unfolding events, rather than the much redundant "text boxes" or hand holding, which most modern games have today. Shovel Knight makes you feel like you've learned, and earned those victories, rather than telling you what to do. You can also collect treasure either by finding them out in the open, or digging up certain rock and dirt piles or blocks. Treasure acts as your currency, and can be used to buy items in shops. When you die, you drop your treasure in floating bags, which makes you try and grab your treasure bags at the place where you died, or be penalised for dying by losing your money and not retrieving it. After fighting a boss, you're treated to a map stage screen, very much like Zelda II or Super Mario Bros. 3, where you get to choose which stage you want to tackle next, as well as visit the stores, which let you buy items that include health potions, shovel upgrades, armour upgrades, as well as anything that you'd normally expect in a staple RPG game. You don't level your character up per say, but you can buy upgrades. You also unlock spells, which you can use to turn the tide in battle. Certain items will replenish your spells as well. There are also collectable items and secrets in the game, which add as a completion bonus.

GRAPHICS & PRESENTATION:

Shovel Knight is a beautiful looking game. Crisp visuals with bright colours, and an 8-bit art style in glorious widescreen. This game doesn't look 8-bit just for the sake of popularity, its art style is beautifully crafted, and best represents its genre. I can't imagine what Shovel Knight would have looked like if it was in 3D (or 2.5D if you will) as I can't imagine it looking any other way. Each boss' stage is unique, and has a different colour palette, making each stage look unique. You'll fight in castles, underwater, deep dark caverns as well as up high in the skies.

SOUND & MUSIC:

The sound effects are what you'd expect from an 8-bit style, with attention to detail down to each characters' text box making a different sound when it scrolls. The music is absolutely fantastic. Composed by Jake Kaufman, with the help of Manami Matsumae (the same person who worked on the soundtrack from the first two Mega Man games) the music has a very noticeable Megaman-esque influence, as it's bright and very catchy, with each stage having a different but just as memorable tune. If you're a lover of chiptune music, or video game music in general, I highly recommend getting the soundtrack to this game as well. You'll have the tunes in your head for days on end.

LONGEVITY & NG+:

The game offers a lot of hidden secrets and items, for those wanting to get that completion bonus. I'm not 100% sure if you get anything special once you get a 100% completion rate, but for those who aim to get everything, this game offers a lot of replayability, as well as multiple achievements to obtain as well. New Game Plus is offered for those who want an extra challenge. While the base game was quite challenging, it was quite fair as well, and it gave you many chances to learn and try again. This game is easy to learn, but hard to master, so those who want a much harder challenge, New Game Plus will offer that. With less checkpoints, tougher enemies, and more damage dealt upon you, NG+ is definitely more appealing for the "hardcore" gamers. Those who found the vanilla game a bit too easy, should definitely check out New Game Plus, as it is much less forgiving, and will have you trying again, and again, and again. This also extends the replayability of the game as well, and almost makes it feel like a new experience. There's also a pretty achievement for completing NG+.

As an added bonus, Yacht Club games released an expansion pack for Shovel Knight, called Plague of Shadows. In this one, you play as one of the bosses from the base game, Plague Knight. With slightly different jumping mechanics, and a vastly different arsenal at your disposal, playing as Plague Knight offers a fresh take on the base game, and acts as a distinct play-through of the game, especially for those wanting something new after beating the base game as Shovel Knight. Plague Knight is an alchemist, with many different potions and tricks up his sleeve, and can purchase upgrades in the game very much like Shovel Knight can. You'll also get to see the story through his perspective, complete with some new characters that you meet along the way. Best of all, it's entirely free! In a game market of constant DLCs (Downloadable Content) it's refreshing to see a game company care for its players like this.

OVERALL:

There aren't many bad things to say about this game. While the jumping is slightly delayed (though it might be my controller/PC setup) it isn't much of a burden. NG+ did get repetitive when I kept losing over and over again in certain bits, but this happens with most hard games anyway. Apart from these minor issues, I can't say anything bad about this game. It has fun gameplay, great visuals and great sound, and it's a game that will make you want to complete it at least twice, which in today's market of "disposable" games, it's a nice thing to have. Even before the free DLC, Shovel Knight was already a complete game, and it didn't fall under the bad category of some games, where they release "the rest" after the game's initial release. What you get is a finished game, and it delivers. With the flurry of retro style games that have come out in the past, done almost for the sake of selling nostalgia, Shovel Knight surpasses all of that, and what we get is a fresh game that was made for the sake of being a great game. The retro style is not done for parody, and the nostalgic feel comes from within. Shovel Knight is a game that became an instant classic in my books, and to me is easily the best indie game that came out in 2014 (Plague of Shadows was released in 2015). So what are you waiting for? Grab thy shovel, and grab this game. I dig it!

Overall Score: 9 out of 10