Developer/Publisher: Yacht Club Games
Platforms: PC/Mac/Linux, Wii U, 3DS, PS4
(The copy of the game I played for review is the PC version.)
My first time hearing of Shovel Knight came from a video on youtube by Game Grumps, a channel I watch pretty religiously on youtube. The video in question can be found by clicking here. As soon as I saw the video, I was hyped to play this game. It combines some of my favorite original Nintendo NES games into one amazing package. Games such as Megaman, Castlevania, and Ducktales are already great on their own. How can a game take concepts from all, and successfully add them together in such a way to make this one of the first must play titles of 2014? Let me tell you the ways.
The story of Shovel Knight without getting into spoilers is traditional old school fare. You are Shovel Knight, a knight who had lost pretty much everything. He is living in a life of solitude until he discovers that the world is in danger. With his trusty shovel, he travels into the world to defeat the evil Enchantress and other knights to save the world. The story itself is pretty good for what it is. While basic, it does give you some motivation to keep going, to see his quest through. Now that is all well and good, but the game needs to be fun and entertaining to play as well. Thankfully, this is where Shovel Knight shines brightest.
Time to dig in. (That was terrible. I apologize.)
There are very few games that feel like it plays perfectly. While playing through Shovel Knight, I never felt like I died due to the game. Every death I encountered was due to my error. The controls, while simple, work perfectly and are extremely well done. I was using a gamepad during my playtime, which gave me the option to use either the D-pad or the control stick. I found the D-pad to be the easiest way to move around and attack. However, both ways to control Shovel Knight work great and it comes down to personal preference.
Gameplay itself is classic old school fare. It teaches you, without insulting your intelligence. This is a perfect example of game design done right. The game will give you the items needed, but you have to figure out how to use them to get to the next screen. It may sound like it would be a case of trial and error, and that is true to a point. Where this game shines is how it is presented. The game presents new puzzle elements in one screen to show you how it should be used, and after that it is up to you to use those elements to get to the next. It is hard to explain, but very easy to see once you play the game itself. If you do happen to die, you will lose a portion of your gold. However, the game will give you the chance to go and reclaim those bags of money. If you die without picking them up however, you will lose another 3 bags of money, and the original 3 bags will be lost forever. This can lead to some rage inducing moments if you are carrying a lot of money and are close to a upgrade, but all in all, it is done very well. It adds a bit of challenge to the game, making sure think before you jump.
Some of the puzzles require you to think and experiment.
You have very simple attacks. You can swipe with your shovel, and also jump and thrust downwards with your shovel, very reminiscent of Ducktales and the cane attack. There are other attacks that can be unlocked later in the game with gold. Speaking of gold that is one aspect of the game that is done really well. Enemies drop gold as well as some objects in the stage that you can dig up. However, people who have a good eye, can find secrets in the stage that lead to more money, or even collectible items that you can exchange in the game for more gold, magic, or even max health.
On top of the shovel attacks, you have items you can find in the game that do a variety of things. Some are new weapons that use magic, others are potions that can refill your health/magic, and some even make you immune to damage for a short period of time. There are many items you can collect, and not all are bought by going into the town. You actually have to find them. This practice rewards players who go through the stage and keep an eye out for other exits, and out of place textures that can be hit with your shovel amongst other things. Some of these can only be achieved by getting enough height in a jump to reach a platform or ladder. Some of these require some quick thinking and if you do not get it the first time, you will have to restart the stage entirely to have another chance at reaching them. Other stages require a certain item to be able to progress that reward you with lots of gold, or collectibles.
The stages themselves are presented via a overworld, very reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Graphically, this is the definition of an NES era game. While some objects and stages seem like they would not be able to work on a NES due to it’s graphical limitations, Yacht Club Games did a great job making Shovel Knight look and feel like a old school NES game. Some may not like the visual style it went with, but I for one applaud it. It tugs at my nostalgia heartstrings. Shovel Knight was made as a tribute to the great platformers of the 80’s and early 90’s, and it shows. Later in the game you can unlock different armors that can drastically change how the game is played, giving you the chance to change your knight to suit your playing style.
You can buy different armors that all have different effects in battle.
I wanted to finish the review by talking about the music in the game. I truly feel the music in this game is the best part of the entire experience. It is extremely well done. It sounds like it was made solely for an original Nintendo NES. Not only that, the music itself is so well done I had to go and buy the soundtrack. Not many games can make me do that. If anything, I ask you go and check out the soundtrack, which you can do by clicking here.
It allows you to listen to the songs in the game. If you like it, consider buying it (you can even download it for free!) and having some awesome music to game by. It is masterful. Every song has it’s own uniqueness about it, and represents the stage or boss it is portraying very well.
Verdict
If you are looking for a game that reminds you of your childhood memories of the NES, while still wanting a new experience, I cannot recommend Shovel Knight enough. While some of the items you obtain are not as useful as others, it still has a really good balance and reminds me what made the 80’s and early 90’s so great in terms of video games. I only touched a fraction of what the entire game is. If any of this made you excited to try the game, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.
Recommended
