Shovel Knight: 9/10 (10/10 Wii U)

Background

Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. These are the games that entertained and intrigued me as a child. Sure I was born a little after their release but a great game doesn’t have to be new to be fun. These are the games that pushed us towards the great generation of gaming we treasure today. If you want a game that hits with a wave of nostalgia then you hold your horses cause your about to get hit with a wall of arcade-style bliss. It is a special game that takes the time to ackowledge where gaming came from while also showing off where we have gone, and that game is Shovel Knight. Developed and published by Yacht Club Games and released on June 26, 2014 to many different platforms.

Gameplay

Let me go ahead and tell you that there is nothing this game promises that it doesn’t promote. It promotes nostalgic, 8-bit side-scrolling, platforming awesomness that helps to bring the retro style of gaming into the modern age. It provides the player with the difficult gameplay of past gaming and combines it with contemporary storytelling in a wonderful blend of medieval splendor. Something else that I find very special about this game is that very rarely is a stage completely linear. Their is always more than one way to go to get to where your going and using your magic items gives you even more options for varying gameplay and travel. Each level offers different mechanics and new challanges that Shovel Knight must adapt to in order to traverse it and defeat the Order of No Quarter.

Order of No Quarter

This game take a Mega Man-esque approach to their antagonists by casting them in the same namesake as Shovel Knight. In the way that Mega Man and his enemies are all sentient robots, Shovel Knight and all his foes are knights. While they owe their allegiances to an opposing force, Shovel Knight shows his true character in the few moments before each fight when he first tries to defuse a fight and tries to bring his enemies to their sense before it results in violence. The Order includes many different types of villains, such Tinker Knight, who is a very unimposing man who is easily defeated but then shows his true wealth as a boss when he drops one of his giant robots which he pilots; as well as Polar Knight who is a monster of a man who towers over the other knights and uses his snow shovel to throw snow at his enemies. While the Order led by the Enchantress, who is much deeper than it seems, is the main threat of the adventure Shovel knight must also face his sworn rival Black Knight who is a recurring boss in the game and with each fight he gains strength and bec0mes more daunting to fight. While Black Knight is an enemy he is a rogue knight who does not answer to anyone. Making the threats of the land very real and very numerous.

Wii U Platform

If there is any platform I can highlight especially, it would be the Wii U version of the game. Along with all the content of the other platforms the Wii U version has a large pool of extra content and funtionality that is unlocked via Shovel Knight Amiibo. Using the Amiibo you can unlock a very fun feature known as Custom Knight Mode where the player can control their Amiibo and unlock items by leveling up as opposed to story progression. It also unlocks teh wonderous mechanic of co-op play. Where one player controls the character and the other, the Amiibo. Along with all of that the Amiibo also unlocks even more challenges for the player to attempt. While all platforms offer a large amount of content, it is the Wii U version that stands as the definitive edition.

Plague of Shadows

As if fighting for the freedom of the land wasn’t cool enough, Yacht Club Games released a free DLC expansion of substantial size adding a new playable character with his own story; and that character is…wait for it…Plague Knight…you know… because its in the name of the DLC. Any way this expansion which any game owner can have for freemium is, as I said before, an entirely new story in which the player controls one of the games primary antagonists and plays through the levels, backstab his teammates and collect their essence to create the most powerful potion in the world. While you may be playing through all the same stages as you do with Shovel Knight, they will not play the same.

As Plague Knight you must navigate the terrain in a much different way as he possess numerous types of magical potions for attacking, as well as a sweet double jump that comes in deep handy for sticky platforming situations. He also gains his items in a different and sort of funny way which you can find out as you progress through the game on your own so as to not spoil it. Even when you get to Plague Knights stage you are greeted with a fight still and you can probably guess who that is. It is none other than the blue-armored excavator himself Shovel Knight. While they are both on thier own adventures and share little with each other they still manage to share the same motivations for their actions. Plague Knight can be unlocked by either beating the game on normal difficulty as Shovel Knight or inputting a cheat code to unlock him for those of you who wish to play him as soon as possible. For those of you who are interested I will put the code below the Verdict section so everyone can enjoy this super rad character.

Verdict

Shovel Knight offers a fresh breath of air in the cloudy gaming market we find ourselves in today. Where everything costs extra, Shovel Knight offers its second character and story completely free. It is a game that stands out from the rest and will undoubtedly withstand the test of time. This game shows that it was created for people and not for money. This game has a charm that pulls the player in with its great 8-bit art style and addictive platforming that tugs at the players urge to be challenged and surpass those challenges. If I had to recommend a game that blends retro style difficulty with modern day storytelling then this is one I would gladly recommend and it defeinetly is some bang for your buck.