Shovel Knight is a platform game created and published by Yacht Club Games. The game was funded by many people and released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was later made available on OS X and Linux in September 2014, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One in April 2015, Amazon Fire TV in September 2015, and Nintendo Switch in March 2017. The game is inspired by the style and gameplay of classic platformer games from the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Shovel Knight received high praise from reviewers, who considered it one of the best video games ever made. After additional story campaigns were released, the original story was given the name "Shovel of Hope." The complete version of the game, called Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, was released in December 2019. It includes three extra campaigns (Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards) and a multiplayer fighting game called Shovel Knight Showdown.
A spin-off puzzle game called Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon was developed with Vine and released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. A prequel, the roguelike game Shovel Knight Dig, was developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade. A remake of the first game, called Shovel of Hope DX, is planned for a future release.
Gameplay
Shovel Knight is a 2D side-scrolling platform game with an 8-bit graphical style. The main story, later named Shovel of Hope, follows the player as they control Shovel Knight, who must rescue his partner, Shield Knight, while fighting the Enchantress and her group, the Order of No Quarter. Shovel Knight can attack enemies, dig through dirt blocks, collect treasure, or use his shovel to bounce on objects. Each level is themed around one of the Order of No Quarter’s knights, includes checkpoints, and ends with a boss battle against one of the group’s eight members. The world map is divided into sections, each containing three knights. Players must defeat all three to move forward. In addition to the main story, players can collect treasure to improve Shovel Knight’s abilities.
Players can find a character named Chester hidden in levels. Chester sells items called Relics, which are powered by a resource called magic. Relics give helpful effects, such as temporary invulnerability or fireball attacks. Treasure can also be used to buy upgrades for Shovel Knight’s health, magic capacity, armor, or shovel. For example, an upgrade allows the shovel to shoot damaging projectiles when Shovel Knight is at full health. Some levels contain hidden music sheets that can be given to a character called the bard. This rewards players with treasure and the ability to test the game’s music tracks.
If Shovel Knight dies, the player loses some treasure at the location of death. They can return to that spot to recover it, but if they die again before collecting it, the treasure is lost. Players can also choose to destroy checkpoints for treasure, but doing so risks being sent back to an earlier part of the level if they die. Completing the game unlocks a harder version called New Game Plus, which has fewer checkpoints and makes Shovel Knight take more damage.
Free downloadable content (DLC) adds new features, such as a "Challenge Mode" with tasks like speedrunning or fighting bosses multiple times. A co-op DLC lets two players complete the main story together. On Nintendo platforms, this mode works with amiibo figures, allowing players to store custom characters or summon fairies. A body swap mode lets players change the genders or pronouns of characters in the Shovel of Hope campaign.
Three additional single-player campaigns—Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards—feature different characters who are bosses in Shovel of Hope. In Plague of Shadows, players control Plague Knight, who uses bombs and can jump twice or launch himself through the air. Specter of Torment lets players control Specter Knight, who can climb walls and use a scythe to attack. King of Cards features King Knight, who can bash enemies with a shoulder attack that becomes a spin attack. This campaign includes a mini-game called "Joustus," where players use cards to claim spaces marked with gems.
In addition to DLC campaigns, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove includes a multiplayer fighting game called Shovel Knight Showdown. This game allows up to four players to compete in different modes using characters from the series. It also has a single-player story mode that unlocks new fighters and levels. The game includes version-specific features, such as a boss version of Kratos from God of War in PlayStation ports, or enemies from Battletoads in Xbox One and Windows versions. The Nintendo 3DS version has a StreetPass arena mode, where players can record themselves fighting and share their recordings with others through StreetPass.
Plot
Shovel Knight and his partner, Shield Knight, are well-known and successful adventurers. However, while exploring the Tower of Fate, an amulet curses Shield Knight, leaving Shovel Knight stranded outside the sealed tower. Sad for his friend, Shovel Knight stops adventuring and chooses to live alone. While he is away, a powerful being called the Enchantress gains power, causing harm across the land. When Shovel Knight learns the Enchantress has opened the Tower of Fate again, he decides to return, hoping to rescue Shield Knight. To reach the tower, Shovel Knight fights and defeats the Order of No Quarter, a group of knights who serve the Enchantress.
As Shovel Knight travels to the Tower of Fate, he repeatedly battles his old rival, Black Knight. After defeating Black Knight one final time near the tower, Black Knight reveals that the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, who is controlled by an evil spirit in the amulet. Shovel Knight climbs the tower, defeats the Order of No Quarter again, and fights the Enchantress. He removes the evil spirit, restoring Shield Knight. The amulet becomes a powerful monster called the Remnant of Fate, which Shovel Knight and Shield Knight defeat together. Shield Knight holds back the Remnant of Fate as the tower falls, while Black Knight carries an unconscious Shovel Knight to safety. Black Knight leaves Shovel Knight by his campfire and goes away. A post-credits scene shows Shield Knight, who escaped the collapsing tower, lying beside Shovel Knight as he sleeps.
Development
Designer Nick Wozniak explained that the game idea began as "a joke they made during lunch that became more serious." The team had planned to create a game inspired by classic NES games they enjoyed as children. They later discussed adding a sword-thrust move from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which they both liked. They decided this move would work better with a shovel instead of a sword in their game. Other influences included Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, DuckTales, Super Mario Bros. 3, the Mega Man series, U.N. Squadron, and Dark Souls. The character's name was decided early on, with "Plummet Knight" being the only other suggestion besides the final choice.
The game was announced on March 17, 2013, along with a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for development. The campaign aimed to collect at least $75,000 and reached its goal by late March. It eventually raised $311,502, meeting all stretch goals for extra features like a four-player battle mode, a mission-based challenge setting, a body swap mode, and additional story campaigns for three boss characters. To promote the campaign, Yacht Club shared copies of their Penny Arcade Expo demo with popular gaming YouTubers, including Two Best Friends Play and Game Grumps.
According to programmer David D'Angelo, Shield Knight was originally intended to be a princess, inspired by classic NES characters like Roll, Peach, and Zelda. She was initially called "Princess MacGuffin" during development due to her simple design. For the "Body Swap" mode, Yacht Club created male versions of Shield Knight and the Enchantress. The Enchanter was one of the first characters explored for this mode, and his design influenced many of the rules Yacht Club's artists followed. The Enchantress' design was inspired by traditional Japanese clothing, so artists first tried kimono and robe styles for her male version. When this didn’t work, they switched to a samurai-inspired look, similar to Ganondorf in Super Smash Bros. Artists also tried skirted designs for male Shield Knight, but these were not used. Some details on Shield Knight’s armor were simplified to make the character appear more masculine.
Shovel Knight includes a chiptune soundtrack, similar to music from older NES games, composed by Jake Kaufman. It also features two songs by Manami Matsumae, a composer known for Mega Man. The soundtrack was released on Bandcamp on the same day as the game, along with a rearranged version.
The game’s graphics and music copy the style of NES-era games. This includes using the same limited color palette (four colors plus a background) and a similar number of on-screen sprites. To follow these rules, larger sprites are placed on a black background to keep the total number of visible colors realistic. Other techniques, like camera shakes that only move in one direction and a GUI that acts as a background layer, help the game honor the limitations of the NES.
Release
The game was first planned to be released in September 2013, but was delayed until early 2014. After more delays, Yacht Club Games announced on June 5, 2014, that the game would be released on June 26, 2014. The game was later released on additional platforms, including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with exclusive boss battles featuring Kratos from God of War on PS3, PS4, PSVita, and Battletoads on Xbox One. Physical copies of the game were made available for several platforms in October 2015.
Before 2017, the game was sold under the name Shovel Knight, with extra campaigns offered as free downloadable content. An update in April 2017 allowed players to buy the original story campaign and additional downloadable campaigns separately on certain platforms. The original campaign was renamed Shovel of Hope. A collection containing all four campaigns was released as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, and all previous purchases were updated to include this collection.
An improved version called Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX was announced in June 2024. It will be released on Steam. This version includes 20 playable characters, online multiplayer, rewind and save state features, in-game cheats, and additional content previously available only on specific platforms, such as the Nintendo 3DS version’s stereoscopic 3D and Battle Ghost Arena mode (formerly StreetPass Arena).
Reception
Shovel Knight received very high praise from reviewers on Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. The game was "generally favorable" on the Wii U, Xbox One, and PC. IGN editor Colin Moriarty gave the game a 9/10 rating, stating it was "one of the best games released in 2014." Infendo.com described it as "a brilliant tribute to older games, yet also a fresh and creative experience." Nintendo Life praised the 3DS version for its "excellent controls, beautiful graphics, a great soundtrack, and charming characters, along with top-quality level design, varied gameplay, hidden areas, optional challenges, and a complex combat system."
Including sales to people who supported the game through Kickstarter, 180,000 copies of Shovel Knight were sold within one month of its release in North America. Of these, 49,000 were sold on Wii U, 59,000 on 3DS, and 66,000 on Steam. By December 4, 2014, more than 300,000 copies had been sold across all platforms. As of June 30, 2015, over 700,000 copies had been sold. By December 14, 2016, 1.5 million copies had been sold. In April 2018, Yacht Club Games reported that 2 million copies of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove had been sold. By September 2019, sales had reached 2.65 million copies.
Legacy
In 2015, an Amiibo figure of Shovel Knight was released. This was the first Amiibo toy made by a company that is not Nintendo. In 2019, a 3-pack of Amiibo figures featuring Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight was released. A gold version of the original Shovel Knight Amiibo was also made available at the same time. In March 2021, Shovel Knight worked with Arby's to create a set of toys. These toys included special cheat codes for the game that were themed around Arby's.
Shovel Knight can be played as a guest character in many games, 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. Shovel Knight characters also appear in other games as guest characters, such as Brawlhalla, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, Two Brothers, Yooka-Laylee, Aegis Defenders, The Reward: Tales of Alethrion, River City Ransom: Underground, Creepy Castle, Puzzle Depot, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Enter the Gungeon, Katana Zero, Balatro, and For Honor. Music from Shovel Knight is included in the games Just Shapes & Beats and Voez.
In February 2020, a spinoff game called Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon was announced. It is a puzzle game where players explore dungeons. The game was released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. A prequel game titled Shovel Knight Dig was developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade.