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 for 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 gameplay and graphics of platformer games from the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Shovel Knight received high praise from critics, who called it one of the best video games ever made. After additional story content was released, the original story was later named 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 called Shovel Knight Dig, which is a roguelike game, was developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade. A remake of the first game, titled 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 base campaign, later named Shovel of Hope, follows the main character, Shovel Knight, as he journeys to rescue his partner, Shield Knight, and battle the Enchantress and her group, the Order of No Quarter. Shovel Knight can attack enemies, dig through dirt blocks, find treasure, or use his shovel to bounce on objects and foes. Each level is themed around one of the Order of No Quarter’s knights, includes checkpoints, and ends with a boss fight 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 advance to the next area. In addition to the main story, players can collect treasure within levels to strengthen 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 provide helpful effects, such as temporary invulnerability from a magical locket or fireballs from a wand. 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 named the bard. This action rewards treasure and lets players test the game’s music tracks.
If Shovel Knight dies, the player loses some treasure at the location of death. The treasure can be recovered by returning to that spot, but if the player dies again before collecting it, the treasure is lost forever. Players can also choose to destroy checkpoints to earn treasure, though doing so risks being sent back to an earlier part of the level if they die. Completing the game unlocks a harder mode called New Game Plus, which reduces the number of checkpoints and increases the damage Shovel Knight takes.
Free downloadable content (DLC) adds new features, such as "Challenge Mode," where players complete difficult tasks like speedrunning or fighting bosses repeatedly. A co-op multiplayer DLC allows two players to complete the main campaign together. On Nintendo platforms, co-op play works with amiibo figures, letting players store custom characters or summon cosmetic fairies. A "body swap" feature lets players change the gender or pronouns of certain characters in the Shovel of Hope campaign.
Three additional single-player campaigns—Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards—focus on characters who appear as bosses in Shovel of Hope. In Plague of Shadows, players control Plague Knight, who uses bombs, double jumps, and a powerful "burst jump." Specter of Torment lets players play as Specter Knight, who can climb walls, jump off them, and use a scythe to attack. King of Cards features King Knight, who can perform a shoulder bash that turns into a spin attack. This campaign includes a card battle mini-game called "Joustus," where players place cards on a field to claim spaces marked with gems.
In addition to DLC campaigns, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove includes a multiplayer fighting game called Shovel Knight Showdown. Up to four players can compete in various modes using fighters based on characters from the series. The game also has a single-player story mode that unlocks new fighters and levels. Version-exclusive features include unique boss battles, such as a boss version of Kratos from God of War in PlayStation ports, and enemies from Rare’s Battletoads in Xbox One and Windows versions. The Nintendo 3DS version includes a StreetPass arena mode, where players record themselves moving in an arena and attempt to defeat an invisible enemy. These recordings are sent to other players through StreetPass, allowing recorded characters to fight each other.
Plot
Shovel Knight and his partner, Shield Knight, are famous adventurers. While exploring the Tower of Fate, an amulet curses Shield Knight, trapping Shovel Knight outside the sealed tower. Sad about losing his friend, Shovel Knight stops being an adventurer and lives alone. During his absence, a powerful being called the Enchantress gains power and causes harm across the land. When Shovel Knight learns the Enchantress has reopened the Tower of Fate, he decides to return to rescue Shield Knight. To reach the tower, he 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 enemy, Black Knight. After defeating Black Knight near the tower, Black Knight reveals that the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, who is controlled by an evil spirit inside 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 to his original form. The amulet becomes a 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 collapses, while Black Knight carries an unconscious Shovel Knight to safety. Black Knight leaves Shovel Knight near his campfire and leaves. A post-credits scene shows Shield Knight, who escaped the collapsing tower, resting beside Shovel Knight as he sleeps.
Development
Designer Nick Wozniak said the idea for the game began as a joking conversation over lunch that became more serious. The team had already planned to create a game inspired by classic NES games they enjoyed growing up. They later discussed including the sword-thrust move from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which both designers liked. They decided this move would work better in their game with a shovel instead of a sword. Other inspirations 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 after the first brainstorming session, with "Plummet Knight" being the only other suggestion besides the final name.
The game was announced on March 17, 2013, along with a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for development, with a minimum goal of $75,000. The campaign met its goal by late March and raised a total of $311,502 by April 13. This allowed the team to complete all additional features, such as a four-player battle mode, a mission-based challenge setting, a body swap mode, and extra playable story campaigns for three boss characters. To promote the Kickstarter, Yacht Club shared copies of their Penny Arcade Expo demo with popular gaming personalities on YouTube, including Two Best Friends Play and Game Grumps.
According to programmer David D'Angelo, Shield Knight was originally planned 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 body swap ideas explored, and his design influenced the rules artists followed later. The Enchantress' design was inspired by traditional Japanese clothing, so Yacht Club first tried kimono and robe styles for her male version. When this did not work, they switched to a samurai-inspired look, similar to Ganondorf in the Super Smash Bros. series. 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.
The game's soundtrack, composed by Jake Kaufman in the style of older NES-era games, includes two tracks by Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae. The soundtrack was released for download on Bandcamp on the same day as the game, along with a rearranged album.
The game's graphics and music copy the style of NES-era games, including the same color palette limits (plus four colors) and sprite count. To stay within these limits, larger sprites are placed on a black background to reduce onscreen colors. Other techniques include camera shakes that only move in one direction and a GUI that serves as a background layer instead of appearing over the gameplay.
Release
The game was first planned to be released in September 2013 but was pushed back to early 2014. After more delays, Yacht Club Games announced on June 5, 2014, that the game would be released on June 26, 2014. It later became available on additional platforms, including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with exclusive boss battles featuring characters like Kratos from God of War on PlayStation systems and Battletoads on Xbox One. Physical copies of the game were released for various platforms in October 2015.
Before 2017, the game was sold under the name Shovel Knight, with extra story 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 then renamed Shovel of Hope. A collection of all four campaigns was later released as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, and all previous purchases were updated to this version.
An improved version called Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX was announced in June 2024. It will be released on Steam and will include 20 playable characters, online multiplayer, rewind and save state features, in-game cheats, and content previously available only on specific platforms, such as stereoscopic 3D effects and a mode called Battle Ghost Arena (formerly known as StreetPass Arena).
Reception
Shovel Knight received high praise from Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. Many people liked the game on Wii U, Xbox One, and PC. IGN editor Colin Moriarty gave it a 9/10 rating, calling it "one of the best games of 2014." Infendo.com described it as "a great tribute to older games, yet also fresh and creative." Nintendo Life praised the 3DS version for having "good controls, beautiful graphics, a great soundtrack, and friendly characters, along with excellent level design, varied gameplay, secret rooms, extra challenges, and a complex combat system."
Including Kickstarter supporters, 180,000 copies of Shovel Knight were sold in one month after 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. By 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, 2.65 million copies had been sold.
Legacy
In 2015, an Amiibo figure of Shovel Knight was released. This was the first Amiibo toy made by an outside company. In 2019, a 3-pack Amiibo featuring Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight was released. A gold version of the original Shovel Knight figure was also available. In March 2021, Shovel Knight partnered with Arby's to release a toy set. The set included cheat codes for the game with Arby's themes.
Shovel Knight appears as a playable 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, 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 appears in Just Shapes & Beats and Voez.
In February 2020, a new game titled Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, a dungeon crawler puzzle game, was announced. It was released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. A prequel titled Shovel Knight Dig was developed together with Nitrome. It was released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade.