Shovel Knight (PC) Review

By SirLink 22.07.2014

Review for Shovel Knight on PC

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in early 2013, Shovel Knight was recently released on PC, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U - with a European release for the two console versions to follow in the near future - by a new studio called Yacht Club Games, made up of several developers from WayForward, known for series such as Shantae and Mighty Switch Force. The company's goal is to make games that fuse the old with the new and it achieved exactly that with its initial title, the Nintendo 3DS version of which has already received massive praise from Cubed3.

This time, however, it's all about the PC version and it's - unsurprisingly - just as amazing. Make sure to read on for all the reasons why…

The story follows Shovel Knight on his quest to defeat the evil Enchantress and save his lost beloved, Shield Knight. Standing in his way are the eight members of The Order of No Quarter, a round of skilled knights that have to be defeated in order to move on. It's not a linear quest, however, as there is a world map that makes it possible to choose the path taken, to an extent. There are also a few optional stages that can be visited to gather even more treasure, which can be spent on upgrades in either of the two villages.

Each main level consists of a lengthy main portion with its own mechanics and a boss fight at the end. In addition to overcoming the challenges using all of Shovel Knight's abilities, there are a lot of secrets to be found that provide healing items, treasure or the main collectible, Music Sheets that unlock individual soundtracks found in the game. It all controls beautifully and it's easy to learn how to play, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a healthy challenge waiting to be tackled.

Screenshot for Shovel Knight on PC

The several obtainable relics that consume magic aren't required to beat the main levels, yet they add some welcome variety to Shovel Knight's arsenal of jumping, shovelling and bouncing off enemies. Perhaps one of the most useful is the Phase Locket, an item that's ideal for coping with incoming threats that can't be dodged, as it makes the character temporarily invincible. On top of that, there are two chalices that can be filled with one of three potions to be used in a pinch.

Many of the classic titles that served as inspiration for Shovel Knight are very tough and unforgiving, and while this one is still challenging, it strikes a good balance with its difficulty, only having rare cases when something could be considered a bit cheap. Upon death, part of the carried treasure is dropped and will hover there in bags until reclaimed. Dying again causes the previous bags to disappear, which feels very much like the mechanics in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, albeit a fair bit less punishing.

Those who think they might struggle beating all of the levels should feel relieved by the inclusion of a fairly generous checkpoint system. Those checkpoints also hide another feature, as they can be destroyed for extra treasure to be spent towards upgrades, something that skilled players who think they won't need some - or even all - checkpoints can take advantage of. There are a lot more neat little surprises that could be mentioned in this review, but those are best experienced first-hand and shouldn't be spoiled in advance.

Screenshot for Shovel Knight on PC

Cubed3 Rating

9/10
Rated 9 out of 10

Exceptional - Gold Award

Rated 9 out of 10

Shovel Knight is a retro-inspired 2D game done right. There is a vast amount of games that draw from similar source material, but few manage to convince based on their own merits alone without having to rely on blatant references to older titles. It's a modernised culmination of many NES classics that is crafted with a lot of love and care from its developers. The experience is a fairly challenging one, but a clever and fair checkpoint system means that it can be enjoyed by veteran gamers and those who didn't grow up with games of that era alike. For Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight is one heck of a game to start its new studio with, so here's hoping it can keep up this high level of quality and polish with future titles!

Developer

Yacht Club

Publisher

Yacht Club

Genre

2D Platformer

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  9/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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