Shovel Knight is an interesting game. It’s a platformer with role-playing elements but revolves around a love story. Shovel Knight loses his partner Shield Knight to the Enchantress and becomes a recluse. When signs emerge that the Enchantress threatens the people of the kingdom once more, Shovel Knight returns and wants revenge. The title is as serious as it is comical. You encounter bizarre creatures like talking horses along the way but themes of sacrifice and courage are also baked into the experience.
As you know, Shovel Knight’s most important weapon is his shovel. You can use it to dig up treasure and destroy sand and other materials blocking your way. The gameplay revolves around this mechanic and you have to use it to traverse the various levels and destroy enemies. It’s not that simple though. You have to be careful not to haphazardly destroy everything you see as this might cause you to get stranded in particular areas. I can’t tell you how many times I missed out on secrets because I kept on removing blocks. Strategy plays an equally important role along with having quick fingers.
As the game progresses you gain new abilities but the most prominent one has to be the ability to throw spells at enemies. This is necessary so that the player has a ranged attack. Alternating between using your shovel for melee strikes and your staff against far away enemies is the key to success. The title allows you to develop your own playstyle when it comes to approaching any given combat scenario and boss battle. I wasn’t expecting this at all.
As mentioned earlier, another element of the game that surprised and delighted me was how it’s much more than just a simple platformer. When I first started playing Shovel Knight, I expected the game to be a generic platformer which was probably brutally difficult and inaccessible. That’s not the case at all. There are role-playing elements which see you develop your powers and also present you with numerous side quests. You can go into town and interact with the hilarious occupants. As strange as it may seem, these interactions make the game feel alive. You feel like you’re part of a proper adventure.
The gameplay is smooth and the 60 frames per second is required to ensure the controls are responsive. I never encountered any stuttering or frame rate drop during my playthrough. This meant that my performance in the game came down to how skillful I was. Unlike some other platformers, I never felt like I was wrestling with the controls because the frame rate remained steady throughout my time with the title.
The retro graphics have a certain charm to them that’s inescapable. At the same time, the complexity of the gameplay coupled with the simple pixelated graphics make Shovel Knight feel like a truly unique experience on modern machines. The closest game I could compare it to would have to be Zelda II: The Adventure of Link developed by Nintendo. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link came out in 1987 and I absolutely loved playing it because you could interact with various characters and each had their own story to tell. Somehow Shovel Knight captures that feeling of wonder I felt all those years ago.
Shovel Knight does a lot of things right but there are some aspects which could be improved. Upgrading your character feels like a chore and you have to go back and grind certain levels to get enough gems. Additionally, I wish there was an area reset feature that brought back some of the blocks I accidentally destroyed. I shouldn’t have to start the level from scratch just because I made one little mistake. This seems like it was a design choice by the developers but it can get frustrating. Maybe giving an option to players would’ve made the title that much more appealing.
I also realize that adding voice acting would take away from the retro feel of the game but I think that it’s necessary in modern titles. It elevates the experience if done properly. Maybe giving an option to turn it on with a warning that said this isn’t how games were made back in the day would’ve work out well.
Summary
Overall, Shovel Knight is one of the best platformers I have ever played. It’s charming, funny and surprisingly deep with some of the themes it explores especially towards the end. All the environments are also varied and interesting. Don’t miss the sequence after the credits as it completely changes the narrative. The title on Xbox One also features some exclusive content like an appearance by the famous Battletoads. This is definitely a game that all owners should purchase because of how refined an experience it is.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.