Shovel Knight | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Yacht Club Games |
Publisher(s) | Yacht Club Games |
Director(s) | Sean Velasco |
Designer(s) |
|
Programmer(s) |
|
Artist(s) |
|
Composer(s) | |
Platform(s) | |
Release | June 26, 2014 |
Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Shovel Knight is a platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to 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. [3] [6] Shovel Knight is inspired by gameplay and graphics of platformer games developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System. [7]
The game received critical acclaim, with critics considering it one of the greatest video games ever made. [8] [9] [10] With the release of additional campaigns, the original story received the retronym Shovel of Hope. The full game was released in December 2019 as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes three other campaigns Plague of Shadows , Specter of Torment , and King of Cards , along with multiplayer fighting game Shovel Knight Showdown .
A spin-off dungeon crawler puzzle game, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon , was co-developed with Vine and released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. Another spin-off, the roguelike Shovel Knight Dig , was co-developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade.
Shovel Knight is a 2D side-scrolling platform game with an 8-bit graphical style. [11] [12] In the base campaign retroactively titled Shovel of Hope, [11] players control the eponymous adventurer as he goes on a journey to rescue his partner Shield Knight while fighting the Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter. [11] [13] Shovel Knight can attack with his shovel, dig through dirt blocks, unearth treasure, or use this tool to bounce upon enemies and objects. [14] [15] Levels are themed around the individual knights of the Order of No Quarter, feature several checkpoints, and end with a boss fight against one of the order's eight members. Each section of the world map contains three knights, and the player must defeat all of them to progress to the next area. [11] [16] Aside from the main quest, players are encouraged to collect treasure inside levels to improve Shovel Knight's abilities. [14] [17]
By finding a salesman named Chester hidden inside levels, the player can purchase items called Relics with treasure. These Relics provide helpful effects and are powered using a resource called magic. [16] Examples of Relics include a magical locket that grants temporary invulnerability, or a wand that shoots fireballs. [11] [18] The player can further use treasure to buy useful upgrades for Shovel Knight's health, magic capacity, armor, or shovel. For example, an upgrade for the shovel allows it to shoot out damaging projectiles whenever Shovel Knight is at maximum health. [14] [16] Some levels contain hidden music sheets that the player can grant to a non-player character called the bard; trading these sheets awards the player treasure and the ability to sound test each of the game's music tracks. [16] [18]
Dying in Shovel Knight will cause the player to lose a portion of their treasure at the location of death, and the player can return to this location to recover their lost gold. However, if the player dies again before claiming this treasure, it is lost forever. [16] [19] As an optional challenge, players have the choice of destroying checkpoints to be awarded treasure, at the risk of being sent back to an earlier location in the level should they die. [11] [19] Completing the game unlocks a more difficult New Game Plus mode, which reduces the number of available checkpoints and increases the damage Shovel Knight takes. [20]
Free downloadable content (DLC) updates add new features to the game, including a "Challenge Mode" where the player can complete difficult tasks such as speedrunning or repeat battles with the game's bosses. [21] A local cooperative multiplayer DLC allows for two players to complete the main campaign in tandem, and co-op on Nintendo platforms is compatible with a Shovel Knight amiibo, which allows for the player to create their own custom playable character or summon a cosmetic fairy. [22] [23] A body swap mode allows players to alter the genders or identifying pronouns of certain characters, though it is only available for Shovel of Hope. [23]
Three additional single-player campaigns titled Plague of Shadows , Specter of Torment , and King of Cards focus on different playable characters, each of them acting as bosses in the Shovel of Hope campaign. [24] Plague of Shadows casts players as Plague Knight, who uses bombs to attack enemies and can use both a double jump and a powerful "burst jump" to launch himself through the air. [25] Specter of Torment is centered around Specter Knight, who can run up walls, jump off of them, and use his scythe to slash enemies and obstacles. [11] King of Cards puts players in control of King Knight, who has a shoulder bash which turns into a spin attack upon colliding with enemies or objects. [23] [14] King Knight's campaign features a card battle mini-game called "Joustus", in which players place cards on a field to claim spaces marked with gems. [26]
In addition to the DLC campaigns, Shovel Knight features a multiplayer fighting game add-on called Shovel Knight Showdown . In Showdown, up to four players compete in various game modes using playable fighters based around characters in the franchise. The game includes a single-player story mode which can be completed to unlock new fighters and playable level. [27] [28] Shovel Knight has several version-exclusive features such as unique boss battles; a boss version of Kratos from God of War appears in the PlayStation ports, [29] while Rare's Battletoads are included as enemies in the Xbox One and Windows versions. [30]
Shovel Knight and his partner Shield Knight are renowned and successful adventurers, but while exploring the Tower of Fate, an amulet curses Shield Knight and leaves Shovel Knight stranded outside of the sealed tower. Grieving for his friend, Shovel Knight gives up adventuring and goes into self-imposed exile. During his absence, a powerful being known as the Enchantress rises to power, spreading evil across the land. Upon hearing that the Enchantress has unsealed the Tower of Fate, Shovel Knight resolves to journey back to it, hoping to find and rescue Shield Knight. To reach the tower, Shovel Knight confronts and defeats the members of the Order of No Quarter, a group of knights serving the Enchantress.
Along his journey towards the Tower of Fate, Shovel Knight continuously battles with his old rival Black Knight. After he defeats Black Knight for a final time at the outskirts of the tower, Black Knight reveals that the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, who is possessed by an evil spirit that inhabits the amulet. Shovel Knight ascends the tower and defeats the Order of No Quarter again, before battling the Enchantress. He manages to exorcise the evil spirit, turning her back into Shield Knight. The amulet transforms into a powerful monster known as 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. He leaves Shovel Knight by his campfire and departs. A post-credits scene shows Shield Knight, who managed to escape the collapsing tower, lying next to Shovel Knight as he sleeps.
Designer Nick Wozniak stated that the idea for the game started out as "sort of as a joke conversation over lunch that kind of got too serious". [31] The team had already planned to make a game in the style of the NES classics that they grew up on, and eventually the sword-thrust move from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was brought up as a move that both designers liked. They soon thought that this move would be better suited in their game for a shovel instead of a sword. [31] Other specific inspirations include Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse , DuckTales , Super Mario Bros. 3 , the Mega Man series, U.N. Squadron , and Dark Souls . [32] [33] The decision of the character's name was "pretty much settled" after the first brainstorming session, with the name "Plummet Knight" being the only other suggestion. [34]
The game was announced on March 17, 2013, alongside the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund development, with a minimum goal of US$75,000. The campaign reached its objective in late March and went on to collect a total of $311,502, fulfilling all announced "stretch goals" for additional features, by its end on April 13. [35] Those goals included a four-player battle mode, a mission-based challenge setting, a body swap mode, and additional playable story campaigns for three boss characters. [36] [37] To promote the Kickstarter, Yacht Club distributed copies of its initial Penny Arcade Expo demo to several prominent gaming personalities on YouTube, including Two Best Friends Play and Game Grumps .[ citation needed ]
According to Shovel Knight programmer David D'Angelo, Shield Knight was originally supposed to be a princess, as the creators were using NES era damsel-in-distress characters like Roll, Peach, and Zelda as inspirations. [38] Originally, due to her lack of character, she was referred to as "Princess MacGuffin" within the development team. [39] 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 concepts Yacht Club explored, and his creation process led to many of the design rules Yacht Club's artists subsequently imposed on themselves. The Enchantress' design was inspired by traditional Japanese attire, so Yacht Club initially experimented with kimono and robes for her male counterpart as well. When this did not work out, artists moved on to a samurai-inspired design, similar to that of Ganondorf in the Super Smash Bros. series. Yacht Club's artists originally explored skirted designs for male Shield Knight, but these did not make the cut. Certain ornamental aspects of Shield Knight's armor were removed or reduced in size in order to make the character look more masculine. [40]
Shovel Knight features a chiptune soundtrack in the style of older video games from the NES era and were composed by Jake Kaufman, with two contributions by Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae. The game's soundtrack was released for download via Bandcamp on the same day as the game, as was a rearrangement album.[ citation needed ]
Shovel Knight's graphics and music mimic the style of video games from the NES era and shares the NES's limits of color palette (plus four colors) and sprite count. This means that larger sprites are superimposed on a black background to limit the onscreen colors to a realistic maximum. Other trickery to properly honor the NES limitations include camera shakes that only act on a single axis and a GUI that acts as a background layer instead of being overlaid on top of the gameplay. [41]
The game was originally slated for release in September 2013, but was delayed into early 2014. [42] After various further delays, [43] [44] Yacht Club Games announced on June 5 that the game would be released on June 26, 2014. [45] The game was eventually released on several additional platforms including both the PlayStation 4 [46] and Xbox One, featuring exclusive boss battles, with Kratos from God of War on PS4 [46] and the Battletoads on Xbox One. [47] [48] Various platforms got a physical media release in October 2015. [49]
Prior to 2017, the game was sold with the name Shovel Knight, with various additional campaigns appearing as free downloadable content. An update in April 2017 made the original story campaign and additional downloadable campaigns available for standalone purchase on certain platforms, with the original campaign being subtitled Shovel of Hope. [50] A compilation containing all three campaigns was released as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, with all previous purchases being updated to the Treasure Trove edition. [50]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (Vita) 92/100 [51] (NS) 91/100 [52] (3DS) 90/100 [53] (PS4) 90/100 [54] (WIIU) 88/100 [55] (XONE) 86/100 [56] (PC) 85/100 [57] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
IGN | 9/10 [58] |
Nintendo Life | [59] |
Shovel Knight received universal acclaim, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [51] [52] [53] [54] Reception was "generally favorable" for Wii U, Xbox One and PC. [55] [56] [57] IGN editor Colin Moriarty awarded the game a 9/10 rating, calling it "arguably the best game released so far in 2014." [58] Infendo.com called it "a brilliant homage to a bygone era, yet an equally fresh, captivating and innovative game" [60] and Nintendo Life praised the 3DS version's "excellent controls, gorgeous graphics, an incredible soundtrack and endearing characters ... top-notch level design, varied gameplay, hidden rooms, optional challenges and a deceptively rich combat system." [59]
Including Kickstarter backers, 180,000 copies of Shovel Knight were sold within one month of the North American launch. 49,000 copies were sold on Wii U, 59,000 were sold on 3DS, and 66,000 were sold on Steam. [61] By December 4, 2014, more than 300,000 copies had been sold across all platforms. [62] As of June 30, 2015, more than 700,000 copies had been sold. [63] By December 14, 2016, 1.5 million copies had been sold. [64] Yacht Club Games revealed in April 2018 that 2 million copies of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove had been sold. [65] By September 2019, 2.65 million copies had been sold. [66]
Year | Awards | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | The Game Awards 2014 | Best Independent Game | Won | [67] |
GameSpot's Game of the Year | 3DS Game of the Year | Nominated | [68] | |
Overall Game of the Year | Nominated | [69] | ||
Wii U Game of the Year | Nominated | [70] | ||
Giant Bomb's 2014 Game of the Year Awards | Best Debut | Nominated | [71] | |
Best Game | Nominated | [72] | ||
Best Music | Nominated | [73] | ||
Nintendo Life's Reader Awards 2014 | 3DS eShop Game of the Year | Won | [74] | |
Wii U eShop Game of the Year | Won | |||
Nintendo Life's Staff Awards 2014 | 3DS eShop Game of the Year | Won | [75] | |
Wii U eShop Game of the Year | Won | |||
National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards | Original Light Mix Score, New IP | Nominated | [76] | |
Game, Original Action | Nominated | |||
2015 | IGN's Best of 2014 | Best 3DS Game | Won | [77] |
Best Music | Won | [78] | ||
Best Overall Game | Nominated | [79] | ||
Best Platformer | Won | [80] | ||
Best Platformer – People's Choice | Won | |||
Best Wii U Game | Nominated | [81] | ||
18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Handheld Game of the Year | Nominated | [82] |
An Amiibo figure of Shovel Knight was released in 2015, as the first Amiibo toy produced by a third party. [83] An Amiibo 3-pack containing Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight was released in 2019 along with a gold variant of the previously released Shovel Knight figure. [84] Shovel Knight collaborated with Arby's in March 2021 to release a set of toys, which included Arby's themed cheat codes for the game. [85]
Shovel Knight appears as a playable guest character in several games [85] 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. [86] [87] Shovel Knight characters make cameo appearances in Brawlhalla , [88] [89] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 , [90] Two Brothers, Yooka-Laylee , Aegis Defenders, The Reward: Tales of Alethrion, [91] [92] River City Ransom: Underground, Creepy Castle, Puzzle Depot, [93] Crypt of the NecroDancer , Enter the Gungeon , Katana Zero , and For Honor . [94] Its music appears in Just Shapes & Beats and Voez .
In February 2020, spinoff titled Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon , a dungeon crawler puzzle game was announced, and released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. [95] [96] A prequel titled Shovel Knight Dig , was co-developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade. [97]
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a 2002 first- and third-person shooter video game. The Microsoft Windows was developed by Raven Software, the Mac OS X version by Westlake Interactive, and the Xbox and GameCube versions by Vicarious Visions; most versions were published by LucasArts, with only the Mac version published by Aspyr. The game is a sequel to 1997's Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, and the third main installment in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The single-player campaign, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe two years after the Mysteries of the Sith expansion for Dark Forces II, follows returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the New Republic and former Jedi who cut his connection to the Force. Katarn must return to his Jedi ways to stop a branch of the Imperial Remnant led by the Dark Jedi Desann from empowering their army with the Force.
Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City is a platform game developed by Rare and published by the Milton Bradley Company for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in North America in December 1990 and in Europe in 1991. The game centres around the miner Digger T. Rock, as he spelunks various caves and catacombs whilst searching for the mythical Lost City.
Battletoads is a video game media franchise by Rare that began with the original beat 'em up game Battletoads in 1991. Starring three anthropomorphic toads named after skin conditions, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple, the series was created to rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games series. The original Battletoads game for the NES was renowned for its extreme difficulty, but still received a cult following, spawning sequels for various platforms including a crossover with the Double Dragon series and a modern reboot after a 25 year gap in releases. In each of the games, the objective is to defeat the toads' nemesis the Dark Queen and her army of space mutants.
The 2010s was the fifth decade in the industry's history. The decade was notable for producing the first truly "3D" games and consoles, introducing cloud gaming and virtual reality to consumers, and the rising influence of tablet-based and mobile casual games, including a boom in freemium titles. The industry remained heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The eighth generation of video game consoles was released, including the Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. Notable games released in the decade included Minecraft, Fortnite, PUBG: Battlegrounds,Grand Theft Auto V, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Red Dead Redemption, Marvel's Spider-Man, Dark Souls, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Batman: Arkham City, BioShock Infinite, Dishonored, Halo: Reach,Mass Effect 2, Disco Elysium, Undertale, Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, L.A. Noire,Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Far Cry 3, Destiny, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, The Walking Dead, Persona 5,Dragon Age: Inquisition, Portal 2, Diablo III, Horizon Zero Dawn, Journey, Shovel Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Death Stranding, Titanfall 2, Xenoblade Chronicles,Cuphead, Alien: Isolation, Fallout 4, and God of War.
The year 2014 saw a number of events in the video game industry. No new major consoles were released, but updates and upgrades were: the New Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and Oceania, and Sony released new model 2000 PS Vita systems in Europe & North America. In video game-related corporate acquisitions, Amazon purchased the online video game streaming service Twitch, and Facebook acquired the virtual reality company and product Oculus. Nintendo released Amiibo in 2014, companion figurines that could be scanned by the 3DS and Wii U systems. On Twitter and other Internet social media, the Gamergate controversy began.
Yacht Club Games, LLC is an American independent video game development studio and publisher founded in 2011 by former WayForward Technologies director Sean Velasco. The company announced their first title, Shovel Knight, on March 14, 2013, and released it on June 26, 2014, after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In 2016, the company announced that it would start publishing games from other companies, and that their first published game would be Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack, a compilation containing Azure Striker Gunvolt and Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, which was released later that year. Their second published title was Cyber Shadow, a game developed by Mechanical Head Studios, which was released in 2021. In February 2022, the company announced their second original title, Mina the Hollower.
Amiibo is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch video game consoles. These figurines are similar in form and functionality to that of the Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions series of toys-to-life platforms. The Amiibo platform was preannounced to potentially accommodate any form of toy, specifically including general plans for future card games. Amiibo use near field communication (NFC) to interact with supported video game software, potentially allowing data to be transferred in and out of games and across multiple platforms.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with additional content. It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series and a part of the larger Mario franchise. The game stars Captain Toad and Toadette as they complete levels, defeat enemies and save each other from the antagonist Wingo. Each level is contained within a miniature diorama-like environment that requires puzzle-solving and platforming challenges to complete. The player also uses the Wii U GamePad to rotate the camera and reveal new information and interact with the environment.
Yoshi's Woolly World is a 2015 platform game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game is the seventh main entry in the Yoshi series of games, the first home console title in the series since 1997's Yoshi's Story, as well as the spiritual successor to 2010's Kirby's Epic Yarn. The game was released worldwide throughout 2015. A port for the Nintendo 3DS, known as Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, was released worldwide in early 2017. Both versions received generally favorable reviews, with reviewers praising the art style, gameplay, and innovation, but critiquing the easy difficulty.
Yooka-Laylee is a 2017 platform game published by Team17 in for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, followed by a version for Amazon Luna in October 2020. Developed by Playtonic Games, a group of former key personnel from Rare, Yooka-Laylee is a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series released for the Nintendo 64 nearly 20 years prior. After years of planning to develop a new game, Playtonic Games initiated a Kickstarter campaign that attracted significant media coverage and raised a record-breaking sum of over £2 million. The game follows chameleon Yooka and bat Laylee on their quest to retrieve a magical book from an evil corporation.
Shantae is a series of platform video games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games for this character were created by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of five games: Shantae (2002), Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010), Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016) and Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019). A sixth title, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is in development and scheduled for release in 2024.
Road Redemption is a vehicular combat racing video game developed by EQ-Games and Pixel Dash Studios. The game is a spiritual successor to the Road Rash series and was released for Windows PC on October 4, 2017. Console versions of Road Redemption were released on November 6, 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. A mobile version of Road Redemption were released on September 28, 2022 for Android and iOS.
Just Shapes & Beats is an action rhythm video game developed and published by Canadian indie team Berzerk Studio. It was released on May 31, 2018, for Windows and Nintendo Switch, February 24, 2019, for macOS and Linux, May 10, 2019, for PlayStation 4 in the US, and May 30, 2019 for PlayStation 4 in Europe, Russia, and Australia. It was also released on June 30, 2020, for Stadia, and on May 31, 2022, for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. In this game, players move a colored shape to the beat of background music and dodge pink shapes.
Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling action-platform game developed by Finnish indie studio Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games. Using an 8-bit aesthetic, the game follows a cybernetic ninja named Shadow who sets out to rescue his clan in a world overrun by machines.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is a roguelike puzzle game co-developed by Vine and Yacht Club Games, and published by Yacht Club Games. A spin-off of the platform game Shovel Knight, the player takes control of the namesake adventurer as he becomes trapped within a magical artifact, the Pocket Dungeon, and is forced to fight his way out while battling other knights who befell the same fate.
Shovel Knight Dig is a 2022 roguelite platform game developed by Nitrome and Yacht Club Games. It is an entry in the Shovel Knight franchise and a prequel to the original game. The player controls the protagonist Shovel Knight as he fights enemies and collects treasure while descending down a hole to recover his stolen treasure bag. When the player dies, they lose all obtained upgrades, returning to the surface with a fraction of the treasure they collected while playing. At the surface, they can spend treasure on a variety of items that make gameplay easier.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is a 2017 downloadable content (DLC) expansion for the 2014 platform game Shovel Knight, developed and published by Yacht Club Games. The player takes control of Specter Knight, an undead warrior tasked with recruiting a group of knights for the Enchantress, the main villain of Shovel Knight. Specter Knight can run up walls and jump off them, and slash through enemies and objects with his scythe to move through the air. Gameplay is similar to Shovel Knight, but features new levels and redesigned boss fights.
Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a downloadable content (DLC) expansion for the 2014 platform game Shovel Knight, developed and published by Yacht Club Games. The player takes control of a dandy named King Knight as he goes on a quest to win a card game and be awarded the title "King of Cards". King Knight attacks enemies by charging towards them, and is flung into the air after making contact with a surface or enemy. Gameplay is similar to the original Shovel Knight, but features shorter levels and several new locations. Aside from the platforming, the player can engage in a card minigame called Joustus where they must strategically place cards on a board to ensure they occupy certain spaces.
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is a downloadable content (DLC) expansion for the 2014 platform game Shovel Knight, developed and published by Yacht Club Games. The player takes control of Plague Knight, an alchemist on a journey to create the ultimate potion. Plague Knight attacks by throwing alchemical bombs, and has the ability to double jump and perform a more powerful "burst jump" that sends him forward through the air. Gameplay is similar to the original Shovel Knight but features a new story and alterations to the levels to account for Plague Knight's movement.
Shovel Knight Showdown is a 2019 multiplayer fighting game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. An add-on to the platform game Shovel Knight, players take control of twenty different characters from the Shovel Knight franchise. The game features several modes, such as "Treasure Clash", where players battle each other to collect the most gems that appear on a stage, and a free for all setting where the victor is decided by whoever defeats all the other players. In the game's story mode, a single player battles against AI-controlled opponents across several stages before facing a boss. Completing this mode with each fighter allows the player to unlock new stages and characters.