Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

(Note: this game is included in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, along with Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (only in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove), Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Shovel Knight: King of Cards, and Shovel Knight Showdown.)

Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (usually just called Shovel Knight, as this is the original game with a new subtitle to distinguish it from all of the expansions) is an Action-Platformer that acts as a love letter to classic NES games in the genre while remaining its own entity. It manages the balancing act of being both nostalgic and wildly original, bringing back some of the best qualities of old-school games while avoiding most of their flaws, and overall being an amazing revival of the sort of game design we haven’t seen in a long while.

Shovel Knight looks and feels like a classic NES game. Many of them, in fact – the game has a visual presentation like some of the better games of that era (technically cheating with a wider color palette and cleaner visuals than the NES could have ever pulled off), the soundtrack is arguably just as good as some of the best NES games, the main character has Scrooge McDuck’s pogo jump and treasure-hoarding, Mega Man’s themed levels and level bosses, Castlevania’s mostly close-range combat, Super Mario Bros. 3’s overworld map with roaming enemy encounters, Zelda II’s peaceful town areas… suffice it to say, this game cobbles together a “greatest hits” collection of game features and mechanics of the NES.

However, the game itself manages to keep its own identity, with loveable and extremely memorable characters, clever and inventive level design, and wildly imaginative boss design. And throughout the game, you’ll find yourself tackling all sorts of challenging (but mostly not punishing) levels and bosses, all with fluid, well-crafted gameplay that feels absolutely natural.

I should note that the Nintendo Switch version of the game is unique in that it supports the use of Amiibos, though I was not able to test this out as I do not own any Shovel Knight series Amiibos.

After all’s said and done, if you’re a fan of NES-era platformers, Shovel Knight absolutely needs to be in your collection. If you thought those games were too repetitive and unfairly difficult, Shovel Knight needs to be in your collection. And if you just enjoy good action-platforming gameplay, Shovel Knight needs… well, you get the point.

tl;dr – Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope is an Action-Platformer that is the first game in the Shovel Knight series. It melds together some of the best parts of classic NES games to create something that is surprisingly original and nostalgic at the same time. Fans of platformers in general absolutely should have this game in their collection.

Grade: A

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