It seems that once in a while, there is always an indie game that comes out to be THE indie game. When it all started, Cave Story was that indie game. A couple years ago, that Titel went to Undertale. And as of recently, that Titel goes to Celeste. But the one that I want to talk about is real special. It wasn’t my first indie game, that goes to shitty indie games on Xbox Live Arcade. But this was the one that I loved so much that I wanted to start checking out Mehr indie games like Night in the Woods and Undertale. And that game, once considered THE indie game, was Shovel Knight. Also for the sake of understanding, the version I played was the Treasure Trove version for PS4. So if I say some stuff that may have been missing from the version Du played, well… there Du go



Shovel Knight follows the tale of… Shovel Knight, as he has been disgraced after losing his companion, Shield Knight. But when a villain named The Enchantress threatens to take over the land, Shovel Knight takes hold of his shovel and begins striking motherfuckers. Motherfuckers such as The Order of No Quarter, a group of Mehr knights. King Knight, Specter Knight, Plague Knight, Treasure Knight, maulwurf Knight, Tinker Knight, Polar Knight and Propellor Knight. Three of which have their own playable DLC. From there, Shovel Knights defeats the Order one Von one in their own fun and challenging stages. Shovel Knight is a game that takes heavy inspiration from classic NES games without the limitations of the past. Limitations such as being outdated and just bad games. I joke, I joke… partially. NES games were fun, but with issues like bugs, cheap difficulty, and storage spaces too small to do any really impressive stuff unless a creative mind was behind it, Shovel Knight manages to take the charm from those games and tweek it with the advancements of today. Du get amazing sprite work and a catchy chiptune soundtrack while also having a ton of variety and having a satisfying length without resorting to extremely cheap difficulty. Not to say the game isn’t without it’s difficulty, but we’ll get to that when we get to it.
Most of the game will be spent traversing through fun and unique platforming levels using your shovel to attack enemies and also to jump on them and to make it over bottomless pits. Du can also use an assortment of abilities Du buy from shops and use them to collect treasure for Mehr upgrades and weapon unlocks. And can I just say that the Musik in this game is a banner. The amazing chiptune soundtrack really adds to each and every level of the game. And this guy ain’t no slouch. The composer for this game is a man Von the name of Jake Kaufman, a man who has been doing video game Musik for almost 20 years back on Q-Bert for the Gameboy. So, yes, this absolute madman has been making video game Musik since he was 19. He’s also done tracks from the Shantae franchise, Crypt of the NecroDancer, and recently Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. How can one man be this talented?! But I’m getting sidetracked. The levels themselves are unique in style, and yet offer a ton of challenge. The Stranded Ship, Polar Knight’s level, has a ton of platforming challenges. It’s never unfair, but Du gotta be careful and Du gotta be cautious, cause one mess up can send Du to your death. And Tinker Knight’s stage feels like a classic Mega Man level with tough jumps and a lot of stuff to avoid. And the Musik helps establish the Mega Man esque vibes.
Now that I think about it, the bosses themselves are a lot of fun. King Knight is just a jobber and hilarious at that. Can’t wait to see how he plays in the DLC. Plague Knight is an insane fight for an early game enemy, but a fun challenge nonetheless. Propeller Knight can be tricky as hell, but is probably one of the funner bosses in the game. And that’s just a few of them. They’re all fun in so many ways. And the boss rush near the end of the game. I know people hate boss rushes, but The Order of No Quarter had nothing but great boss fights, so fighting them a Sekunde time was no different than getting a Sekunde helping on a delicious dinner. And I’m ready to EAT some knight ass- Wait, no, that’s foul. I apologize. But aside from fun boss fights and platforming, Du will also be going to town a lot to talk to NPCs, collect upgrades and bonuses, and partaking in some mini games and seeing if Du can not waste all your money like an idiot like I did. But the real fun is when Du wander the world map and come across travelling bosses. Bosses like Phantom Striker, Hat Knight, and The Baz. I swear, I see Du in every indie game from Divekick to Bloodstained and apparently he is rumored to be in the upcoming Indivisible game. I guess the Super Best Friends had a hand in indie development Mehr than I ever expected.
So with that being said, do I like Shovel Knight- Yes! I Liebe Shovel Knight. Is it a perfect game? Critically, no. In my eyes, it’s perfect to me, dammit. And it is still a beloved indie game today, and for good reason. Not only is it getting a ton of support in the indie scene, as well as being able to have three Mehr DLC coming out, but Nintendo, lending a hand to indie developers recently, has brought Shovel Knight into Smash Ultimate and has even released an Amiibo of him. Sure, he’s an assist trophy, but he is in fucking Smash in general. To be put into the hall of Heroes alongside Mario, Link, Kirby, Snake, Cloud, Ryu, Simon Belmot and Bayonetta, that is a Titel few indie developers can claim. Once Shovel Knight’s DLC for King Knight comes out, Yacht Club Games will finally put Shovel Knight to rest. I don’t know what the future holds for Yacht Club Games, but I look vorwärts-, nach vorn to it. And as for Shovel Knight, it will always be a classic indie Titel in my eyes. One of the best even.

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