...and this story has been told by many game reviewers. Never let it be said this chronicler is timely.
And now to drop the Mako impression and get down to the nitty-gritty of an awesome game. And it is an awesome game, make no mistake. Brought to us by Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight is a story about a knight (who, as his name suggests, wields a rolling pin) who returns to the land after a period of mourning the loss of his lady love the Shield Knight (who, as her name suggests, wields a pair of bolt cutters) to find that the entire land has been taking over by the evil Enchantress and her knights of the Order of No Quarter (who, as their name suggests, are a rather pacifistic bunch).
In all seriousness, the game begins and Shovel Knight is immediately thrown into a quest to get to the Tower of Fate - defeating all eight of the Knights along the way. And along the way he finds friends and foes such as the Mighty Troupple King and, of course, the Knights of the Order of No Quarter. Despite my amusing snarky version of the Rule of Three, they are not pacifists and each have their own unique level that Shovel Knight must traverse à la Mega Man and like Mega Man, the levels do have their own uniqueness beyond just being themed. Some levels have to be traversed vertically as opposed to horizontal side-scrolling. Others have areas that go pitch black and others still are coated in ice which makes maneuvering Shovel Knight far more difficult.
And there are more besides that, but Shovel Knight is determined never to give up - bouncing around on enemy heads via his excellent shovel. Much like Scrooge McDuck's cane in Duck Tales, the shovel is used for both combat and utility, such as digging up piles of refuse for gemstones that can be turned into weapon, armor, health, and magic upgrades (not that you'll need the last two, but I'll get to that).
In addition to his weapon armament of choice, Shovel Knight also has certain spells at his command such as fiery wand and a war horn which are charged with magic potions that he can find out. When he runs out, he's unable to use them further, but enemies will more often than not drop them upon death, so upgrades are definitely not a bad thing, but are by no means necessary provided you're smart with your attacks and don't go in guns blazing.
With those techniques aside, it's a standard platform with some combat elements. There's no RPG elements like gaining experience or leveling stats. The only thing that really comes close are the health, magic, and weapon upgrades, all of which are taken care of by money (or, in the case of health, special tickets that are found in the world). It's a fun ride, for certain, from beginning to end, but there is no denying that it remembers its classic gaming roots well. Almost too well, in face.
The 8-bit style is a throwback to the days of the NES, as well as the gameplay style in which you have legions of insta-kill pits and spikes. Why? Because those retro games did it, so we have it here, too. It's unnecessary, sure, and it was also unnecessary back then, but it forces modern players a little out of their comfort zone by actually forcing a little more effort from the player. On the whole, Shovel Knight is an enjoyable romp that has actually given me a bit more a challenge than I would have expected from a modern-day game. With enjoyable gameplay, a touching story, and kickass 8-bit music, I highly recommend it.
Really, there's nothing more I can say that hasn't already been said. If you haven't played it, then go get it now!
Shovel Knight is now available from Yacht Club Games for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, OS X, Linux, Playstation 3, 4, and Vita, and Xbox One.
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