shovel knight game review

Shovel knight

"Another independent who wants to play it retro? " This is typically what many players would say to themselves in front of images of Shovel Knight, an action / platform game that smells good of 8 bits. But if opting for good old sprites is often a question of means for most of these small productions, we are faced with a decidedly different case.

If we were still playing games on NES, what would they look like? Here is the question posed by the developers of Yacht Club Games, led by a Sean Velasco straight out of WayForward Technologies (Shantae, DuckTales Remastered, in short, experts in retro 2D style). As we all know, the quality of productions evolves over the years on the same console, not only because the developers tame it, but also because technology allows new things. So, it is legitimate to say that if we were still developing on the NES today, despite the limitations of 8 bits, the games would undoubtedly be more detailed, more complete and less buggy. In short, it is with the optics of making a "period" title without the flaws of the past that Shovel Knight was designed. No flashing sprites, no slowdowns, some additional colors for the palette (5 to be exact) and no sound bug, we are starting on good foundations.

A game worth the shovel

But if Shovel Knight is inspired by the technology of yesteryear, it also finds its sources in the masterpieces which made our childhood and which allowed the video game to become what it is today. So, if Shovel Knight is clearly an action game / platforms like Mega Man or Castlevania, there are many elements inspired by other softs. However, it must be understood that the real strength of the title of Yacht Club Games is to have managed to keep the best of all these jewels while offering an identity. When you finish the game, and despite the many inspirations, you don't have the impression of having played "a good retro game" or "a Mega Man-like". No. You played Shovel Knight. In addition to the basic pitch which sees a knight armed with a shovel in search of Shield Knight, a signet ring to which he is very attached, the title offers a character design of high class and impeccable animations (probably impossible for the 'era), instantly giving the title real legitimacy. It smells of serious work, a job well done, in short, the real passion, of the one that unfortunately lacks in many games, including many independent titles that try to hide their lack of ideas behind their retro aspect.

WINNESSES TO MAKE AN EYELID SPRAY

But no point of this in Shovel Knight. Because here, design is everything. Using his shovel like a sword, the hero sets off valiantly to face vile creatures in the service of L'Enchanteresse and his eight knights who form the Order of No Quarter (the game is currently only available in English). Your arsenal is made up of a side blow, of a Zelda II or DuckTales “Pogo Stick” sting attack and ... that's it. No double jump, no upward shot, we can not say that Shovel Knight is the best performing knight in existence. If the obtaining of relics allows however to evolve, allowing us to use different powers, it is in fact the level design which holds the attention of the player, a weapon however difficult to master for the developers. Moving platforms, disappearing blocks, forced scrollings, false walls, many secret passages, varied and original bestiary, deceitful traps, nothing looks less like a screen than the following and we are always on the lookout for the new phase of gameplay that we will be given to snack on. And it is this variety, brand of the greatest, which does its job here. Yes, we can easily recognize the winks at Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros 3, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse or even Zelda II, but Shovel Knight also succeeds in surprising us with new phases, and marvelous opposites for remind us that we should never rely on our achievements.

ADVENTURE IS ADVENTURE

With the exception of a few exceptions (different checkpoints per level, for example), we can easily recognize the level structure of a Mega Man. However, Shovel Knight has much more to offer with an adventure game aspect that makes it a particularly complete title. Outside the levels, you will survey a world map via which you will also have access to bonus levels where you can try to collect money using a specific skill. Sometimes you will not be alone on the map. Other characters roam there, such as the Hammer Brothers of Super Mario Bros 3. By meeting them, you will arrive in special levels to make a draft (without checkpoint), or even directly on a special fight accompanied by some dialogues which give a little more background. In short, this world map once again allows you to vary the surprises, while offering a little bit of freedom since you can choose the order in which you face certain knights of the Order of No Quarter.

It is on this same world map that you have access to villages, in which you can boost your character's life and magic, find armor with specific abilities or improve your shovel to use charged attacks for example. You also have access to a rather fun mini-game where you have to send vials on switches in a given time, an easy way to make a few nuggets outside the levels. Finally, this is where you can buy the relics (powers) that you would have missed in a level, which may happen to you: indeed, not only are they hidden, but in addition, you will have to spend money for them. get, which you won't always get when you want. In short, if the adventure aspect remains in the background (no quests or riddles), all this junk allows the player to get fully involved, especially as other small (or big) surprises can come up at any time. As a result, what shows up most over the player's progress is that there is no downtime. You never have the impression of foolishly chaining the levels and a few scenes here and there come to advance the frame in a completely successful way. The closer we get to the goal, the more we want to know the outcome of the story.

AN ACCESSIBILITY CASE

Although Shovel Knight is a decidedly retro game, there is one thing he didn't really do the old fashioned way: difficulty. No, rest assured, Shovel Knight does not guide you like a frightened child with an imposing tutorial, since it is one of these games whose design is intelligent enough to make you understand the gameplay by the gameplay. However, we must admit that it is more accessible than a Mega Man for example. To give you an idea, you have an infinite number of lives: in the event of death, the penalties consist in sending you back to the last checkpoint (neither too far away, nor too close) and making you lose a percentage of your fortune. If you arrive at the place of your death, you can even recover the bags of lost money. On the other hand, if you die before accessing it, it's done. Taking into account that money is far from being a problem in Shovel Knight, we can say that there is not too much fear of death. That said, in general, Yacht Club Games has opted for a rather full-bodied difficulty without ever being frustrating. Being able to always have two chalices filled (for free) with potions that make life and magic or that allow you to be invincible for 10 seconds is also a great help, even if the levels are rather long (four checkpoints are not sometimes not too much). If some purists can grumble, it remains possible to impose challenges: not buying improvements, not using relics, destroying all checkpoints (yes yes, it's possible) are solutions to your hardcore problems -gaming. Note that Shovel Knight has a New Game + in which we keep all our improvements, but whose difficulty is probably not strong enough to constitute a huge challenge.

WHERE ARE THE DEFECTS?

It is by finishing this test, looking for a way to make you understand how much I recommend this Shovel Knight, that I end up telling myself that the best way to do it is to count its defects. It's very simple, in my eyes, I absolutely don't see what I could blame him for. Even if I would have liked it, personally, wanted a bit more difficult, this choice is respected and justified, especially with the possibility of imposing challenges. Too short ? Six hours to finish it, two more to find the hidden music scrolls, and barely finished, I just want to go back. Not to mention that a lot of content will arrive in free DLC (multi mode, bosses playable in levels created for the occasion, a challenge mode, etc.). Even the soundtrack, entirely 8 bits, turns out to be of high class, which will hardly surprise the fans of the composer of Jake Kaufman that we have already seen behind practically all WayForward Technologies productions. Know also that two pieces were composed by Manami Matsumae herself, the creator behind the themes of the first Mega Man. In the end, Shovel Knight is all that many independent games have always wanted to be: a real tribute to retro games that manages to take the best of the time, without the flaws, all while bringing its own touch. Hat!

The notes
+ Positive points
A retro game that doesn't care about the player
A neat character design
Very good entertainment
No downtime
More complete than it looks
The soundtrack: 46 songs, not one to throw away
Surprise meetings
Well-balanced difficulty (self-imposed challenges)

-Negative points

Shovel Knight is not the retro indie game you think. Not only is the title inspired by games of yesteryear, and specifically by some NES masterpieces, to get the best out of it, but it offers a real personality thanks to an effective character design, particularly neat animations, a frenetic rhythm and a refined frame. No detail has been forgotten, there are many little winks and there is no desire to let go of the controller. If it had been released in 1991, it would have been a masterpiece. In fact, no: Shovel Knight IS a masterpiece.