Jul 5, 2014

Shovel Knight: A Pristine Pixel Crown

If I asked you, what's the best 8-bit game, what would you say? Castlevania? Mega Man 2? Both are classics, no doubt. But. The best 8-bit game by far is Shovel Knight

Never heard of it? That's because the game just recently came out. A brand new 2D adventure that's guaranteed to flicker your pixelated love pump. Start rotating those thumbs, you'll need 'em to be primed.

Shovel Knight is a 2D action-platformer, made to resemble old 8-bit games of yesteryear. In an industry that rotates triple-A games like used up socks, this may seem like madness. Yet one company (Yacht Club Games) dared to dream in pixels, and launched an ultra successful Kickstarter project that has materialized the most talked-about game of 2014.

taringa.net
Seeking treasure to unearth, Shovel Knight and his companion Shield Knight have entered the Tower of Faith. While exploring the tower, the two knights become spellbound by a powerful dark amulet. Moments later, Shovel Knight awakens without his comrade.

What's a noble to do, but ready his shovel and brave the challenges ahead!

The graphics are sharp and vibrant. And the sprites – while pixelated – are surprisingly clean and detailed. The colour palette mirrors Nintendo's entire range of bustling 53 colours, with about 12 colours displayed at a time. Add some solid parallax scrolling for depth, and you got a game. A game that is not about the graphics; but about depth of gameplay, and a renewed crusade for innovative play mechanics.

It's all about the soul within it the armour: remember that, all you future squires.

There are shops to visit, castles to storm, and errands to solve. Doted across the mini map are numerous locals in need of good ol' shoveling. Each castle is home to a unique knight, that must be dethroned to progress farther. But getting to the last screen is no easy task, perils are everywhere. The jumps need to be timed PERFECTLY, enemies need to be utilized as living platforms, magic needs to rationing, and bonus abilities have to be unearthed to make progress a bit easier -- this game's everywhere you wanna be.

wired.com
You're not considered a gamer until you've balanced yourself while bouncing on a moving gear, just to execute a perfectly timed vault over a chasm, while phasing through that one flying foe that's about to ram you into a pit. Luckily, there are many useful skills/items to purchase and find: fireball wand, a rustic gear platform, arcing anchors, rolling blob balls, and several armours to craft. While the game is challenging, it's never unfair, because every time you perish you only loose a portion of cash – which can be recovered, providing you make it back to reclaim it.

The game's world is filled with quirky characters, who spout offbeat lines, making you smirk every time a text box pops up. The writer has a flair for penmanship, unleashing streams of text that flood your cerebellum with goodness. Chatting with an NPC is never dull. On par with the writing, are the lovable characters: anthropomorphic horse maidens, goat scholars, frog gentlemen, twisted tree-bards, propeller wearing mice, shifty ghosts and sleepy yellow dragons! It's a strange brew of men and beasts, oh so delightful.

indiepitome.com
The Boss Knight encounters are very a la Mega Man: with foes unleashing patterned onslaughts, which can only be quelled by practiced counter-attacks. I don't want to give away too much, but this game will demand that you remember your repertoire of moves quickly. It's quite amazing how much personality is contained within all those pixelated sprites. And since ROM is not an issue, the game contains a fair amount of lengthy content, and lots of chiptune music that will shovel its way into your groove veins.

Shovel Knight pays homage to the glorious and memorable games of your youth, and unlocks that special time and place you've stored away inside a nostalgia box. The game reanimates that perfect freeze-frame in time, where you're pulling on the controller as if it's going to extend your jump trajectory. Or that moment when you have finally managed to defeat the last boss, and you're stomping about the basement, joyous and victorious, at 2 am.

This clever title latches onto that youthful magic, and asks only to be enjoyed wholeheartedly and repeatedly. And what it gives back is totally wonderful: A continuation of the best time of your life. I tip my golden chalice, and wish for all the Lord Knights to return once more.

Shovel Knight gets five jewel-encrusted shovels out of five.

Developer: Yacht Club Games
Publisher: Yacht Club Games
Platform: 3DS, Wii U, Windows, OS X, Linux
Released: 2014
Genre: Action-Platformer

You'll Dig It!