The Shovel Knight saga might be one of the best feel-good stories in indie games. Developer Yacht Club Games, made of up of 2D sidescroller veterans from WayForward, raised millions of dollars on Kickstarter to deliver their new vision for retro platformers. And the result was fantastic, a game inspired by no one particular game but the entire NES era with added modern conveniences.
Even better, the team spent five years following through on ambitious stretch goals by turning promised expansion packs into full-on standalone sequels. After striking the earth with Shovel Knight, you could toss poison bombs with Plague Knight or return from the dead with Spectre Knight. All the while Shovel Knight himself became an iconic new gaming mascot, having cameos in countless indie games as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
So when Yacht Club Games had more Shovel Knight news to share, they basically put out a little Nintendo Direct. Here are the highlights.
After several delays the initial promise for Shovel Knight comes to a close with Shovel Knight: King of Cards. Available separately or an update to the Treasure Trove collection, this third and final spin-off features a lengthy campaign as well as a separate card game. Also coming is the Smash Bros.-esque fighting game Shovel Knight Showdown and an amiibo three-pack unlocking new costumes and abilities in the Nintendo versions of the game. All of this launches this December alongside physical versions of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.
At PAX West you’ll get to see all of these games as well as the Shovel Knight tabletop game currently being crowdfunded. It has a randomized side-scrolling layout. But the big reveal was Shovel Knight Dig, a brand new game co-developed by Nitrome. With its 16-bit graphics and gameplay that looks like a cross-between Mr. Driller and Downwell, this should satisfy fans looking for something truly new from the series.
For more on retro games Shovel Knight takes most of its cues from check out these upcoming remasters of Disney classics as well as this emulator that translates Japanese games on the fly.
