Steel Thy Shovel, Pastorale, Of Devious Machinations, In the Halls of the Usurper, Courage Under Fire: Shovel Knight's chiptunes sound as “vintage” as do look its 8-bit graphics, while perfectly matching the game's subsequent story levels. So well that the eponymous hero's adventure, which allows to retrieve the 46 Music Sheets hidden alongside the laborious path, does become as well a musical one as the tracks tune to every map area and stage. Eclectic in nature drawing inspiration likewise from metal and jazz, Jake Kaufman's non-atmospheric electro-baroque buzz moreover resonates with several older musical forms, such as Passacaglia (Bucklers and Bonnets), Tarantella (Watch Me Dance!), and Waltz (Troupple King): For Shovelry!
His spirit broken, separated from his beloved Shield Knight, Shovel Knight's desperate world is that of a side-scrolling 2D platformer peopled by pixelated Damsels, hat-wearing Furries, and corrupted Knights, above all the eight Order of No Quarter ones that answer to the evil Enchantress.
To get to her, in the Tower of Fate, our smallish blue hero has to fight the Order Knights first: Specter Knight, King Knight, Treasure Knight, Plague Knight, Mole Knight, Polar Knight, Tinker Knight, Propeller Knight, as well as his rival Black Knight and—optionally—the somewhat confused Wandering Travelers (Reize, Baz, Phantom Striker) among other map-level bosses (Mr. Hat, Ghost Boss).
Of course Shovel Knight yearns to rescue the enchanted Shield Knight, yet as commonly in platforming games the way is the goal, so rather than drive for the final boss you strive to know the handicaps of every unlocked story level preceding each of the Order Knights the telling names of whom (Specter, Polar, Tinker, Propeller) might already suggest whose thematic nature.
Lich Yard, Iron Whale, Explodatorium, Lost City, Clockwork Tower, Stranded Ship, Flying Machine: whether tricky tombstones, snap-shutting books, retracting tentacles, mobile or slippery platforms, lift-dropping anchors, counter-clockwise conveyor belts, cyclical cannonballs, erratic air currents, all of the game's colorful levels are oh-so-fittingly designed in a way that adds up—to a pleasurably painful platforming experience.
Bubbles, bushes, bouncy green gum: you know that those elements are there for some purpose but you have yet to figure out how to use them, as no tutorials tell you what to do, in order to pogo-hop onto a higher structure, over a spiked gap, or burning lava: how thoughtful. But then again you swear at the electric frogs, nosy ghosts, insolent flames, and cheeky propeller rats whose sole function is to perfidiously push you off the tiny platform or ladder you worked so hard to jump upon. And as if it weren't enough you may still—voluntarily or by accident, as some seem placed so to further their easy deletion—destroy a stage's difficult penultimate checkpoint making your next death send you back to the anterior one... Luckily, Shovel Knight's Diary permits compassion: “You died! Want to share your thoughts on Miiverse?”
Still, frequent dying is guaranteed: you might well upgrade your health bar to the maximum ten units (thanks to Meal tickets from the Goatician) until it equals that of the bosses, if you fall into a bottomless pit or the screen view rises faster than you can get over its current obstacles, you'll die anyway. Which doesn't yet mean “game over” and you may repeat as many times as you do have patience, it is just that the repetitions are of the non-pardoning, Dark Souls-like kind, permitting to recover the lost part of gold, but only where you died the last time so that repeatedly redoing a lengthy checkpoint might well deprive you of almost all your economies. Until buying the red Final Guard armor at the Armor Outpost unlocked when halfway through the game, after defeating the first four Order Knights, the amount dropped when dying is about a quarter of the current gold (e.g., 1200 divided into 900 plus three winged sacks of 150+75+75) and definitively losing it may become expensive, so that venturing into a new stage with nothing in the pockets might sometimes be a less stressful advantage (besides you'll get some gold for each final boss).
Furthermore exploring the area, in spite of its lurking dangers, does as well help regaining some treasures, and the more so as some of the chests contain a Chester that sells a Relic before being available in the Village (and for a lesser price). Relics such as the Flare Wand (Pridemore Keep), the Phase Locket (Lich Yard), the Dust Knuckles (Lost City), or the Propeller Dagger (Flying Machine) whilst not mandatory permit to proceed easier through the respective levels as well as reaching optional side areas which again contain hidden treasure and Music Sheets. Whereas purchased Relics are kept without checkpoint unless abandoning the stage, the sheets can only be redeemed by the Village's Bard (plus some pseudomusical information) who like a jukebox will then replay them on demand.
In order to buy the Relics you missed in a level as well as later on, Shovel and Armor upgrades, it is advisable to replay earlier stages of the game that provide still the same plus newly discovered chests and jewels, except the Music Sheets (which can be redeemed only once) and the final bosses (that pay off only the first time). However, whereas the three Shovel boosts—Charge Handle, Trench Blade, Drop Spark—are indeed useful, less can be said about the colored Armor upgrades (drop half the gold, take twice the damage for more magic, perform a powerful charge slash, suffer no knockback from enemies) that appear inversely related to their price, with the most expensive one being the "Flashy! Acrobatic! Useless!" golden Ornate Plate.
Once all the ten plus one Relics (and requisite 100 Magic) acquired—with four being of use against enemies, four to overcome obstacles (chiefly), and two plus the Ichor of Fortune Chalice to retrieve local treasures—they allow of varied strategies for both levels and bossfights; here again the game gives the player freedom to use their own cleverness and dosed Magic. Some of the Relics are indispensable, however, when playing the three optional stages: Forest of Phasing, Knuckler's Quarry, and Frigid Flight, that apart from rich treasures permit also to gain use of the respective Relic their name is suggestive of. No bosses to fight here, though, that in exchange can be found in the Armor Outpost's Hat Shop and in the Hall of Champions, both of which requiring you to pay a certain amount (moochers, ticket) to get there but once finished yield double: "Then again, that's the risk you run, paying for something in advance before you know the details!"
Fittingly to the tunes of The Donor's Despair, the Hall of Champions (pixel-portraying the most generous Kickstarter backers) is the only area to demand more puzzle than platforming skills, whereas the different stages are usually less puzzling than subject to exploration as many of the framing walls give way to a punchy scoop. While all of the main story levels follow the same organization: various checkpoints followed by the final boss, with some minibosses (Dragon, Treasure Fish, Airship) routinely blocking the way, they do not necessarily become longer—the number of checkpoints varies between 1 and 6—or more difficult platforming-wise, the difficulty being also mitigated through the gradual upgrades and Relics. Yet depending on the individual platforming skills, reaching each stage's not too troublesome endboss, except perhaps the multiphase Enchantress one, may be greeted with general relief: "Conflict is a reason unto itself.”
Or “Power. Honor. The traits of a respectable warrior”: it is its characters' meta way of speaking that does reveal it to be a not truly “retro” game, in addition to other newer-gen gaming traits such as upgrades and achievements. But Shovel Knight weren't the perfect retro-style platformer it is wouldn't it provide also over 300 old-school cheat codes yet which don't permit accomplishing any of the 45 Feats that include completing (half) the game as well as various challenges ranging from easy (Buy your first item) to insane (Finish the game within 1 hour and 30 minutes).
It's cute, colorful graphics, outstanding soundtrack, humorous tone, and high replay value, in particular thanks to Feats and New Game Plus carrying over Relics, upgrades, and Music Sheets in exchange for less checkpoints and roasted turkeys, are capital reasons why one does dig Shovel Knight that much: “It would be a cold day without you here, blue boy.” Hopefully the Plague of Shadows expansion releases soon.