So, Kickstarter/Crowd Funded Games. They have Recently gotten a Bad Reputation for People Ripping People off, by Taking the Money for the "Game" They should be Making and instead Running away with the Money. I mean, With the Concept of Crowd Funded Games, This was Bound to Happen eventually.
However there are a Few Crowd funded Games that became Really Successful, Like The one Im going to Talk about Today, Shovel Knight. Devloped by a Small, and Young Company Known as Yacht Club Games.
Today I'm only going to Cover the Original/Shovel of Hope Campaign, because the 3(Soon to be 4) Campaigns are Sold Separately, Plus I would be Here All day if I went over all of the Campaigns.
So this is Shovel Knight, Shovel of Hope.
Kickstarter Image from... Kickstarter
PLOT
Long Ago the Lands were Untamed and Roamed by Legendary Adventurers.
The most Well known heroes were Partners Shovel Knight and Shield Knight, You can Tell how good they are by the Giant Piles of Loot in the Intro Cutscene.
One Fateful day, Shovel Knight and Shield Knight were Raiding the Tower of Fate. There a Cursed Amulet Knocked Shovel Knight out. When He Woke up Shield Knight was gone and the Tower was Sealed shut, Like any other Respected Heroes, He Abandoned everything and went to live a Simple Life.
However one day an Evil Woman Named the Enchantress Appeared and Took Power Along with an Evil group of Knights known as the Order of no Quarter, as well as the Tower of fate Unsealed. Knowing its his only Chance to Find out what Happened to Shield Knight, He Dug back into Action with his Trusty Shovel Blade.
Its up to Shovel Knight to Defeat the Order of no Quarter and the Enchantress to Find out what Happened to Shield Knight, And Save the land while doing it.
Its a Pretty Simple Plot, and Easy to Grasp. That Entire thing was Covered in the Intro Cutscene.
While its not Complex...like at all(The one "Plot Twist" can be seen coming a Mile Away, even Shovel Knight Himself Saw it coming), It gets the Job done, and the Later Campaigns gets more Complex in their Plots so Complexity is there in the other Campaigns.
GAMEPLAY
The Gameplay is Where the Game Truly Shines, Its a Simple 2D Platformer that would have been Right at home on the Classic Nintendo and the Super Nintendo.
The Game is Mostly Go from Point A to Point B, With a Boss waiting for you at the End. And it does not feel Old at all, as Each Level has something different.
Shovel Knight can Run, Jump, and Swing his Shovel Blade. Ol' Shovel can Point his Shovel Downwards While Jumping to Dig Below and Bounce on Heads, Pogo Stick Style.
The Main Collectible is Gems and Gold, which can be used to Buy Stuff like Relics, Health, and Magic Upgrades, There is also Music Sheets, Which can be Traded at the Town's Bard for money. and he can Play the Music on the Sheet for free.
And Throughout the Game, Shovel Knight can Obtain Secondary Weapons, Relics, These Relics comes in the Forms of a Fire ball Attack, an Overpowered Invincibility Locket, and a Chaos Sphere that I use WAYYY to often. Each Relic uses Magic. Which can be Refilled by a Certain Collectables.
The Level Design was Mainly Designed towards Speedrunners and Challenge Runners. as well as being Simple Enough for a Casual Player to enjoy. They are Really Well Designed, with Very Little Cheep Moments.
Shovel Knight's Control Feels right, He is a Little Slow for my taste but Other then that, he Feels Perfect to Control.
Overall, 10/10 on Gameplay.
PRESENTATION
The Pixel Art is Fantastic, Basically the Super Nintendo Pixel Art if the Super Nintendo had a Few More Colors.
The Music is Fantastic, Seriously, Jake Kaufman Did an AMAZING work on the Music. and Manami Matsumae(Composer of some of the Classic Megaman Games, Most Notably Megaman 2) Even Made 2 Songs For this Game.
Overall, Presentation is REALLY good.
THE BAD
Any Bad things?...hmm...Well... I cant think of Any Game Breaking ones. only Minor Nitpicks like how the Relics are pretty Unbalanced, and the Difficulty of the Game Spiking pretty High Near the End, and the Heavy Use on Instant Death Spikes Near the End of the game as well.
But I cant think of any Big Flaws.
OVERALL
This game is Amazing, Simple and Easy to Grasp Plot, Fun gameplay, Fantastic Music. Whats not to Like? and Heck there are more Stuff on the Way, Like a 4-Player Battle Mode, and the King of Cards Campaign coming Later this Year.
Heck There are Many other Things I forgot to Cover, Like Gender Swap mode, or Challenge mode. Which Should be Self-Explanatory.
This game is pretty Much the Perfect Platformer.
5/5
Pretty Much a Perfect Game, Dispite the VERY minor Flaws, Any Gamer should Play it.
Thats about it, see you all Later.