For a lot of us, video games are a way of going on an adventure that we couldn’t in real
life. It was sitting in front of a tv playing the latest castlevania, Megaman, or Mario, on a quest to
defeat the bad guy and save the world. With Shovel Knight you get all these feelings back with
its mechanics and 8 bit art style clearly referencing some of these older games. Shovel Knight is
one of my all time favorite games from its beautiful pixel art to its amazing soundtrack. This
article will be going over the game and what it's about, the games wonderful level design, what
makes the game the best, and some of the DLC.

The game begins with a few pictures and some text talking about two adventurers named
Shovel Knight and Shield Knight. One day at the tower of fate, an evil amulet was awakened and
shield knight was lost. Shovel knight went into solitude, and in doing so the heros’ land was
taken over by the Enchantress (final boss) and her Order of no Quarter (all other bosses). With
that the game starts throwing you right into stage one. The story is cliche and is not meant to be
taken to serious (like in some games).  Where the game really shines through, is its’ silly dialog
and atmosphere with good gameplay. While playing the game you go place to place by selecting
a stage on the map/overworld.  Each stage is unique and has a specific theme that relates to the
boss.  For example, the boss Propeller Knight has his stage set in his flying air fortress with some
of the enemy's being fling rats, flying knights with propellers, and floating jellyfish. This gives
good variety so you don't feel like you're just doing the same thing over and over.

This stage is one of the best designed levels ever because of how it teaches all the basic
mechanics without straight up saying what they are. Like for example, the exit to the first screen
of the stage is blocked by dirt block, so to get through, the player needs to break them, which
teaches the player that dirt blocks can be destroyed. On the next screen the path leads to a wall
with dirt blocks on the ground.  Since the regular attack only hits forward it can't be just attacked,
which makes the player think “what does the down arrow do?” teaching the player how to pogo
jump/attack down (jumping while holding down will aim the shovel down and if it hits
something you bounce up). The next screen has a big gap in the terrain that is to high to jump
normally, and in the middle is a bubble.  The player then tires the thing they learned earlier and
uses the down attack, which bounces them high enough to get over the gap, teaching the player
how to do some of the basic platforming (getting a character to jump around obstacles to advance
the game). These are just some example of how the game teaches you about new mechanics and
this style of teaching is use throughout the game whenever a new mechanic is introduced.
The mechanics in Shovel Knight, along with the references to old games, make this game
so much better. The main weapon of choice is the shovel. It can be swung on either side or put
downward for a pogo jump, but later in the game it can be upgraded to have a charged attack, a
long ranged full health attack (like in Legend of zelda), or just to dig treasure faster.  There are
also the items or relics in this game that can be used at the cost of mana that allow either brief
invulnerability, better maneuverability, or just a longer range attack. Shovel Knight's items can
be upgraded buy buying mana and health upgrades in town along with armor and shovel
upgrades. To replenish health in stages, the player must find food. The cooked chicken fully
heals and is a direct reference to castlevania (which also uses cooked chicken to heal).
Shovel Knight also has some of the best DLC (downloadable content) ever. Plague of
shadows is the first DLC released for shovel knight. It is completely free with the game and adds
a whole new story, this time all centered around Plague Knight (one of the bosses in Shovel
Knight).  This DLC is as long as the regular game because it goes through all the same levels,
but with all new mechanics. There are new mechanics because instead of hitting enemies up
close with a shovel, now as Plague Knight the player must throw potions to take out enemies.
These new potions can be customized to have different effects a ways to defeat foes. The next
DLC is the Shovel Knight amiibo (toy figure that has a chip that adds stuff) which ( for some
systems) adds a new set of cool items, customizable looks for your Knight, and Co-op so you can
play with a friend. These DLC’s are just some of what is planned, with a King Knight and
Specter Knight campaign in the works.

We have gone over the story, the level design, and its DLC’s. Shovel Knight was such an
amazing experience from its silly dialog and story to its intriguing gameplay. It is a remarkable
mish mash of all the good parts of old games. So go and start your adventure with Shovel
Knight.