Shovel Knight facts for kids

Shovel Knight is a cool video game made by Yacht Club Games in 2014. It's a 2D platformer, which means you jump and run through levels. The game was made possible with money from Kickstarter, where fans helped fund it.

It first came out on the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Microsoft Windows. Later, it was released on many other systems like PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, OS X, and Linux. The game looks and plays like classic games from the NES era, giving it a retro feel.

Shovel Knight has received many great reviews and won awards. It often appears on lists of the best video games ever. Its success even helped more indie games come to Nintendo consoles.

The game later added four more adventures, called campaigns. These are Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, King of Cards, and Shovel Knight: Showdown. All of these were later sold together as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove. The first adventure was later named Shovel of Hope.

How to Play

You play as Shovel Knight, a brave knight who uses a shovel instead of a sword. You'll use your shovel to fight enemies, jump across platforms, and dig up hidden treasures.

If you get defeated in a level, you don't get a "game over." Instead, you return to the last checkpoint you activated. You will lose about a fourth of your Gold, which is the game's money. Like in the game Dark Souls, you get one chance to get your lost Gold back. If you get defeated again before picking it up, the Gold is gone forever.

You can choose to destroy checkpoints to earn more Gold. But if you do, you'll start much earlier in the level if you get defeated. At the end of most main levels, you'll fight a boss, usually another knight, to finish the level.

You use Gold to make your armor and shovel better. You can also buy more health or magic, or get Relics. Relics are special items that use magic and can help you in many ways. Most main levels have a hidden Relic you can buy. Relics can help you jump better, protect you, or make fighting enemies easier.

The game has a world map, like in Super Mario Bros. 3. You can choose the order you play some levels. However, you must complete certain levels to unlock new areas of the map. Just like in SMB3, there are also "Wandering Knights" who move around the map. If you bump into them, a boss fight will start.

There are main levels, levels that teach you how to use Relics, and towns. The towns are similar to those in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. In towns, you can buy upgrades and Relics. You can also talk to villagers to get helpful tips for your adventure.

The Story

The story begins with Shovel Knight and Shield Knight. Shield Knight is Shovel Knight's partner and friend. They go to the Tower of Fate to get a magical amulet. But then, Shield Knight disappears. Shovel Knight is very sad and stops being a knight.

Because Shovel Knight retired, the land is left unprotected. An evil sorceress called the Enchantress and a group of bad knights, the Order of No Quarter, take over. Shovel Knight then decides to return to his knight duties. He wants to defeat the Enchantress and her Order to save the land.

After Shovel Knight defeats each knight of the Order, he rests by a campfire. Sometimes, he dreams of catching Shield Knight as she falls from the sky, while he fights off enemies.

As Shovel Knight travels, he sometimes meets his rival, Black Knight. Black Knight is not part of the Order, but he wants to protect the Enchantress. Shovel Knight later finds out that the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight! She was being controlled by the evil amulet from the Tower of Fate.

During Shovel Knight's fight with the Enchantress, Shield Knight is freed from the amulet's control. But the amulet then becomes even stronger. Shield Knight helps Shovel Knight fight the powerful amulet. However, the amulet badly hurts Shovel Knight, and he passes out.

Before the amulet can finish Shovel Knight, Shield Knight blocks its attack with her shield. Black Knight then appears and tells Shield Knight to escape. But she says she must destroy the amulet, even if it means she might not survive. Shield Knight asks Black Knight to safely take Shovel Knight out of the tower. Black Knight doesn't want to save Shovel Knight, but he obeys Shield Knight because he cares for her.

As the tower falls apart, Black Knight places Shovel Knight by a campfire. While Shovel Knight is sleeping, a cutscene shows that Shield Knight survives the fight with the amulet. The game ends with a hurt Shield Knight slowly walking towards the campfire and lying next to a sleeping Shovel Knight.

Images for kids

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  An early picture of Shovel Knight, showing its 8-bit-inspired graphics.

See also

In Spanish: Shovel Knight para niños