We covered Shovel Knight almost a year ago rather briefly. Indeed, we’ve been wanting to do it proper justice ever since, and now’s the thyme! Why? As there’s a Nintendo amiibo on the way, plus a DLC package to make the game longer. Groovy.

Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope

Shovel Knight is from Yacht Club Games in Valencia (Spain?), California (oh, that’s in America). Inspired by the NES era, it takes all the best elements from classic platformers and oomphs it up with relentless inventiveness and modern gaming sensibilities.

The result’s pretty astonishing, and it’s been critically acclaimed and become a big cult hit. Double groovy!

The player is Shovel Knight, whose love Shield Knight has been cursed and trapped in a fortress. Shovel Knight, literally a knight with a shovel, decides to fight to her and rekindle their love.

To do this he battles his way through a variety of stages, using his shovel to traverse environments. Simple but effective stuff, Bruce.

Initially Shovel Knight came out on the Wii U and met with massive critical acclaim. I mean, cripes, proper 10/10 stuff.  Since those heady days it’s made its way to Steam (PC), 3DS, PS4, and the Xbox One. It’s even getting a proper release in a few months having, previously, only been a downloadable title. On top of that, brilliantly, for the Wii U there’s an amiibo on the way. Behold:

We are proud to formally introduce…the Shovel Knight amiibo! https://t.co/uB02UbXs62 pic.twitter.com/5wYR9K8lFS

— Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) August 28, 2015

It’s not of gargantuan size, we should point out. You won’t need to own a second home to store this thing in. Nintendo’s amiibos are about the size of a hamster – you scan them on the Wii U’s GamePad to access additional features in games.

As for Shovel Knight’s gameplay, we can but add to the gushing sycophancy with praise for its ability to be relentlessly great fun. This is an Indie title which MOCKS blockbuster games with their fancy HD graphics and 3 hour scripts.

This is rejigged 1980s era graphics, fundamental gameplay mechanics, and an emphasis on imagination and challenge. The result’s an absolute classic, and it’s about to get even better courtesy of some DLC.

Trailer Trash

Below is the trailer and, by heck, we command you to give this one a whirl.

If you want a stupid big grin of happiness on your stupid big face, then Yacht Club Games is the place to turn to. For shovelry!

Note: There has also now been an official DLC package, called Plague of Shadows, making Shovel Knight one heck of a purchase. But it now!