Shovel Knight Treasure Trove Review
Release date: June 26th, 2014
Developer: Yacht Club Games
Platforms: Steam (Reviewed), PSN, Eshop, XBL Live
Price: $39.99
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove is best described as the GOTY for Shovel Knight. It has everything from the vanilla game to the expansions to the brawler like Showdown. There is enough content here to keep gamers interested for hours.
Shovel Knight from Yacht Club games was a fantastic game when it was first released in 2014. Starting as a Kickstarter and the game was later ported to everything, including the Wii U and Amazon Fire devices. It's a 2D platformer with an 8 bit style that can be challenging. By now most people know the basics and know who Shovel Knight is. So what's in Treasure Trove?
This collection has Shovel Knight in his Shovel of Hope campaign, Plague of Shadows starring Plague Knight, Spectre of Torment starring Spectral Knight, King of Cards features King Knight and what collection wouldn't be complete without a fighting game, hence we have Showdown. The latest update at the end of 2019 gave gamers Showdown and King of Cards.
Along with all the features and stories, players can play any of the modes at any time. The stories behind Plague Knight and King are interesting, with different twists and themes. I found those games as challenging as Shovel Knight’s campaign. Plague’ tale is a dark villainous tale, and King’s is kind of happy. King also has a card game built into the campaign, both games like the original Shovel Knight feature over world maps. Both games employ different techniques to progress. I thought Plague was easier to play than King.
I do have to mention Spectral Knight, this is the darkest tale of the 4 games. It's full of betrayal and features a central hub in the Tower of Fate. Each level can be approached in any order the player chooses, and merchants and dark characters populate the tower. This campaign was the easiest for me to play and I thought its backstory was the most intriguing to me. Showdown is a fun brawler and could be a good party game at PAX or at home with the right audience. The single player game is lacking but there are enough unlockables to keep it interesting.
Overall this is a great collection, the sounds and music are perfect. There are a few new features, Players can swap character genders if they choose. Forcing players to use the Amiibo to unlock co-op play has also been removed. There is something for everyone. $40 is the perfect price for a collection with hours and hours of gameplay ready to tackle.
Thanks to the publisher for letting us review it.
Final Score
Pros:
Lots of content
Everything you need or want for Shovel Knight
Cons:
Can be challenging
Showdown could be more robust