Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight
Developer(s)Yacht Club Games
Publisher(s)Yacht Club Games
Director(s)Sean Velasco
Designer(s)
  • Sean Velasco
  • Michael Herbster
  • Alec Faulkner
Programmer(s)
  • David D'Angelo
  • Ian Flood
Artist(s)
  • Morgan Guyer
  • Erin Pellon
  • Nick Wozniak
  • Sandy Gordon
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
Release
June 26, 2014
  • Nintendo 3DS, Wii U
    • NA: June 26, 2014
    • PAL: November 5, 2014
    • JP: June 30, 2016
    Windows
    • WW: June 26, 2014
    OS X
    • WW: September 13, 2014[1]
    Linux
    • WW: October 8, 2014[2]
    PS3, PS4, PS Vita
    • WW: April 21, 2015[3]
    Xbox One
    • WW: April 29, 2015[4]
    Amazon Fire TV
    • WW: October 5, 2015[5]
    Nintendo Switch
    • WW: March 3, 2017
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shovel Knight is a platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in September 2014, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One in April 2015, Amazon Fire TV in September 2015, and Nintendo Switch in March 2017.[3][6] Shovel Knight is inspired by gameplay and graphics of platformer games developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[7]

The game received critical acclaim, with critics considering it one of the greatest video games ever made.[8][9][10] With the release of additional campaigns, the original story received the retronym Shovel of Hope. The full game was released in December 2019 as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes three other campaigns Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards, along with multiplayer fighting game Shovel Knight Showdown.

A spin-off dungeon crawler puzzle game, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, was co-developed with Vine and released on December 13, 2021, for macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. Another spin-off, the roguelike Shovel Knight Dig, was co-developed with Nitrome and released on September 23, 2022, for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade. A remake of the first game called Shovel of Hope DX is planned to be released at a future date.[11]

  1. ^ "Mac Version is OUT!!". Yachtclubgames. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  2. ^ "Linux is out! Jobs! Contest Winners!". Yachtclubgames. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Spring Fever 2015: 8 Weeks, 8 New PS4 Games, PS Plus Discounts". PlayStation Blog. February 26, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  4. ^ Makuch, Eddie (April 21, 2015). "Xbox One Shovel Knight Release Date Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  5. ^ "All New Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition". Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  6. ^ "Switch-up! – Yacht Club Games". yachtclubgames.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  7. ^ D'Angelo, David (June 25, 2014). "Breaking the NES for Shovel Knight". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  8. ^ Hilliard, Kyle. "Reader's Choice Top 300 Games Of All Time". Game Informer. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "The 500 best games of all time: 400-301 - Polygon". Polygon. March 3, 2018. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  10. ^ "HG101 Presents: The 200 Best Video Games of All Time – Hardcore Gaming 101". Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX is the 'definitive version' of Yacht Club's 2014 hit". Shacknews. June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.