Shovel Knight Showdown

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Shovel Knight Showdown
Official artwork for the game
Developer(s)Yacht Club Games
Publisher(s)Yacht Club Games
Platform(s)
ReleaseDecember 10, 2019
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shovel Knight Showdown is a 2019 fighting game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. An add-on to the platform game Shovel Knight, players take control of twenty characters with various movesets and fighting styles. The game features several modes, such as "Treasure Clash", where players battle one another to collect the most gems that appear on a stage, to a free for all setting where players engage in a battle to the death. In the story mode, a single player battles against AI-controlled opponents across several stages before facing a boss. Completing this mode with each fighter allows the player to unlock new stages and characters.

Yacht Club Games originally envisioned Showdown as a small minigame similar to modes in Mega Man 7 (1995) and Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). The developers gradually built a more expansive title which they compared to a party game. Showdown was released concurrently with the downloadable content campaign Shovel Knight: King of Cards on December 10, 2019. The game received average reviews on release, with praise towards its characters and multiplayer gameplay, while the single-player mode received a negative response, many reviewers criticizing its difficulty balancing.

Gameplay[edit]

Shovel Knight, Black Knight, Polar Knight, and Goldarmor fight on the Colosseum level. Battles can be fought with up to four players using various characters.

Shovel Knight Showdown is a fighting game.[1][2] Players choose between a roster of twenty different characters from the Shovel Knight franchise, all of which feature their own movesets and fighting styles.[3] Each fighter has a basic and special attack, a unique type of movement, and the ability to parry.[1][2] Playable characters range from Shovel Knight, who attacks with a shovel or magic wand,[2] to Specter Knight, a fast character that can wall jump, to Plague Knight, who throws explosive bombs.[1][4]

One to four players can engage in combat across several modes. These settings include a free for all, where the victor is decided by whoever defeats all the other players, to a cooperative mode where players team up to battle AI-controlled opponents.[5] One mode called "Treasure Clash" centers around collecting gems that appear around the level as quickly as possible, while claiming the jewels of other players by slaying them.[2] During battle, various items appear intermittently across the level, and collecting them causes a helpful effect. For example, an item could be food that restores health, or a magnet that can be used to push back other players.[1][2] Each stage can be altered using a set of modifiers that allow for different effects and battle scenarios, such as a modifier that prevents items from appearing, to another that causes bombs to fall randomly around the level.[2]

Showdown features a single-player story mode. The plot of the mode takes place after the narrative of Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, where Specter Knight's friends attempt to defeat the Enchantress by imprisoning her in a magic mirror. In the process, they accidentally create hostile clones of each of the knights which the player must defeat.[6] In this setting, players battle through stages and opponents that are unique to the chosen character, though each variation of the story mode ends with a two-phase boss battle against the mirror.[1][3] Story mode features three separate difficulty options, and completing the mode for each character allows the player to unlock new fighters and levels.[3]

Development and release[edit]

As part of the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Shovel Knight back in 2013, Yacht Club Games listed several stretch goals, additional features for the game added when the funding met a certain target. Among the stretch goals was the addition of a four-player battle mode, which would eventually become Shovel Knight Showdown.[5][7] Showdown was Yacht Club Games' first attempt at making a multiplayer experience. The developers originally intended for Showdown to be a small minigame similar to game modes in Mega Man 7 and Super Mario Bros. 3,[7][8] though the team gradually designed a more ambitious title. They described the finished product as similar to a party game, yet more expansive and complicated, calling it "somewhere between Smash Bros."[9]

The team wanted to create variety between battles, and decided to create a mode called "Chester's Choice" that complemented the free for all and Treasure Clash settings. Chester's Choice allows the player to randomly set the in-game modifiers, leading to distinct battles with different combinations of stages, items, teams, and other features.[10] The developers created the mode after finding the modifiers too difficult to navigate through a menu. The team tried simplifying these menus and options, but found that they were still too numerous to manage. Chester's Choice was designed as a way for players to avoid spending significant time picking these modifiers. They took inspiration for the mode from Mario Party, where the game automatically determines each of its settings. Yacht Club Games originally called the mode Roulette, but eventually renamed it after Chester, a character from the franchise who acts as a merchant.[10] Shovel Knight Showdown was delayed from its original planned release date on April 9, 2019,[11] and was launched concurrently with the downloadable content (DLC) campaign Shovel Knight: King of Cards on December 10, 2019 for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.[12][13][14]

Reception[edit]

According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Showdown received "generally favorable reviews" for its Nintendo Switch version, and "mixed to average reviews" for its PC versions.[15] Some critics said that Showdown lacked an identity as an independent game.[3][6] Nintendo World Report found it to be fun when played in short periods, but said that it became repetitive over time.[3] GameRevolution called it overall inferior to the rest of the Shovel Knight franchise due to its reliance on multiplayer.[6] In a more positive review, USgamer said that Showdown was not as recognizable as other titles in the series, but was one of the best party games of 2019.[4]

Reviewers considered Showdown a competent multiplayer game. USgamer felt that it would appeal to those who had never encountered the franchise, and would draw in new players through its chaotic gameplay.[4] Nintendo Life noted the speed of matches, and said that it was easy to set up and teach players its mechanics.[2] GameRevolution said that the modes helped make the game feel chaotic and fun,[6] while Vandal found the combat too intense and disorderly to be entertaining.[17] Other reviewers criticized the online multiplayer support as too limited.[6][17]

The playable characters were positively received.[1][2][4] Nintendo Life considered their movesets unique, saying that the inclusion of boss characters from previous games was good fan service.[2] Nintendo World Report called many of the characters well-designed and implemented.[3] USgamer felt that the game distinguished itself from the indie fighting game TowerFall because of its character options.[4] Game Informer found the characters easy to learn and fun, while adding that their simplicity made them feel lacking in depth.[1] Other reviewers considered some characters too powerful.[3][6] Nintendo World Report said that smaller fighters would be at a disadvantage,[3] while GameRevolution cited the titular Shovel Knight as a weak fighter compared to the others.[6] Vandal called the characters lacking, saying that their movesets were simplistic and without proper depth and balancing.[17]

The story mode received a negative response. USgamer said that the single-player gameplay was inferior to multiplayer by design, but said that the had a narrative that would placate fans of the franchise.[4] Many reviewers wrote that it had poor difficulty balance.[2][3][17] Other reviewers felt that its AI-controlled opponents were too easy,[6][17] and GameRevolution added that the minigames in the campaign were frustrating to complete.[6] Game Informer found the story mode repetitive, saying that it would dissuade players from completing it to unlock new characters and stages.[1] A few reviewers called the boss battle a highlight,[1][6] with GameRevolution writing that it was reminiscent of earlier Shovel Knight games and "delivers on everything you'd want from the series".[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shea, Brian (December 10, 2019). "Shovel Knight Showdown Review - Digging Down". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Vogel, Mitch (December 10, 2019). "Review: Shovel Knight Showdown - A Smash Bros. Challenger That's Perfect For Switch Parties". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Miller, Zachary; Ronaghan, Neal (December 17, 2019). "Shovel Knight: Showdown Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bailey, Kat (December 9, 2019). "Shovel Knight Showdown Review: A Sneaky Contender for 2019's Best Party Game". USgamer. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (August 28, 2018). "Shovel Knight Showdown Multiplayer Battle Mode Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Santa Maria, Alex (December 10, 2019). "Shovel Knight Showdown Review | Super Dig Bros. Ultimate". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Yacht Club Games (November 29, 2019). "How Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove Went From Minor DLC to a Collection Built to Last". USgamer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Minotti, Mike (December 6, 2019). "Shovel Knight director Sean Velasco digs into Yacht Club Games' past and future". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Bailey, Kat (April 23, 2019). ""Shovel Knight is Not Done:" Yacht Club Games on the Road to King of Cards and Beyond". USgamer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  10. ^ a b D'Angelo, David (November 22, 2019). "Shovel Knight Showdown: Chester's Choice". Game Developer. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (February 19, 2019). "Shovel Knight: King of Cards, Showdown, and Amiibo Delayed". IGN. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Peters, Jay (December 10, 2019). "Shovel Knight's new expansions are great for fans, but they won't sell you on the series". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Plant, Logan (November 13, 2019). "Yacht Club Games Announces Shovel Knight Showdown and King of Cards Release Date". IGN. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  14. ^ "Hold on to your shovels: Shovel Knight: King of Cards & Shovel Knight Showdown Releasing on December 10 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4". Gamasutra. November 26, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c "Shovel Knight Showdown critic reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Shovel Knight Showdown Reviews". OpenCritic. January 6, 2020. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e Leiva, Carlos (December 11, 2019). "Análisis Shovel Knight: Showdown, a palazo limpio". Vandal (in European Spanish). Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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