Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up,
inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston,
all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.
We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of
what was there on the showfloor!
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Interview with Sean Velasco:
3DS Plains Gameplay (w/ Direct Feed Audio!)
PC Lich Yard Gameplay (w/ Audio)
Alex:
A year has passed since we last saw Yacht Club Games debut their game Shovel Knight to the public amid the launch of their Kickstarter campaign, and now that it is nearly time for its release, we got to chat with Captain Sean Velasco about the game and to try out both demos available at the PAX East 2014 showfloor. As I'm sure many people have said in the past, we totally dig it.
For four days, people came to the Javits Center in New York City to
experience one of the largest conventions on the east coast: New York
Comic Con 2013! Fans of comics, movies, television shows, and toys came
together to revel in their hobbies, and with them came video game
companies to show off their wares for the upcoming holiday season and
beyond. We here at 3RM attended a few of those days, and we have
impressions and video to provide from our experience!
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Tony:
Among Nintendo’s eShop demos at Comic Con I
found a demo for Yacht Club Games' 8-bit inspired platformer, Shovel Knight. Shovel Knight stars the blue-armored knight of shovelry on a quest to save his partner and save the world from the evil Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter. Inspired by games such as Zelda II and Mega Man, this game caught people's attention when it appeared on Kickstarter earlier this year as well as from YCG's presence at PAX East. Now nearing its release, I got to try it again in NYCC.
At PAX East
earlier this year, I was able to get a hands-on with Shovel Knight before, and
this appeared to be the same demo except now on Wii U hardware. The
demo took place in Pridemoore Castle, which was populated with helicopter rats,
jousting horses, and large gryphon bosses that could breath fire. Each of
these enemies could be defeated by shoveling away at them or by plunging the
shovel from above similar to Scrooge McDuck’s cane in Ducktales. However, other
enemies such as wizards and armored knights required more strategy to properly get an attack through their defenses, such as
deflecting magic back at them or mixing up attack patterns to get an opening.
Much like in other 8-bit platformers, the stage was
filled with platform gimmicks such as falling chandeliers and magic platforms
that only exists as long as a spell book is open. Navigating these hazards amid flying rats and attacking wizards created a enjoyable challenge that was both tough but satisfying to try over an over again. At the end of the
stage, I once again dueled with King Knight and his gallant stroll. He called forth trumpets to rain down dangerous confetti on me and dashed towards me at
alarming speeds. He felt a tad tougher than before, but thankfully I had the
magic wand I found earlier in the level to help take him down.
The demo felt
more or less as it did back at PAX East, but that isn’t a bad thing. The game’s
graphics were colorful and fluid, the music (that I could actually hear this
time) was action packed and made me reminisce about games of old, and the
controls were tight and responsive, which is very important in a platformer of
this genre. The only major update from this demo was that it was
playable on the Wii U GamePad. The off-screen play felt just as fluid as it was
on the television in front of me, bright and colorful as ever.
Shovel Knight was once again a joy to play, and I cannot wait to dig into this
when I releases sometime this year. Shovel Knight is expected to release later this year on Wii U, 3DS, and PC platforms.
Enjoy Captain Sean Velasco's playthrough and interview of Shovel Knight here, and read our impressions below.
Tony:
At PAX East 2013, I was able to play the demo for a currently-running
Kickstarter project, Shovel Knight. Shovel Knight is the first game developed by new development company Yacht Club Games, comprised of ex-Wayforward developers with experience from A Boy and his Blob to Double Dragon Neon. The game takes
inspiration from a variety of 8-bit classic side-scrollers including Mega Man,
Castlevania, and DuckTales in both its visual style as well as its gameplay mechanics. The demo began with a visual of the game's world map, and while the demo
was restricted to King Knight’s medieval castle, Pridemoor Keep, I was informed that a
select number of stages would be accessible at the beginning of the game, with more becoming
unlocked as Shovel Knight completes each stage.
Shovel Knight stars the chivalrous Shovel Knight as he
journeys across the land to save his beloved from the evil Enchantress.
However, before he can reach her, he must first defeat her Order of No Quarter,
which is made up of eight evil knights. While the story seems a tad simple, Captain Sean Velasco said that the final game would have a number of cutscenes before boss encounters
and in between levels to help flesh out the story beyond a generic tale.
Even though story is important, players tend to play old Nintendo
games for their gameplay, which Shovel Knight provides in spades. Anyone who has
played a Mega Man game before will know how Shovel Knight moves, at least from a platforming perspective. Shovel
Knight walks, jumps, and climbs ladders just like Mega Man can, and the stages are
also filled with a number of platforming gimmicks that should help make each level unique. At one point in Pridemoor Keep, there were chandeliers hanging from the
ceiling. When I walked underneth them, they fell down on top of me, dealing a
great deal of damage. Later, I had to jump on top of similar chandeliers and then
quickly jump off as they would immediately fall into the bottomless pits below.
Another gimmick in the stage was a magic book that would conjure up magical page-platforms once it was struck; however, the book would only stay open for a limited
time before closing, causing the platforms to disappear and Shovel
Knight to fall to his doom. These were very creative gimmicks, and I look
forward to seeing more of them in the final product.
However, while the game’s platforming and stage progression
feels much like a Mega Man game, Shovel Knight does not have a Mega Buster to
attack enemies from a distance. Instead he uses a shovel, which requires the knight
get in close and personal to attack his foes. If the slashing attack is not enough, pressing down in a jump causes the knight to thrust his shovel downward
to strike enemies from above much like Scrooge McDuck from DuckTales or Link from Link's Adventure. This short-range weapon changes how players must navigate the world
and confront enemies. During the demo, I encountered a shield-wielding solider
that could block all of my attacks, so I had to get close wait for him
to lower his defenses in order to hit him. Another enemy I had to face was a large
fire-breathing Gryphon. In a Mega Man game I could stay away and attack from
afar, but in Shovel Knight I had to get right in its face to attack, which was
dangerous, as it would also swipe its claws at me on occasion. This mechanic made each hit
feel more personal and made me feel like the knight fighting courageously against my enemies.
The shovel is not only used as a weapon, but it is also used
to dig up treasure, destroy dirt blocks, and pogo off of obstacles to reach
higher ground. Occasionally in the demo I would come across large dirt
blocks that blocked my path. By attacking the dirt or downward
striking the ground with the shovel, the dirt block would break way, which
opened access to hidden areas or safer, alternate paths. Also throughout
the stage were a number of dirt piles that contained wondrous riches, although most were hidden in secret areas in the level.
At the
end of the demo, all the treasure was added up and my score was placed on a
leaderboard, on which I barely made it. If this score system is used for
all of the stages and they continue to have all of these hidden areas, then this will
definitely extend the life of the game beyond the initial playthrough.
Besides the pivotal shovel, the game offers alternate weapons a la Castlevania
that must be found in each stage to be used in the game. In the demo, I
found a fire rod on the opposite side of a large pit, requiring some
slick chandelier platforming to cross. With this ability, I was capable of launching fireballs at enemies without needing to get too close, making my next Gryphon encounter to be much easier. Having learned that Shovel Knight will not be getting powers from the
bosses themselves, I
hope there will be a greater variety of items to acquire within each
stage, but we will have to see what Yacht Club Games decides to do with
these extra attacks.
After walking through the usual boss hallway, I faced off
against King Knight himself. The regal Knight jumped around the room making it
difficult to po-go off him. He would also occasionally stop and then dash across
the floor at incredible speeds. He would also summon trumpets
to appear high on the screen to praise him and rain down hazardous confetti
onto the battlefield, which I had to avoid in order not to get hurt. All of
this fast motion and confetti made the battle quite the challenge with the
close range shovel. Luckily, I had the Fire Rod sub-item that gave me the upper
hand to take him down. It was definitely a tough but enjoyable battle.
Shovel Knight not only plays like an old school platformer,
it looks like one, too. Everything in the game is fully spirited with an 8-bit
NES style. The game also restricts its color usage to NES limitations in order to
give it a more authentic feel. Despite being an “NES” title, the sprite animations were much smoother, and everything ran much better than they would be
able to do on an actual NES. This made the game feel both retro and modern at
the same time. Following with the game’s NES inspirations, the game’s music is
comprised of chiptunes to sound just like other Nintendo games. Sadly, due to
the convention hall’s loud noises, I was unable to full hear the music, but I enjoyed what I could hear, either way.
Without a doubt, Shovel Knight looks and plays the part of
being a classic 8-bit adventure. While it takes inspiration from other great
platformers, Shovel Knight managed to feel fresh and unique with its shovel
mechanic and fluid animations. I cannot wait to take out the rest of the Order
of No Quarter and to see what other challenges Shovel Knight will face. Go
support Shovel Knight on Kickstarter, and it will find its way to PC, Wii U, and
Nintendo 3DS late 2013.
