Shovel Knight Showdown Reviews
Solid controls and a diverse cast of characters provide entertaining matches, but the excitement is short lived
Yacht Club Games continues to impress with its support for Shovel Knight, and we’d highly recommend you experience Shovel Knight Showdown one way or another.
Shovel Knight: Showdown is a good idea that fans will enjoy in brief bursts. But the restrictive movement options prevent it from becoming a great example of the genre.
Yacht Club Games splashes into battle with their spin on the 2D platformer brawler with Shovel Knight: Showdown.
A disappointing way to end an otherwise epic series (especially if you take into account Showdown) but the retro visuals and excellent 2D platforming can still delight.
While there are a host of better options to get your indie Smash on, Shovel Knight Showdown is still a well-made treasure worth coveting.
After cameoing in multiple fighters over the years, Shovel Knight finally has one to call his own with Shovel Knight Showdown. While the combat system is very basic, Shovel Knight fans should still find some fun here with friends and even the first few times through the game's arcade ladder.
Shovel Knight Showdown for the Nintendo Switch continues the series' steps in this emulated 8-bit world of tough, intense gameplay, this time with the added value of a story/campaign mode. With its variety of characters and mechanics that can work for fans of brawlers and fans of party games, Shovel Knight Showdown has a perfect recipe for local multiplayer, and sadly an absence of online multiplayer.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
While you're here, check out our review of Shovel Knight: King of Cards too!
Shovel Knight Showdown is a rare misstep from a developer known for pixel-perfection. It’s a fun diversion for a few dozen minutes but falls short of the base game, and the brilliant single-player expansions that came afterward.
As someone who hasn't played Shovel Knight since the original release, I found Showdown to be a very good return. It's grown on me quite a bit, and if you're a fan of competitive or co-op multiplayer games this could be considered a must. While offering less for the solo player, I'm confident the gorgeous pixel art, wealth of options, and unlockables will still prove satisfying.
Its quality it's not on par with the excellent campaigns, due to balancing issues and the absence of any kind of online mode, but Shovel Knight Showdon is still a very fun party game for up to four players.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Although it doesn't live up to the high standard set by the premiere Shovel Knight game and its single player expansions, Shovel Knight Showdown is a fine multiplayer brawler.
If you have friends to play it with and really love Shovel Knight, you probably will eke some entertainment out of Shovel Knight Showdown. There’s plenty of content to unlock, too. It really needed to have online multiplayer to make an impact though, as it’s only really enjoyable when played with others.
Showdown gives players even more ways to play around with and lets fans beat each other up as their favorite knight or side character! It is definitely a welcome addition to the trove.
Neal: It's absolutely jam-packed with features and if you're someone who already has Shovel Knight, it's a heck of a free addition. As a solitary game, it's a much harder sell. Like you said, it's more of a curio or bonus than something that could stand solely on its own.
So you know and love the Shovel Knight crew and their overall aesthetics, and you've been with them through a variety of adventures...
Evaluating this game is pretty tricky. I certainly had fun with what I played. As far as being a versus mode of a much larger game, its a neat little novelty that some folks might play around with for a couple hours. As its own game? Hard to recommend, unless you maybe have a friend group of passionate Shovel Knight fans. Though in that case, I’d assume they would have Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove already, and thus this is just a free update. It’s $10 on its own, which certainly is a fair price. However, I’d say Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove at $40 is a better deal. With that you get Shovel Knight and three additional full campaigns, as well as Showdown. At that price, you’re basically getting Showdown as a free bonus.
"Show must go down."
Review in Finnish | Read full review