Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Distinct movement systems and substantial campaigns make a rewarding collection, with reused themes and weaker arena controls.

Treasure Trove offers more than a large checklist. Each protagonist changes how a platform route is understood: shovel bouncing, charged bomb movement, aerial slashes and charge-spin jumps demand different approaches to landing and attack. Remixed levels therefore have value beyond another pass through familiar spaces. Four campaigns, optional Joustus, challenges, further runs and local Showdown battles provide varied goals. Repeated themes still show, and Showdown’s arena controls feel less natural than the campaigns’ platforming. A consistent pixel identity and music connect the collection, while the PC arena test specifically praises readable landing spaces and character positions. Changing protagonists requires adjustment, especially with Plague’s slippery movement and King’s rhythm. Players who enjoy practising routes and learning a different way to move will get more from the package than those simply rushing through its stages.

Who it is for: Platforming players who enjoy practising movement and rethinking routes with different protagonists.

Play notes: Independent synthesis of separate PC tests, not our own playtest or one complete-package session: Chris Carter’s September 17,2015 Plague test explicitly replayed the base campaign; March 2,2017 early-PC Specter and December 14,2019 PC King tests; Joseph Siemsen’s December 18,2019 Steam Showdown test. Patches, unified hardware and hours are unknown. King’s2021 page update is not a retest. No WiiU runtime transfer, Dig, Pocket Dungeon or exclusive-content assumption.