In addition, the levels can take quite a while to get through, and if you’re stuck and want to get back to it later, you have to play through the entire level again. Shovel Knight in the Flying Machine stage (Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games) Even on the PS3 and PS4, it’s difficult to determine where the platforms are due to how little time you have. The idea is interesting as you have to memorize the stage’s assets, but on a small screen with the Vita, it was difficult to distinguish what to jump on in such a small window of time. This was incredibly frustrating as enemies are also obscured, and the player is forced to stay motionless or has to dare to move to continue on. When lightning doesn’t strike, the player cannot see essential platforms due to the stage being black.

For the The Lich Yard level, the main aspect of it is lightning and its effect on the stage’s brightness. However, there is one mechanic which became really frustrating: the loss of light. Shovel Knight is mostly balanced too, with almost every fault being the player’s own rather than a huge difficulty spike.

This creates a satisfying amount of challenge that really adds to the variety of puzzles in the game.

The DuckTales-esque hop attack is used not just as an offensive asset to Shovel Knight (even though it feels incredibly satisfying to bop of an enemy’s head) it can also allow the character to get to further areas through hopping on a moving cannon ball or enemy in the air.

The platforming’s spot on as each D-pad press has to be precise to reach each platform.

Wii u shovel knight wii u versus ps4