Every Shovel Knight Guest Appearance and Why There Are So Many
Guest appearances can be a highlight of just about any game. Whether it’s seeing Link go toe-to-toe with Nightmare in Soul Calibur II on the Gamecube or Cammy blasting baddies in the often overlooked classic Cannon Spike on the Sega Dreamcast, character crossovers feel like a grand event. Soon after becoming an almost immediate indie hit, Shovel Knight quickly started popping up all over the place to the point of absurdity, even before the game fully launched. At this rate, Shovel Knight could end up in more games than a character like Mario or Sonic, a feat both hilarious and worthy of pursuing.
Mostly as a curiosity, I wanted to seek out just how many games Shovel Knight has appeared in, point out some favorites, and explain just how these crossovers keep happening.
According to various fan Wiki pages, there have been about 30 appearances of the blue armored hero since the Kickstarter was launched in 2013. In just over six years, the character has appeared in more games than most AAA franchise characters. This is a character that players and creators quickly rallied behind. The shovel-wielding knight arrived on all consoles at the time in June 2014; the game has been ported to just about every gaming platform and will likely appear on the next generation of consoles. Yacht Club Games recently fulfilled their lofty Kickstarter promises, finishing the Treasure Trove collection with the King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown expansions.
Note that while we’ve gathered a pretty comprehensive list of Shovel Knight related cameos, appearances, and such this post is likely not definitive. We’ll update it as needed but if there’s something we’re missing please let us know!
HERE’S A LIST OF ALL THE GAMES SHOVEL KNIGHT HAS APPEARED IN AS A CHARACTER:
Adventures of Pip - May 2014
Two Brothers, later released as Chromophore: The Two Brothers Director’s Cut - June 2014
*Cook, Serve, Delicious - November 2014
*Runbow - August 2015
*ASDAD: All-Stars Dungeons and Diamonds - October 2015
*Move or Die - January 2016
*Mutant Mudds Super Challenge - March 2016
Dino Run DX - May 2016
Yooka-Laylee - April 2017
*Blaster Master Zero - August 2017
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 - August 2017
Aegis Defenders - February 2018
*Runner3 - May 2018
*Indie Pogo - July 2018
*Blade Strangers - August 2018
*Rivals of Aether - September 2018
*Road Redemption - October 2018
*Brawlhalla - October 2018 (Black Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight also playable)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - December 2018
*Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - June 2019
*Riverbond - July 2019
*Shovel Knight is playable in these games.
Dates are based on the game’s release date, not necessarily when Shovel Knight was added if added post-release.
CANCELED OR YET TO RELEASE TITLES/CONTENT
Hex Heroes - Shovel Knight was/is to be playable.
C-Wars - Shovel Knight will supposedly make an appearance. C-Wars is currently listed as an Early Access title on Steam.
Starr Mazer - Shovel Knight to reportedly be a playable character. Starr Mazer is currently listed as an Early Access title on Steam.
Pixel Noir - Shovel Knight announced to make an appearance of some kind. Available as Early Access title on Steam.
Puzzle Depot - Tinker Knight to be a playable character.
Indivisible - Shovel Knight is set to appear as a guest character, likely as DLC.
Ghost Police - Shovel Knight announced in 2016 to be playable. This title has yet to release.
Fight Knight - Shovel Knight’s armor appears as a key item.
OTHER RELEVANT APPEARANCES OF SHOVEL KNIGHT AND OTHER SHOVEL KNIGHT CHARACTERS
The Reward: Tales of Alethrion - April 2015 - Shovel Knight (or a character wearing similar armor) appears briefly in this animation.
Crypt of the Necrodancer -April 2015 - The Pawnbroker stands on a pile of items. Shovel Knight’s helmet is in the pile.
Enter the Gungeon - April 2016 - The Plowshare gun is based on Shovel Knight’s trusty weapon.
Creepy Castle - October 2016 - Plague Knight is playable.
Just Shapes & Beats -May 2018 - Shovel Knight music is featured as levels.
Katana Zero -April 2019 - Arcade cabinets labeled Shovel Knight can be found in the game.
EXCEED Fighting System - To be released - Shovel Knight cards are available in this trading card game.
Shovel Knight Dungeon Duels -To be released - Shovel Knight and pals are featured in a board game by Panda Cult Games.
GUEST CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN SHOVEL KNIGHT TITLES
The Battletoads become a boss fight in the Xbox One version of the game.
Kratos from God of War becomes a boss fight in the PS4 version of the game.
Baz appears as a boss throughout each Shovel Knight expansion. He’s based on a scrapped design from Street Fighter II called Zubaz that was later discussed and adapted into a new character by Matt Kowalewski and Woolie Madden. The character also appears in Divekick and Indivisible. He adopts several techniques and weapons from various Castlevania heroes.
Again, please let us know if we’re missing something on this list.
It is always a cool feeling to be playing an indie game and find a reference to Shovel Knight. I had forgotten that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Knight featured the knight as an enemy and I freaked out when my character became Shovel Knight after getting a rare armor drop and putting it on. Shovel Knight appearing as a large animated fighter in Blade Strangers is also wild and different when compared to the other playable versions. Of course, I am always hopeful that Shovel Knight will eventually become playable in a Super Smash Bros game but for now, the assist trophy will have to do.
We’ve always wondered just how this phenomenon of widespread cameos came about and following a discussion with Alec Faulkner (a designer at Yacht Club Games) at PAX West 2019 we now know the gist of how this keeps happening.
At the outset of the character’s design, Shovel Knight was created to be flexible. “We’ve always imagined that he’d be a character that you could see in all sorts of games from cute to serious, 8-bit to 3D or whatever,” explained Faulkner after we played a demo of the upcoming Shovel Knight Dig, a cooperative project between Yacht Club Games and Nitrome.
Apparently, Faulkner and the team get a request to feature Shovel Knight in a game about once a week. Really it seems that the only thing keeping Shovel Knight from any project is a good pitch or idea. Faulkner also revealed during that interview that he would love to see a Shovel Knight cereal to further break the character into reality. Shovel Knight was the first indie Amiibo and Plague Knight, Spectre Knight, and King Knight Amiibo were recently released as a three-pack.
We also asked what other game genres Faulkner would like to work on and he explained that Yacht Club Games would probably do well in just about any genre. He entertained the idea of making an RPG with a lot of writing, a kart racing game, and a 3D platformer. Calling it a dream project, Faulkner told us that he would especially love to make a 3D platformer as Super Mario 64 is his favorite game. Recently, Yacht Club Games put up several job postings calling for developers with 3D experience. He also cited wanting all of their Amiibo figures to have functionality in their other titles.
Whether by sheer circumstance or just a reaction to a well-designed character, it is clear that Shovel Knight represents something beyond a loyal hero on an adventure to save his love from evil. Shovel Knight proves that success can come from anywhere in video games and he always seems to be lifting up other games by appearing as a cameo or playable character. That momentum will likely continue as more and more games put in the request and as Yacht Club Games further develop their own titles.
One thing is for certain, Shovel Knight is an icon of indie game design.
For more information about Shovel Knight, check out the official Yacht Club Games website. Upcoming games from the studio include Cyber Shadow and Shovel Knight Dig. They recently completed all of the Kickstarter promised campaigns resulting in a collection of four character stories and one party/fighting game called Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.
We are currently playing through King of Cards and Showdown for further content. We were graciously sent one Steam code for Zach and I already owned Treasure Trove on Switch. Expect to see podcast discussions and reviews in the future. This post was created out of curiosity and is no way sponsored content.
Check out the collection of images below showing Shovel Knight’s many appearances.
Last year thousands of layoffs beat down the spirit of the games industry. Despite this tumultuous state, some of the best games we’ve seen in most genres released and that’s worth celebrating. We only hope that 2023 will hopefully be a turning point for everyone involved in the games industry.