Note: this review covers the currently released content "Shovel of Hope", "Plague of Shadows", "Spectre of Torment" and might be updated in the future.

When I first played the "core game" Shovel of Hope, I loved it!.
The soundtrack, pixel graphics and learning curve felt perfect.
It was a fresh platformer experience without any compromise or lack of quality which in my opinion, most games in this genre suffer from. The game also has a fun narrative story which is a nice touch!

There is a good amount different enemies and fun boss fights.
The controls and mechanics are great. Including standard platforming pits and spikes.
Shovel Knight specifically uses his shovel to bounce on objects or enemies and can be nicely combined with an aerial attack with the shovel.

A great feature which is included in all 3 of the current campaigns is the "New Game+" option available after completing corresponding campaign.
It not only increases replayability but gives access to a more difficult playthrough of each campaign, with all gear carried over to the "New Game+" which I find to be a challenging and rewarding experience. Note: Once NG+ is initiated that save file is permanently only playable on NG+.
The NG+ for "Shovel Knight" makes you take double damage, there are fewer checkpoints and most turkeys (health) are replaced with bombs.

Throught the in-game stages you will find various upgrades and collectables, with differences depending on which campaign you play. In all campaigns you can aquire new "skills" specific to the character of the campaign aswell as buy armor upgrades.
There is also a "challenge mode" mode included for each character with specific shorter stages with different goals for completion.

A more odd feature is "cheats". They disable achievements and can make drastic changes to the game. You can become huge or invicible or make a minor aesthetic change like color to the character. The amount of different codes are ridiculous, but only one code can be used at a time as it corresponds to the named save slot (there are codes that combine several things). I have never tried cheats but believe it to be a nice addition to an already content rich game.
Another odd feature is "Body Swap". It gives the ability change the design of all the main characters (bosses) into female counterparts.

An exclusive feature to the "Shovel of Hope" campaign is the 2 player Co Op Mode.
I have tried it and thought it made things significantly harder, but it is still a nice feature that I imagine some people will greatly appreciate.
The game devs had speed running in mind with some though out optimization to the stages aswell as "linked achivements" for each of the campaigns (finish in less than 90 minutes).

I must admit that playing as "Plague Knight" was hard and not enjoyable at first.
This is coming from someone who had just finished Shovel Knights NG+ right before trying "Plague of Shadows" and might suggest that the difficulty is higher for Plague Knight than Shovel Knight.
At least the learning curve felt higher.
But... Once you get past that, Plague Knight is probably the most fun and satisfying character to play as.

Plague Knight is very different from the other two character as he lacks any melee combat (except by skill) and jumps by default lower than "Shovel Knight". Instead he uses "ranged projectile bombs" for combat, and utilizes "bomb jumps" to jump higher and move around. A lot harder to master but very powerful when you get good at it.
His upgrades enables you to drastically change the behavior of the "bomb jump" and you "projectile bombs".
NG+ is practically the same as Shovel Knight.

With the third campaign character comes another "revamp" in mechanics specific to the character.

Spectre Knight uses a Scythe and has to collect "red skulls" to trade for skills. Just like Shovel Knight a mana system that does not recharge by itself, is used for skills.
Spectre Knight can run on walls (short time) and wall jump making most stages a bit more redesigned than previous adaptation to the original ones. The combat and stages also take a more "aerial"approach than with previous characters.

A minor other change is the order at which you play a stage. In this campaign you can start with any stage in any order except for the last tower/castle. A major change is that you will have to revisit the past in "flash backs" and play as Spectre Knight before he was one amongs the "living dead". Not any major stages, but a change in story telling for sure.
The "learning curve" for Spectre Knight felt lower than on both previous characters, but it might have more to do with it being the last campaign played and finished, giving me more experience despite new mechanics being introduced.
While Spectre Knight felt very strong in the normal playthrough, the NG+ was brutal.
The big change being that the health and mana got combined and you constantly lose it. Naturally this removes the "give yourself health for mana skill".
Good Luck Completing It !!!

• Est. 60-90+ hours to complete (all ach)
  
• 85 achievements (more to come for sure)
  
• 3 campaigns with a fourh on the way
  
• 3 main characters to play as in corresponding campaign (fourth coming)
  
• All playable characters feature unique mechanics and skills
  
• Collectables
  
• Learn new uniques "skills" for every character
  
• Buy and find upgrades
  
• NG+
  
• Body Swap
  
• 2 player Co Op (Shovel of Hope campaign only)
  
• Cheats to alter gameplay and aesthetics
  
• Challenge Mode (all characters)
  
• Upcoming new campaign and a new game mode
  
• Speedrun friendly Devs
  
• Lots of fun boss fights
  
• Good amount of enemy variety
  
• Classic pits and spikes platforming...
  
• Fantastic soundtrack
  
• Beautiful pixel graphic
  
• Good level desgin
  
• Very affordable price
  
• Replayability
  
• Learning curve is exceptionally good, perfect for beginners and hardcore players alike.
  
• - No achievements linked to "Challenge Mode" (feels odd)
  
  Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the best platformer I have ever played.
  It is rich with content and the difficulty really hits the sweet spot. It is also one of very few games I can recommend even at full price.
  Or buy it around 9,99€ during a sale and you do not even deserve to be disappointed if you fail to appreciate this fantastic game!
  I Strongly Recommend This Game!
  
  
  //ECE//