Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

Yacht Club Games proves that their final Shovel Knight expansion, King of Cards, is no fool’s gold by making their best game to date.

All told, this is the biggest, most well-crafted, funniest and, in some ways, most emotionally potent game from Yacht Club yet. [Issue #45 – March/April 2020, p. 20]

Like its brethren before it, Shovel Knight: King of Cards features some of the best platforming game design ever seen in a video game.

It’s impossible to go wrong with King of Cards, and whether standalone or as part of Treasure Trove, we’d recommend you make a point to play it as soon as possible. This is likely the last we’ll see of the ‘core’ Shovel Knight series for some time, and King of Cards acts as a worthy swansong for a now-legendary platformer. Bravo.

For its last platformer chapter, the Shovel Knight series let us play through the Monty Python King Knight, a wanabee king traveling the world to defeat its potential adversaries. Through this lovely pixel art adventure, the players will also discover the Joustus, a card game within the game, for ever more fun in every tavern of this grotesque world.

Delivering yet another fresh twist on Shovel Knight's peerlessly smooth faux-retro brilliance, King of Cards is a challenging, funny, beautiful game that serves not only as the final chapter in the saga but also as proof of how far its creators have come.

While technically a prequel, Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a fitting end to the Shovel Knight saga. It continues the tradition of great graphics, sound, and level design set by the original, while still providing a fresh take on platforming.

It's also a strong way to put the Shovel Knight saga to bed, essentially bringing everything full-circle in such a way that it encourages players to go right back to the original Shovel Knight story. King of Cards is aces, in ways I never expected it to be.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a marvelous expansion to the collection of expansions that the original game has been blessed with since its release. Featuring a set of very original levels and a new character with new mechanics and the art style and soundscape that have been consistent with the Shovel Knight series, this is an essential title that should feature in the collection of any owner of a Nintendo Switch.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards is the proverbial cherry on top of a massive sundae that I’ve enjoyed thoroughly, and I know I’ll look forward to revisiting it in its entirety in the future as well.