Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is a combined edition of one of the most influential independent platformers of recent years, and it arrived on Switch practically alongside the console's launch. The base campaign, Shovel of Hope, is built on a very thoughtful tribute to the 8-bit era: an armored hero wielding a shovel makes his way across a world map divided into individual levels, knocks down enemies with a shovel-point-down jump, and in each level searches for treasure, secret rooms, and relics with their own abilities. Controls are precise, and the game prides itself on every death being a readable mistake, while checkpoints can be voluntarily broken in exchange for treasure — an elegant way to set your own difficulty.

The package's strength lies in the fact that it doesn't stop at a single campaign. Plague of Shadows is built around an alchemist with explosive potions and a different kind of movement, Specter of Torment offers a darker story and much snappier acrobatics with wall-climbing and airborne enemy attacks, and King of Cards adds another campaign along with a card-based minigame. Each variant uses the same levels differently, so returning to familiar places never feels like recycling, but rather like a fresh perspective on the same game.

Technically, this is a title that suits Switch well. The pixel art draws on the limitations of period consoles, but works with smooth scrolling, widescreen visuals, and effects the hardware of the time couldn't have handled. Jake Kaufman's chiptune music ranks among the most memorable soundtracks of the indie scene and manages to swing between marching heroism and melancholy. The game grew out of a successful Kickstarter campaign and became a textbook example of how to deliver on promises to backers, since every promised expansion was delivered for free. Today Treasure Trove remains one of the best entry points into the genre for newcomers and veterans alike, and on Switch it works perfectly as a game for short returns.