General Tips
- Shovel Knight's best attack is his shovel drop, in which he jumps on an enemy's head. This often results in multiple hits and also acts as a defensive maneuver, so use it often.
- Shovel Knight's trusty spade allows him to deflect projectiles, so consider hitting things back at the enemy instead of dodging.
- This may sound obvious, but utilize relics in the game. The shovel packs quite a punch, but magic is a formidable weapon in Shovel Knight and can be especially helpful in boss fights.
- If you can't find a particular relic, you can still buy it from Chester in the village after completing the level. He does inflate prices though.
- Lost your money in a bottomless pit and can't recover it? Use the fishing rod to retrieve money bags without falling down.
- Once you purchase two Troupple Chalices you can have Troupple King fill them with ichor, such as health/magic restoration or brief invulnerability. They make boss fights much easier, though it may feel like a cheap method to some players.
Shovel Knight's NES roots go beyond visuals and music. The game also includes a ton of cheat codes. Here are some of the best ones. To activate cheats, create a new profile and enter the following codes in the name category.
| Cheat Code | Effect |
| X&BUTT | Butt Mode: Various words are replaced with "butt." |
| IM&SGC14 | Iron Man Mode |
| J&2JMP! | Super Jump Mode |
| J&!JSMP | Moon Jump Mode |
| GGWBUCFV | Unlock everything (excludes music sheets) |
| UDBPKFFX | Enemies do no damage |
| YGVYUWSW | Giant Mode: size doubled |
| OXLKJCGV | Walk on spikes |
| SWJSROSY | No encounters on the world map |
Achievements/Feats
| Achievement | Requirement |
| First Purchase | Buy your first item. |
| Only You | Use caution and common sense around campfires. |
| Troupple Acolyte | Discover the secrets of the Troupple King. |
| Hey Big Spender | Spend a combined 25,000 gold at the shop. |
| Halfway | Defeat four of the Order of No Quarter. |
| Nice Hat... | Help out all the moochers in the fancy shop. |
| Well Met | Defeat all the wandering travelers. |
| Master Shoveler | Purchase all available shovel blade upgrades. |
| Master Angler | Successfully fish five sparkling fishing spots. |
| Hall Champion | Solve the woes of the Hall of Champions. |
| Juggler | Impress Mona with your skills. |
| Victory! | Finish the game. |
| I'm Alive! | Finish any stage without dying. |
| I Scream for Ichor | Sample each of the Troupple King's ichors. |
| Another Dimension | Collect 2,000 worth of gold lying on spikes, while using the phase locket. |
| Hooper | Bounce on the hoop kid's hoop for five seconds. |
| Boom! | Defeat five foes at once using the booming horn. |
| Knuckle Down | Hang in the air for more than four seconds using the dust knuckles. |
| Pungent | Listen to all of Croaker's puns. |
| Decked Out | Purchase or unlock all relics, equipment, and upgrades. |
| Arc of Iron | Defeat three enemies with one throwing anchor. |
| You're Fired | Finish off the Black Knight with a reflected shot. |
| On a Diet | Finish a level without eating any food. |
| Get the Point | Destroy all checkpoints in a single stage. |
| Sparker | Finish off any boss using the ground spark technique. |
| Reflect Lord | Hit enemies with a reflected projectile 30 times. |
| Relic Roundtable | Defeat an enemy by using each relic. |
| Super Sphere | Destroy five enemies within five seconds using the chaos spheres. |
| Flying Feat | Defeat three enemies using the propeller dagger without touching the ground. |
| Untouched | Emerge unscathed from a battle with any knight of the Order of No Quarter. |
| No Damage! | Finish any stage without taking damage. |
| Shovel Economy | Finish a level and swing the shovel blade fewer than 20 times. |
| Order of Hoarders | Have 50,000 gold on hand. |
| Flare Wander | Defeat an enemy with the flare wand from more than 25 blocks away. |
| Reflected Riches | Bounce the same alchemical coin five times in a row. |
| Music Lover | Obtain all song scrolls. |
| Again! | Finish New Game Plus. |
| Clearing a Path | Run over five enemies using the same mobile gear. |
| Dirt Poor | Don't collect any gold for an entire Order of No Quarter stage. |
| True Shovelry | Beat the game without collecting any relics. |
| Penny Pincher | Finish the game without spending any money. |
| Checkpointless | Destroy every possible checkpoint in the game. |
| HurryUp! | Beat the game within 1 hour and 30 minutes. |
| Perfect Platformer | Finish the game without falling into a bottomless pit. |
| Impossible! | Finish the game without dying. |
