If you’re a fan of secrets Shovel Knight has you covered. The game contains a ton of well placed secrets in virtually every level, whether it be a wall that explodes once struck–revealing treasure or a much needed bit of health–or areas off the beaten path that offer music sheets or sub weapons. Shovel Knight gives you the feeling that there is always something new around the corner, or something hidden just out of sight. There’s a lot to dig into here, if you’re willing to look for it.

Shovel Knight lays the groundwork of its plot with a simple premise: the eponymous knight must save his beloved partner Shield Knight, and to do this he must defeat the villainous Enchantress. However, a gauntlet of eight dastardly knights known as the Order of No Quarter have been tasked to stop him.

Shovel Knight’s plot may sound simplistic on the surface, but the game carries a surprising amount of emotional depth without bogging you down with needless exposition. The game achieves this by giving you just enough detail about Shovel Knight and his world to provide believable incentive for his quest and what is at stake. Once these details are established the plot takes a back seat to the game itself and lets you do your thing. This less is more approach to the story works in the game’s favor as I found myself incredibly interested in learning about the world and its characters, and whenever Shovel Knight trickled out a new plot detail or wrinkle to the story I found myself paying close attention. Even seemingly insignificant moments felt meaningful, such as a dream based mini-game where Shovel Knight must beat back enemies and catch a falling Shield Knight, all thanks Shovel Knight’s clever use of a minimalistic plot.

This isn’t to say that Shovel Knight is a serious story. In fact quite the opposite, as the game’s excellent writing is often quite amusing. Yacht Club Games knew exactly what they were doing with their game based on knights and chivalry, as Shovel Knight just drips tongue-in-cheek humor at every opportunity. The playful approach to the over-the-top gallantry one often finds in a medieval-esque story works well here. Shovel Knight’s steadfast adherence to doling out shovel justice, dialogue rife with shovel-related puns, and subtle self aware humor are just a few examples of Shovel Knight’s wittiness.

Visually Shovel Knight is a treat. Colorful, dynamic, and multilayered, Shovel Knight embraces its aesthetic 8-bit roots while being unafraid to innovate beyond the capabilities of its NES inspirations. Backgrounds often sport multiple layers of parallax scrolling trees that whip past you, a castle in the distance appears to move along the horizon, and further back clouds lazily hang in the sky, which gave me the feeling as though I were running through a living pop-up book. Each stage has its own distinct visual flair as well, from a haunted graveyard, to a volcanic city, to a neon flashing explodatorium where everything goes boom, and beyond. Shovel Knightworks hard to ensure you never see the same thing twice and its attention to detail in this regard is astounding.

Shovel Knight plays great whether on the big screen or on the Vita, with no problems to report in any regard. In fact, in some ways the game is better on the PS Vita thanks to a more responsive feeling D-Pad and some back-touch easter eggs.

Beyond this the only difference between this version and the one released last year on 3DS, Wii U, and PC is the boss battle with Kratos. Though the fight with Kratos was extremely exciting and one of my favorite encounters in the game, it’s hard to recommend double dipping for that sole reason, even if you do get a sweet reward for beating him.

All in all Shovel Knight is delightful, amusing, and oftentimes challenging. It’s surprisingly deep, with enough secrets and charm to warrant at least one more run through on New Game+. The game controls like a dream, is simple enough to pick up immediately, and knows just when to up the ante to make you a more skillful player over the course of its six to eight hour campaign. However, if you already own it on another platform, the PSN version of Shovel Knight may not offer enough incentive to double dip. If you’ve never played Shovel Knight before though, the PSN version is excellent, and you owe it to yourself to unearth this treasure.