We hit alpha this week! Wooo! While this is exciting news for us, lots of people were left scratching their heads… what exactly is an Alpha, you ask?

That answer changes a lot depending on the studio, but for us it means we have first pass completion of all content in the game. All features are implemented. All levels are playable. All bosses are fightable. All items are gettable! Everything is there. You can play the entire game from front to back. It’s all real!

The next step is heading towards beta. For us, beta means we will have all of that content finished, and the only outstanding issues in the game will be fixing small bugs and issues that remain. In the remaining weeks, our time will be spent doing playthroughs, playtesting, balance, iteration, polish, dialog, localization, testing, certification…exciting stuff. The polish that happens now is one of the most important phases of development!

And if you’re wondering why it took so long, let’s just say the game got a lot bigger than we originally intended, and we think everyone will be happy with that! To celebrate this achievement we have created a new trailer!  Jake even created a new track for it.  Check it out!

Check out this page for higher quality music and video!

What do you think?  Pretty exciting, huh!  And what’s that?  Did we announce a release date….I think I saw something about March in there.  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Learn more information about Shovel Knight, and view the original trailer, here.  Pre-order the game for PC below:

And if you want as much Shovel Knight as possible, preorder the deluxe version of the game which comes with a digital manual and art book!