Shovel Knight Reviews
I cannot recommend Shovel Knight enough. Whether you played games during the NES-era or not, Shovel Knight is both a great introduction and re-imagining of 8-bit platformers.
The game may look old, but it's got plenty to teach you! Try it and you won't regret it.
Yacht Club Games "Shovel Knight" is a testament to what gaming was in the past and what it can be today. Not only does it feature old school graphics and gameplay but they've crafted that all types of gamers can relate and enjoy their crafted masterpiece. An indie gem that should not not be missed by anyone who enjoys gaming.
Shovel Knight was fun for a while, but it didn't do enough to keep my interest the whole way through. A very good old school platformer that doesn't do enough to earn a place in modern gaming. If you're feeling particularly nostalgic, go ahead, otherwise you might want to play something a bit more ambitious.
The game also has an incredible soundtrack that is a joint effort between Manami Matsumae from Megaman fame and Jake Kauffman. Both of these have created a soundtrack that is perfect fit for the game. The fast-paced songs fit the mood perfectly and are a joy to listen in the game.
Overall, Shovel Knight is a brilliant game. Everything is does it does well and everything works. It's balanced and challenging and constantly offers up new surprises. The controls work perfectly, the levels and enemies are well designed and there's a nice chunk of humour in there as well. This probably is it for the 8-bit retro styled platformer as to beat this would really take something. We tried and tried but it simply cannot be faulted. It's just a magnificent game.
Shovel Knight is a work of true enthusiasm, dedication and love of detail that will satisfy not only those who have not tried a challenging and well-made old-school platformer for a while, but those who have been disappointed by the proliferation of soulless indies. late. Shovel Knight is an old warrior who keeps the ancient gaming traditions intact despite the times and changes, good or bad. It is true that it lacks a bit more to be truly extraordinary, perhaps it is too married to its archaic traditions and its armor is not as brilliant as it could be, but it is one of the best indie releases of this year, without a doubt. Recommended.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It's hard to find something to complain about in Shovel Knight because it does everything it sets out to do perfectly - to an impeccable standard. It just proves how community input in the form of both ideas and funding can go a long way to help make such a fantastic experience. Thanks for scratching that Mega Man itch, and for also pushing to get the game available in both Europe and Australia, Yacht Club Games! Now, for those who are still on the fence about this one: Get on the eShop and buy it!
Shovel Knight is, at the risk of repetition, brilliant, beautiful stuff. "Retro" may not be the right word to describe it. It is fun not because it evokes memories of 1989, but because it is self sufficiently excellent, here, today, in 2014. It rises to levels of technical and artistic achievement not often seen in the industry, and it has done so within a strict 8-bit structure. If Yacht Club can keep up this kind of quality and creativity, they have a long, productive future ahead of them. Here's hoping so, and here's hoping for more games as good as Shovel Knight.
Shovel Knight is yet another fantastic indie addition to the continually growing Vita catalogue. It might lack Vita-specific extras (and is therefore a pointless purchase for people who already own the game on some other platform), but for old-school retro platforming fans who might have missed out on this fantastic title so far, it's a must buy.
To put it succinctly, Shovel Knight is great. It pulls off the trick of looking and sounding like a classic game (with a few embellishments here and there) and playing like a mash-up of the best game mechanics of the time. It embraces the old-school mentality wholeheartedly but leaves some room to pick up some modern trappings for wider accessibility. Even though it sports the perfect length for a title in this genre, the large number of extras makes it a title with more than enough staying power for all gamers. Unless you absolutely must have your games made of polygons or completely hate the indie movement, you need to have Shovel Knight in your video game library.
Fun, beautiful, playable, full of secrets, work of art. So, in a nutshell, we can describe Shovel Knight. Ah! of course, Shovel Knight comes to Xbox One with spanish texts.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Very successful, unpretentious platformer in retro style. Fans of this type of games from the NES should feel like fish in the water, but it will also go to others.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A sensational platform adventure for everyone, regardless of age. Refined control, stylized binding, interesting bosses, numerous secrets... Such a thing could only be created in an independent studio. A real masterpiece from game enthusiasts.
Review in Polish | Read full review
In a word, the start of the game is equal to the start of the time machine engine. Would you like to re-live up to your memories?
Review in Persian | Read full review
The game also sings because it's never a slave to the perceived merits of tradition. It would have been all too easy to, say, shove in some little floating Shovel Knight heads, making you collect pointless extra lives for no reason other than that's how things were done back in the good old days. Yacht Club Games is smarter than that, and their game is, too.
I only made such strong comparisons because Shovel Knight is very blatantly borrowing from Mega Man and Castlevania. The formulas for those games work so perfectly well for a reason, and while I am not saying that it is wrong to try and innovate on them, Shovel Knight could have, perhaps, found a better way to do so.
Maybe you missed the great games of the 8-bit era, or maybe you're a parent who wants to subject your children to the punishment of Castlevania, Battletoads, and Mega Man that you went through. For you, I think Shovel Knight goes beyond being a polished, fun, challenging experience. It's a curation of gaming history in a package that's palatable to today's audience.
Shovel Knight perfectly encapsulates what is so great about playing modern-retro games inspired by the 8-bit era of the 1980s and early 90's without being derivative or trapped in the past.
The controls are tight; the difficulty has a fair ramping curve, there are many secrets to uncover, and the Relic sub weapons are satisfying to use. For anyone who's been dying for a game in the vein of Megaman, they should dig this retro styled gem.