Shovel Knight Reviews

Shovel Knight is ranked in the 98th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
93 / 100
Jun 25, 2014

Shovel Knight isn't just a nostalgic act. Yes, nostalgia plays a big part in its charm, but it's an expertly crafted action-platformer that's just as enjoyable to play as Mega Man or Castlevania. Old school gamers will love Shovel Knight's retro sensibilities, but they'll also appreciate its modern touches.

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9.3 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2014

Shovel Knight works well because it knows exactly what it wants to be. The people behind it have a clear love of retro games, and that collective passion has created something great. So often we play games that try to prey on nostalgia in the cheapest ways possible, whether it's half-hearted HD remakes or blatant ripoffs. Shovel Knight is one of the few games that not only honors the past, but something we may be reminiscing about for years to come.

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IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2014

Shovel Knight -- in all of its old-school glory -- is arguably the best game released so far in 2014.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2014

Shovel Knight is the kind of game people write love letters about

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Jun 25, 2014

Many games try to use nostalgia to lure you in, but few of them are as well-made as Shovel Knight.

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Jun 25, 2014

A fun action platformer that remains incredibly frustrating by taking a few too many cues from Castlevania's jerkiest moments, Shovel Knight is satisfying and infuriating in equal measure. It's also a damn fine callback to the days of yore in a world where callbacks are a dime a dozen, and rarely this well done.

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7 / 10
Jun 25, 2014

There is gold in these old genres, and Shovel Knight is a successful dig.

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9 / 10
Jun 25, 2014

Yacht Club Games has a hit on its hands with Shovel Knight. With brilliant game design, charming presentation and a ton of content, this is a wonderful first title from the fledgling developer. It will only get better with post-release content, and if Shovel Knight becomes the hit it deserves to be, gamers will hopefully be seeing much more of Yacht Club Games — and its plucky mascot — in the coming months and years.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 25, 2014

Shovel Knight recalls, but doesn't rely on, many greats from gaming's past, but lacks the inventive spark that could have elevated it to classic territory.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2014

In a sea of throwback, nostalgia driven pixel-art platformers, Shovel Knight is a fantastic modern take on the genre, and worthy of play even for those who never owned Nintendo's grey and black box

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8.7 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

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.

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7.5 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

Shovel Knight lacks the courage to dare, but, despite this, achieves his goal and pays homage to the 8-bit era.

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Nintendo Life
Philip J Reed
Top Critic
9 / 10
Jun 26, 2014

Shovel Knight is more than just a great platformer; it's a celebration of classic gaming. Excellent controls, gorgeous graphics, an incredible soundtrack and endearing characters make the game worth playing, but top-notch level design, varied gameplay, hidden rooms, optional challenges and a deceptively rich combat system make it brilliantly memorable. The entire experience comes together so naturally that it feels more like a recently unearthed gem from the days of the NES than it does a latter-day attempt to milk nostalgia. Shovel Knight is the rarest kind of game: one that set sky-high expectations prior to release, and then managed to exceed all of them. It's a must-buy for platformer fans, and one of the most charming and satisfying experiences on the 3DS eShop to date.

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Hardcore Gamer
Dermot Creegan
Top Critic
4.5 / 5.0
Jun 26, 2014

Shovel Knight continues 2014's fantastic indie lineup, but its polish, creativity, beauty and charm might just make it the pick of the bunch. Yacht Club Games has delivered more than anyone ever could have hoped for, and created an experience that gamers young and old will thoroughly enjoy.

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ZTGD
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

If you played these classic NES games back in the day and are looking for that feeling again, you just found it. Shovel Knight is one game pretty much any gamer should not miss out on.

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Nintendo Enthusiast
Ryan C.
Top Critic
9.5 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

It seems like forever ago since I first heard of Shovel Knight and with the continuous delays, the wait was never an easy one. It\'s no secret that I\'m a massive fan for old school Mega Man, so when Shovel Knight was classified as a "melee-focused Mega Man," it instantly became my most anticipated game. I purposefully ignored all of the trailers and previews, so I could go in blind and complete the nostalgia, pretending I just picked this game up off a store shelf without knowing much about it. It\'s rare that a game can live up to the hype and rarer still when a game surpasses it. I had no idea that Shovel Knight was going to be as good as it turned out.

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GameZone
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

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.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

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.

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EGM
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2014

Shovel Knight is a pretty stellar homage to simpler times, but it's so unabashedly an homage that it never steps out of the shadows cast by the components it's built from—DuckTales, Mega Man, Simon's Quest. And while derivative doesn't necessarily mean bad—far from it in Shovel Knight's case—it certainly doesn't make it any less pandering in a lot of ways.

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8 / 10
Jun 26, 2014

Shovel Knight is everything good about a bygone era, acting as a reminder of why classic platformers were so loved... and hated.

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