Shovel Knight Reviews
Shovel Knight is a loving homage to an era we left behind long ago. The graphics, gameplay, and soundtrack are all pitch-perfect for an NES game... all you're missing is the original cartridge. Yacht Club Games has crafted an amazing experience from beginning to end.
Play Shovel Knight. It is a damn delight.
I would say it's a must play for anyone old enough to remember blowing on a cartridge, but that would be selling it short. Nostalgia certainly enhances the experience, but this is a great game for anyone.
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.
With some of the tightest controls and game mechanics I have seen in years, Shovel Knight acquires an excellence that I seldom experience in games nowadays, making this game a class act well worth the $15 price tag whether you get it on Wii U, 3DS, or Steam. With a phenomenal soundtrack to accompany the thoroughly crafted lands and lovely 8-bit visuals, there's a lot to love and help you become enthralled in this retro-style world.
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.
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.
[W]hatever version you have access to, I can't recommend Shovel Knight any higher.
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.
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 one of the best platformers I've ever played, period. As I sit here with the theme song stuck in my head, I'm realizing that Yacht Club Games has created something truly special, and it was absolutely worth the risk to start their own studio. In addition to a potential Shovel Knight 2, I can't wait to see what they have in store for us down the road.
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.
Shovel Knight is a game that looks fondly on its past but its shovel-wielding hero can easily earn a seat next to the timeless Mario or Mega Man.
Easily one of the best games of the year, Shovel Knight does the unthinkable. It maintains the style we've come to expect from the NES era of old, and yet somehow provides enough contemporary design and gameplay to make it easily fit into this generation of gaming. You'll absolutely dig it.
Shovel Knight is a game that you should buy, plain and simple. It takes what could have been a simple nostalgia trip to a new level and shows that shovelry is alive and well.
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope is an excellent game you have to play today on the Nintendo Switch. The fact that this is the 3rd version of the game I've played (with Wii U and 3DS before it) and that I'm still having fun and didn't stop until I beat the game speaks volumes to its quality. If you're new to Shovel Knight, you're in for a treat! Grab Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and you'll have plenty of content to keep you busy for a while.
Shovel Knight is a modern classic that takes the 2-D platforming genre and modernizes it. There are minor complaints here and there, but they're easily overlooked when you're having so much fun playing the game. The PlayStation 4 version runs perfectly, and since it's a cross-buy with the Vita version, it helps to make it feel well worth the $14.99 price tag. If you're a fan of Mega Man-style platformers or are looking for something that's both challenging and fair, Shovel Knight is a worthy purchase.
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.
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