Shovel Knight Critic 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.

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.

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.

Shovel Knight is my favorite game of 2014 so far, and a true testament to the power of the old-school. Whether you were weaned on an NES like I was, or don't yet know what you missed in a time before you were born, Shovel Knight is an absolute must-play.

Shovel Knight is so much more than a love letter to the genre — it is, in fact, the kind of game people write love letters about.

The game’s map is straight out of Super Mario Bros. 3. The villages you visit are right out of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. The game’s eight knight-themed bosses are a clear reference to Mega Man as are the various powers you accumulate along the way. The game’s magic system comes straight out of Castlevania 3.

A varied and charming platformer, only blighted when it lets players get a little overpowered.

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.

One of the best games of 2014 so far, and you’d be remiss to let it fly by under your radar. Even more so if you grew up in the NES era and have any sort of fond memories of the great games during that time.

Even though the 2D retro action-platformer formula is being abused these days, this one does it in such a personal and outstanding way that is a must-have for those interested in the idea.

It’s the perfect example of a passion project done right, one that realises that it is important to look back, in order to move forward.

Shovel Knight is really a unique game that appeals, without fear and full of passion, both to new players and to the old retro games lovers.

One shovelful after another of classic NES game inspired goodness.

Take a shovel. Take a knight. Sum them up. Shake with a NES cartridge. The result is probably a masterpiece.

You may imagine that it's mainly going to be a tribute to games like Mega Man, Castlevania or Duck Tales, but Shovel Knight is a unique game with its own original ideas, an incredible level design, a perfect feeling and great visual and audio that appeal to all nostalgic gamers. Out 25 years ago, it would probably be considered as a classic nowadays.

Shovel Knight is a genuine success.

It’s a melting pot of nostalgia, and the result is an amazingly well executed and polished title, which builds the mechanics of these other titles into something new.

Shovel Knight's greatest feat is disguising itself as "old school" when it's design philosophy couldn't be any further from it. While at first glance it may seem like just another 8-bit homage, the quality and polish make it so much more. Rather than a spirited look at the past, Shovel Knight instead reminds us just how far game design has come

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.

While on the surface the game is easy to dismiss as a yet another old-school platformer, Shovel Knight is anything but.