Shovel Knight

A difficult, fun, and fitting tribute to a simpler time, Shovel Knight can't quite dig its way to becoming an all-time...

Shovel Knight is a fantastic retro platformer from beginning to end. If you like console-style games, you’ll dig this one.

The downward attack from DuckTales, grabbing ladders midair like Mega Man, or the weird way The Legend of Zelda II’s NPCs sprint through town. I don’t think those games are nearly as good as the games that we’re playing today, but Shovel Knight is a beautiful tribute to what was best about them.

Shovel Knight lovingly recreates the simple pleasures of 8-bit platformers and improves on them with modern ideas that make every level different and worth...

I went in expecting good things because I have a lot of respect for the talent at Yacht Club Games, most of whom got their start at WayForward; but I honestly wasn't expecting a game that feels so modern while also being a loving tribute to the medium's past (not to mention hilarious). What a wonderful and unexpected surprise.

Shovel Knight is one of the best "8-bit" video games to come along since the actual days of 8-bit systems.

We don't love the brands of our youth, we love the characters, the settings, the way actually playing those games made us feel. Shovel Knight doesn't settle for acknowledging those aspects; it includes them around every single corner. 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.

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.