Shovel Knight is an excellent throwback to the classic NES era platformers. With its charming 16-bit aesthetic, its solid gameplay, genuine love for the genre and its innovation of it, Shovel Knight is a must buy for lovers of retro games and newcomers.
Shovel Knight
Yacht Club Games
Jun 24, 2014 - PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
OpenCritic Rating
89
Top Critic Average
90%
Critics Recommend
PC Gamer
80 / 100
Game Rant
4.5 / 5
Eurogamer
7 / 10
IGN
9 / 10
Game Rant
4 / 5
Metro GameCentral
8 / 10
GamesRadar+
4.5 / 5
Game Informer
8.8 / 10
Shovel Knight Review Summary
Share This Game:
Critic Reviews for Shovel Knight
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 playing.
'Shovel Knight', from Yacht Club Games, is a well-crafted love letter to the 8-bit era of gaming, as well as being a fantastic and addictive 2D platformer.
There is gold in these old genres, and Shovel Knight is a successful dig.
Shovel Knight -- in all of its old-school glory -- is arguably the best game released so far in 2014.
The original game remains untouched and is still as challenging and addicting as ever, but consumers looking for something new won't find it here. The game's throwback sound and graphics look fantastic on the PS4 and the Xbox One, but obviously a game built around the 8-bit aesthetic doesn't benefit from a current-gen remake the way something like The Last of Us or Grand Theft Auto 5 is able to.
One of the best retro homages of recent years, that cleverly combines the best elements of older 2D games with plenty of new ideas of its own.
A varied and charming platformer, only blighted when it lets players get a little overpowered.
A captivating, breezy journey that saves the most punishing levels for last. A New Game Plus boosts the replayability factor
Industry Coverage
Shovel Knight's Showdown and King of Cards DLC Now Have a Release Date
Yacht Club Games has announced a release date for the final Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove DLC
Read more
►Available Now
82
F1 Manager 2024
Jul 23
81
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Jul 19
84
EA Sports College Football 25
Jul 19
72
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition
Jul 18
70
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
Jul 18
72
SCHiM
Jul 18
79
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus
Jul 18
80
Dungeons of Hinterberg
Jul 18
►Upcoming Releases
?
World of Goo 2
Aug 2
?
Star Wars Outlaws
Aug 30
?
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Sep 26
?
Silent Hill 2
Oct 8
?
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Oct 17
?
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Nov 7
?
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Nov 15
?
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Jan 16
►2024 Hall of Fame
94
Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-
Jun 27
93
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Feb 29
91
Balatro
Feb 20
90
Hades II
May 6
90
Tekken 8
Jan 25
90
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Jan 26
89
Animal Well
May 9
89
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Jun 14
89
1000xRESIST
May 9
88
Solium Infernum
Feb 22
88
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
May 23
88
Unicorn Overlord
Mar 8