What an absolute banger! Shovel Knight breaks free from the constraints of its genre influences, offering surprisingly little in the way of artificial difficulty or unfair game design. The pacing of the game is spot-on and the level design is honestly flawless.

The character writing and world-building in Shovel Knight are surprisingly compelling for a platformer game. While still simple, there's always something fun about a knight with a shovel going on a perilous journey to reunite with his long lost love. It's an all-around enjoyable experience and undoubtedly ranks with the great platformer hits of old.