Shovel Knight Review – 8-bit Classic of the 21st Century

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Shovel Knight is like a time machine – noooo, not to medieval times like the game’s fictitious setting, but to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beginning as a Kickstarter campaign, the game takes inspiration from classic games of yore (1980s) to lay the foundation for Shovel Knight’s game design, such as DuckTales’ “cane” bouncing, stage selection like Super Mario Bros. 3, stage design like Mega Man, thematic bosses like Megaman, subweapons like… well… Megaman… Megaman was a very influential game. Yet, despite this, Shovel Knight blends all these elements together so well that it still manages to come across with its own original identity. It’s not ripoff, clone, or even homage to classic platformers of the 80’s, Shovel Knight IS a classic platformer of the 80’s, it was just made in 2014, that’s all. Continue reading