Shovel Knight

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 449 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 324 out of 449
  2. Mixed: 60 out of 449
  3. Negative: 65 out of 449
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  1. Ginger_Avenger
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    I like this game. It succeeds at being an 8-bit tribute yet also does its own thing. There's some 8-bit platforms frustration to be had, and perhaps the game design of old need not be so faithfully reproduced, but overall I liked the experience. Music is also great.
  2. Raziel72
    Aug 7, 2022
    8
    Хороший платформер! Интересные боссы и крутые уровни к этим боссам! Игра запомнится надолго
  3. quittit1
    Jul 5, 2022
    4
    I got it but I don’t think so it doesn’t work lol lol but yeah that’s okay buddy but yeah that’s
  4. HuevoAlce
    Jun 27, 2022
    9
    Shovel Knight properly uses classic game mechanics without making it feel antiquated.
  5. leofravoline
    May 15, 2022
    0
    Outro daqueles jogos que insistem em colocar o assustador peixe demônio como um inimigo. Na vida real eu acho ele assustador o bastante, e não tenho vontade nenhuma de ver ele num jogo. Não. Parece interessante mas é injogável por eu ter fobia desse peixe.
  6. B00tador
    Dec 5, 2021
    9
    The original and greatest of the Shovel Knight games. More than a homage to the games of yesterday, this is better than these game - it's incredible.
  7. Gontrand00
    Dec 23, 2020
    9
    This is an excellent retro platform game. Great level design, controls, music is catchy, bosses are originals and the mechanics are quite nice to use. I wish there would be more levels outside of the castles, like the first level.

    The only flaw of the game for me is the f*cking recoil when you character gets hit. This was a gimmic used in the 80's but that cannot happen anymore in any    This is an excellent retro platform game. Great level design, controls, music is catchy, bosses are originals and the mechanics are quite nice to use. I wish there would be more levels outside of the castles, like the first level.

    The only flaw of the game for me is the f*cking recoil when you character gets hit. This was a gimmic used in the 80's but that cannot happen anymore in any platform game. I think it's a cheap way to add challenge and it's infuriating and unfair. If you get hit by an enemy, you normally receive 1/2 heart damage. But if this happens on a small platform (it will happen often), the recoil just push you in the pit and you die. Without a chance of recovering or anything. So then you lose your money in a pretty much unreachable place, and you can go get **** lol. So if this was patch, I would say the game is perfect. And the sad thing is that they kept that recoil for every **** games.

    Programmers, stop putting recoil in your 2D games, it's a stupid idea and it's a fake and unfair challenge. ;-)    … Expand
  8. SuperKing
    Nov 22, 2020
    9
    One of the best retro inspired games out there. Great music, controls and characters. If you like the old school megaman games you'll love this one. If you grew up with NES this game will take you back to the good old days. Worth a full price buy.
  9. Red-Eyes
    Oct 7, 2020
    10
    Absolutely **** perfect! I cannot believe a game from this generation could go straight into my Top5 side-scrolling games as fast as this one did.
    The gameplay is perfect balancing platforming and combat as one entity like bouncing on enemies to reach higher places. Each level has its own little twist in the gameplay to makes things fresh everytime: from the exploding estructure at the    Absolutely **** perfect! I cannot believe a game from this generation could go straight into my Top5 side-scrolling games as fast as this one did.
    The gameplay is perfect balancing platforming and combat as one entity like bouncing on enemies to reach higher places. Each level has its own little twist in the gameplay to makes things fresh everytime: from the exploding estructure at the Explodatorium to the bouncing jellies (yes, bouncing jellies) at the Lost City; every level is unique and you never get bored.
    The bosses are amazing and each of them has its own different m.o. to fight. And considering the game signature charm and style, chances are you'll remember those battle for a long time.
    The icing on the cake is the perfect soundtrack. it is the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a 2D game! Remember how we used to play super nes games humming the music while going right? That's how I replay this game.
    All in all this is one of my favorite games of the newer generations, if you grew up with Mario, Donkey Kong, Megaman and stuff and like a good challenge I'm pretty sure you'll find enjoyment here    … Expand
  10. Dr_Unk
    Oct 6, 2020
    10
    What a great game! Brings back memories of playing some of the classic NES games,
  11. Ruzaky
    Aug 26, 2020
    9
    Great music, gorgeous pixel art, gameplay is blast from the past.If you want platinum in this its also very challenging.
  12. Fry_Bot
    May 24, 2020
    9
    This game is amazing, the only reason it's not a 10 is cause the level Stranded Ship is extremely annoying, not that difficult, but very annoying. This games difficulty is perfect, other than Stranded Ship it is perfectly fair but still pretty hard. If you like Mega Man you will love this game. Also, Stranded Ship may suck, but levels like The Lich Yard, Explodatorium and Clockwork TowerThis game is amazing, the only reason it's not a 10 is cause the level Stranded Ship is extremely annoying, not that difficult, but very annoying. This games difficulty is perfect, other than Stranded Ship it is perfectly fair but still pretty hard. If you like Mega Man you will love this game. Also, Stranded Ship may suck, but levels like The Lich Yard, Explodatorium and Clockwork Tower completely outshine the trash that is Stranded Ship.… Expand
  13. Dragonfly44
    Apr 1, 2020
    6
    It looks absolutely fantastic, unfortunately it just isn't very fun to play. 67/100
  14. captaint
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    Cute background setting, humorous characters with hardcore level design, accompanied with authentic 8bit style music. 12 hours to complete the basic game but will definitely remember this amazing journey for a long while. Thanks so much dev for making this.
  15. Randomguy67
    Apr 28, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game has a butt code so it is one of the best games of all time.

    Ok, jokes aside this game is amazing. The game play takes big influnce from the best games of the 80's and 90's, the rocking soundtrack by Jake Kaufman, the mixture of school nostalga and new mechanics make one of the best indie games ever.

    And if you want the butt code, it's:WSWWAEAW    … Expand
  16. TatsMcGee
    Sep 8, 2018
    5
    One thing I like to do when it comes to writing these reviews is to sit back and think about the game for a little while. I actually wrote a review earlier about Shovel Knight but I chose not to post it because it was more of a rant than an actual review of the game. The reason for this is because if I had to pick a word to describe this game, I would have to say frustrating.

    I am not    One thing I like to do when it comes to writing these reviews is to sit back and think about the game for a little while. I actually wrote a review earlier about Shovel Knight but I chose not to post it because it was more of a rant than an actual review of the game. The reason for this is because if I had to pick a word to describe this game, I would have to say frustrating.

    I am not saying this is a bad game but it’s not the game that I hoped it would be. I am very picky when it comes to 2D platformers, I’m not a huge Mario or Mega Man fan. The series I always preferred growing up is the Donkey Kong Country series. The physics engine in Donkey Kong Country is different than any other 2D platformer so I often times have a hard time adjusting to new platformers.

    The developers of Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games deserve a lot of praise for this game. If you’re a fan of the Mega Man series then you will love this game. For me, those games are very punishing and hard for me to enjoy. When I would finally sit down and play this game, I could only play for an hour at a time because I would find myself getting frustrated. The problem with getting frustrated in a game like is as you get more frustrated and you end up taking more risk which causes you to die more. Then the frustration levels will continuously get higher. So if you’re like me where you find yourself getting frustrated rather easily this is may not be the game for you.

    Some of you may be wondering what was the cause of this frustration. For me, one of the biggest problems I have with platformers is I like to be constantly in motion so usually, I’m running as much as possible. So when I encounter an enemy, I like to hit it once and keep moving on. This game, you would often times have to hit an enemy multiple times before taking them down. So for me personally, I would have to stop running and then hit the enemy 5 times before they go down. I know it may not sound like a big issue but it’s taking away my favorite part of platformers.

    The other major issue is if you want to keep momentum, you need to know and memorize each map or stage. The only way to do that is by playing through the stage several times and kind of learning the ins and outs of each stage.So I often times don’t enjoy a Platformer the first time I play it. I know that may sound odd but I guess that is something I need to work on. Go in with a different mindset, instead of saying “I’m going to play this game, maybe say I’m going to learn this map”. Maybe that way, I won’t get as frustrated when I die a lot.

    I do want to mention that I did get a chance to go back and replay a stage. There was an unfortunate incident with my PlayStation where out of the blue it just crashed.It kind of sucked because I had just completed a stage and then all of a sudden, the system just shut off. This was not a gameplay issue where the game crashed this was a weird incident where my PlayStation just shut off. So when I finally replayed the level, I will admit it was much easier playing through the level again but I can’t say that it was any more enjoyable for me.

    My favorite part of the entire game was the boss battles, I just had a lot of fun fighting the bosses and devising a strategy to defeat each individual boss. I found myself wanting to get through the platforming aspect of the game to get to the “fun” part for me which were the boss battles. All the bosses were unique and required a different strategy to take them out.

    I know, I haven’t done a great explaining why I didn’t like this game and I can honestly say that I don’t know why I didn’t like it. It’s just one of those games where all the signs point to the fact that you should like this game. Its a genre you like, its well made, it reviews well but for one reason or another you just don’t like it. I think we’ve all been there when it comes to a video game.

    All in all, the game feels like it was designed for fans of the Mega Man series.Which is exactly how the game was marketed and I think that’s great because fans of that series deserve another good Mega Man game. I decided that I’m not going to rate this game because I don’t think its fair to give it a rating. I think it’s a great game that I just didn’t like.    … Expand
  17. Wineneeder
    Apr 24, 2018
    9
    An exceptional game that does retro-graphics right, everything is simple but beautiful, with interesting use of color and animation. The music is retro too and quite charming and there's plenty of it. I'm sure they were more hardware limited than I imagine, but if Cave Story is the best SNES game not on SNES, then Shovel Knight is the best NES game of 2015.

    This takes all the best    An exceptional game that does retro-graphics right, everything is simple but beautiful, with interesting use of color and animation. The music is retro too and quite charming and there's plenty of it. I'm sure they were more hardware limited than I imagine, but if Cave Story is the best SNES game not on SNES, then Shovel Knight is the best NES game of 2015.

    This takes all the best gameplay features of platformers, metroidvanias, and even modern games (dark souls-like "money" loss and retrieval, etc) and makes a wonderful experience.

    And HELLO!? There's three freaking expansions to it. I am only maybe 2 3rds done with the first, but it has been very fun and very much different from the original gameplay, even if some levels are full on reprisals. There's also even more unlocks, attacks, double jumps, triple jumps, powers, gadgets... It can be difficult to make them work together at first, but once you do, Plague Knight is a bouncy, exploding, firey bat of hell.

    9/10, not perfect for the levels being largely unchanged, though there is new content. This score may change as I finish the expansions.    … Expand
  18. actionist83
    Jan 4, 2018
    10
    As someone who grew up playing NES/SNES/Genesis games, I was blown away by Shovel Knight! Not only is this game authentically retro, but the world and gameplay is incredible! This is the greatest side scrolling platformer that I ever got my paws on. Dig in!
  19. RaFfr0
    Sep 2, 2017
    8
    Shovel Knight is a great game, maybe one of the best i've played in its genre: It has a nice story and pretty solid gameplay, if you want a game to have a fun time this is definitely worth a look.
  20. marykaymylove
    Jun 19, 2017
    10
    Shovel knight captures the essence of a side scrolling NES style game. This game is a gold mine. This is obviously the spiritual successor of megaman.
  21. badgerryan19
    Jun 19, 2017
    9
    As a person who doesn't generally play these type of games I was skeptical but was I wrong. This is one of the best puzzle platforms I've ever played. An extremely challenging game as well. What a blast.
  22. bellonman
    Apr 30, 2017
    9
    Shovel Knight takes all the good aspects of other games in the same genre and combines them all into this game. Really great gameplay and tight controls make this game fun and difficult at the same time. It also helps that this game has a killer soundtrack.
  23. MediaFreak
    Apr 25, 2017
    8
    Mostly a great game with a lot of throw back to classic nes platformers. However there's a fine line between challenging game play and trolling, and unfortunately shovel knight crosses it a few too many times, especially the later plague knight levels. Also I think the level designers seem to think the controls are better than they are, and opted for a 2 button system. This often becomesMostly a great game with a lot of throw back to classic nes platformers. However there's a fine line between challenging game play and trolling, and unfortunately shovel knight crosses it a few too many times, especially the later plague knight levels. Also I think the level designers seem to think the controls are better than they are, and opted for a 2 button system. This often becomes problematic when your mid jump and all of a sudden you character uses their special power because yor thumb leaned on down ever so slightly. A frustrating design which could easily have been resolved by mapping it a different button. Not an issue in the shovel knight campaign as you can just unequip your magic, but for some reason they dont give you the option in the plague knight campaign

    Great at times but flawed.

    Spectre knight - 7/10 - great story, fun but not challenging in the slightest
    Shovel knight - 9/10 - perfect balance of fun and challenging. Could have used 1-2 more.levels
    Plague knight - 7.5/10 - Some really tricky challenges, but dull story and let down by the controls    … Expand
  24. blopho
    Mar 23, 2017
    9
    This game is an awesome platformer in the style of 8/16bit consoles. This game is one of the few for Ps4 that deserves all the praise it gets. I'd say this and Rayman Legends are the best traditional platform games on Ps4 by far.
  25. t0mmyg
    Mar 16, 2017
    8
    A fun filled romp down memory lane. Shovel Knight takes everything great about the NES era and makes it fresh again. The music was great, classic chiptune. The gameplay was tight and the difficulty felt just right. The sprites are colourful and imaginative. A great time for anyone interested in classic platforming games, with an RPG flair to spice things up.
  26. RuffKnight
    Feb 28, 2017
    9
    If you ever played Super Mario 3 for NES, you will love this game. Only thing that's missing (on current PS4 version) is some sort of co-op or PvP aspect to this game. Although that is scheduled for the future. Also the music will make you go insane.
  27. FromKanga
    Jan 29, 2017
    10
    This is my favourite 2D platformer of all time, I loved every second of this game

    The story and characters are really simple but there is a retro charm to it, like the good old days, just defeat the villain who wants to take over the world (with a few twists). What makes this game incredible is the level design, each level is dynamic and enjoyable, there isn't a single level or moment    This is my favourite 2D platformer of all time, I loved every second of this game

    The story and characters are really simple but there is a retro charm to it, like the good old days, just defeat the villain who wants to take over the world (with a few twists).
    What makes this game incredible is the level design, each level is dynamic and enjoyable, there isn't a single level or moment that feels dull in the game.

    In conclusion, It's one of my favourite games of all time and I highly recommend it.    … Expand
  28. consolfreak1982
    Sep 29, 2016
    10
    So much has already been said about this gem of a game -
    whar I want to mention is that the boxed Version is not only including the Soundtrack as a download, it contains a colored handbook (!!!!) with artworks, hints and so on - how awesome is that? :D
    Theres not a single, NOT A SINGLE Thing about this game that is not STELLAR. Its so well made and so full of love for the Detail that    So much has already been said about this gem of a game -
    whar I want to mention is that the boxed Version is not only including the Soundtrack as a download, it contains a colored handbook (!!!!) with artworks, hints and so on - how awesome is that? :D

    Theres not a single, NOT A SINGLE Thing about this game that is not STELLAR.
    Its so well made and so full of love for the Detail that its already considered an instant classic - even in years to come.
    Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Controls - theres not a single part of the game thats not flawless and crafted with care to the finest.
    oh - and theres quite some DLC comin up still - one campaign was already released for free, and two more will come too - for free as well.. how can you make an outstanding game even better?
    On any System - this is a MUST BUY    … Expand
  29. AF1
    Sep 3, 2016
    0
    A game that pisses one of time after time with unfair and idiotic situations only to lose all your gems you have collected . What an electronic **** !
  30. Paulo-Lameiras
    Sep 1, 2016
    10
    One of the best 2D platformers i have ever played, which includes games from 8bit, 16bit, etc generations
    Beautiful pixelart visual direction, good soundtrack, addicting gameplay, diverse environments, lots of powerups and very challenging.
    Fantastic game!
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Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PS4 Game of 2015
54
#54 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
60
#60 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Impulsegamer
    Sep 25, 2015
    84
    Shovel Knight perfectly encapsulates what is so great about playing modern-retro games inspired by the 8-bit era of the 1980s and early 90’s without being derivative or trapped in the past.
    Read full review
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 30, 2015
    90
    A glorious, funny, occasionally touching and often maddening tribute to the 8-bit platformer. [July 2015, p.87]
  3. Play UK
    Jun 27, 2015
    90
    A well-written love letter to the classic games of the Eighties that blends a variety of classic platformers into a game that works regardless of any nostalgia. We dig it. [Issue#258, p.72]
See all critic reviews »