Shovel Knight on 3DS, Yacht Club Games' neo-retro indie masterpiece. The shovel knight in a demanding and creative platformer adventure paying homage to NES classics. Perfect in design and unforgettable.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
Shovel Knight sets out to find his companion Shield Knight across a kingdom usurped by the Order of No Quarter in this NES-era platformer homage. Published by Yacht Club Games, released in Europe in October 2014. NES-era-inspired 2D stages, exploration with the shovel as weapon and tool, bosses for each Order knight. Multilingual version.
Shovel Knight review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
A wholehearted homage to the 8-bit era, the game reinvents its aesthetic with adorable sprites and hues richer than the old hardware once allowed. Colourful knights and varied settings overflow with personality. This retro pixel art, clever and warm, charms nostalgics and newcomers alike.
Composed by Jake Kaufman with help from Manami Matsumae, the music resurrects NES chiptune in all its glory, heroic melodies to the fore. Each theme, terribly catchy, embraces the game's retro drive and galvanises progress. This chiptune triumph, vibrant and inspired, is hailed as an instant classic.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Bouncing off enemies with the shovel, pogo-style, gives a touch of impeccable precision where every jump is felt to the pixel. The chiselled level design piles on ideas without ever betraying the player, and the difficulty stays firm but fair. An open homage to the 8-bit era, it distils its demands with a thoroughly modern comfort that does not age.
The NTSC release of Shovel Knight was distributed by Yacht Club through Nintendo of America in limited print, with the celebrated Original Soundtrack included in some pre-orders. The bare cartridge stays accessible, but the first edition with pre-order sticker and unused soundtrack code is the real collector item. Iconic status in indie game history.
Memorable bosses
A sharp tribute to the 8-bit era, this platformer lines up the Order of No Quarter, a troupe of characterful knights, each with their own theme, arena and fighting style. Learning their patterns to a tee and countering on the right beat rewards precision over force. The charisma of these antagonists and their catchy chiptune themes make for tasty, memorable duels.
Is Shovel Knight still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2014 on 3DS, Yacht Club Games' project pays a brilliant homage to the eight bit platformers of the NES golden age, while slipping in modern game design ideas. The shovel knight jumps, digs and bounces on his enemies in levels of chiselled design, backed by superb pixel art and a memorable chiptune soundtrack. The perfect balance between retro demand and accessibility, the generous content and the humour charm immediately. The avowed nostalgia leaves little room for surprise. An exemplary platformer, recommended for fans of retro and of precise platforming.
