Thankfully there are checkpoints in each level, and lives are endless provided you have enough gold to respawn.

I found myself on numerous occasions in fits of rage, cursing myself as I failed to reach a platform for the 30th time in a row, or dying when a boss has 1/2 life left, after trying for hours to defeat him. While well designed, Shovel Knight can be brutally unforgiving at times. There are also hidden music sheets to be found throughout the game which can be exchanged for large sums of gold when presented to the village bard. Each level is chock full of hidden secrets to uncover, walls to dig into, floors to drop down through, all revealing secret rooms filled with treasure and loot. Things like lightning flashing while trying to jump onto a moving platform felt familiar, but I never had that feeling that I’ve been there, done that before.

The level design is fantastic, and while it borrows ideas from games like Castlevania, Shovel Knight stands out on it’s own, feeling unique and fresh.

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