The Best Nintendo Game Every Year 1983 - 2024
11. 2014 - Shovel Knight
Most people forget that in terms of exclusives, Shovel Knight dropped onto the Wii U the same day that it made its PC debut - 10 months ahead of any other console.
Very rarely do indie games blow up to the point of consideration for Game of the Year but Shovel Knight was such a moreish package. What made Shovel Knight so brilliant was that it wasn’t ripping a specific 80s classic off wholesale. Instead, it was an amalgamation of several of the games at the top of this list and their contemporaries: Mega Man, Castlevania, Zelda II, Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros 3.
This attracted older fans who connected with familiar elements but found something fresh, which was also something that appealed to younger gamers. They might not have the touchstones of the NES games, but certainly recognised the level of challenge and the mechanic of dropping currency and having to reclaim it or risk losing it forever from the likes of Dark Souls.
The final part of this ingenious recipe was wholly unique mechanics, such as being able to smash your own checkpoints for treasure at the risk of replaying more of a stage.
Whilst many were beginning to stumble on the slippery slope of microtransactions, long installs and bloated open worlds; Shovel Knight was a reminder that video games are just supposed to feel good to play.