I hate insta death, I hate it so much I will never give a game that has it 5 stars. Now to the other 4 stars, does this game deserve it, in my eyes it does. 1- It was fun for me. 2- The mechanics are interesting and diferent enough that make it stand apart from other games. 3- Graphics, soundtrack and enviroment are good. 4- The gameplay is consistent and with few glitches. Didn't find a bug the whole game and I did 98% completion rate. It was worth it.
I like the fact the movement and plataforming is the result of spells like the green block and the blue bubble instead of gaining double jump or changing the way she moves though it feels a bit restictive in the begining when you have no spells it gets a lot better as you progress.
Shovel Knight is a great game, it reminds me of megaman back in my childhood. As an adult I love the game though there are some quirks with some insta death mechanics, little things that are a nuisance for me but those were mechanics that existed in megaman back then. It was worth the purchace.