I was expecting something like megaman. Turns out Shovel Knight is better than that. It's Ducktales, Megaman, Mario World and Castlevania mixed together with a touch of latest game design in gameplay - the optional checkpoints. It got a casual feel to it, but the stage design is non the less very challenging. There's no lives, you'll respawn to the last checkpoint you activated. Dying will cause you to drop some of your gold and you'll need to retrieve it back - same like in Dark Souls series concept. Boss fights are great, each are varied. In between boss stages, you'll have some encounters - ranging from fighting other knights in the kingdom to clearing a "bonus" stage that gives you extra gold to purchase upgrades. This game is not the "old school throwback with no new ideas" attempt that has been plaguing indie developments, but Shovel Knight is rather a new take on how a game elements can be mixed and expanded.
I expected something like Binding of Isaac. I was disappointed.
I prefer turn based dungeoneering. Real time control is tedious but still fun.
