PixlBit

I enjoyed what I played of the demo and was impressed by the variety of gameplay, but the drab industrial background wasn't my thing. I haven't listened to the podcast yet, so I don't know if that changes later on. 

Taste is a funny thing though. Yakuza 0 is probably the most fun I've had gaming all year and I can't get back into Horizon: Zero Dawn to save my life, but I completely get why Zero Dawn is ranked so highly while Yakuza 0 doesn't get on most top 10s ... it's because gaming passed me by a whole generation ago and I have yet to admit it to myself. 

I bet I would too. I never understood the appeal of having a "sandbox" without any clear goals. 

At that point, I'd rather just go for a drive in the real world. 

I hate that open-world games make me waste time getting from point a to point b, and I too need some form of story going on to care about what I'm doing. 

I feel your pain. 

It's why I honestly don't think I'd like BotW, personally. 

Yeah, the 8 bosses thing gets a bit overwhelming when you realize it saves right before all 8 and not after the one you beat. 

I just cannot get into Horizon since its release. I think I'm just too distracted with real life to enjoy something that demanding.

He does have a variety of "relics" he can use, a la Castlevania. In fact, I think the anchor weapon basically mirrors one in the original Castlevania (I forget the name of it in that game, but the idea the weapon moves up and down in a downwards-u-shaped arc is the same). The fact he uses a shovel is part of the charm of the game to me, and an excuse to introduce DuckTales mechanics, but to each his own. 

I love the look of the game as well. They definitely don't stick to the limitations of the actual NES console, so a lot of what happens really wouldn't have been doable until SNES at least, but the aesthetic is there. There are plenty of YouTube videos that go over the fact SK succeeds because it borrows where it needs to, but adds plenty of stuff to account for the fact it's technically a "modern" game.

I can't stand Plague Knight's controls, but Specter of Torment's Ninja Gaiden influences are great. 

I'm surprised people find Shovel Knight so hard. For me, it's definitely dwarfed in difficulty compared to something like Mega Man 3. I appreciate they didn't actually make it "NES hard" and I can get through it pretty easily ... unless it's New Game +. 

I'll be interested to see how LEGO Marvel turns out. 

I paid full price when it came out and just ... cannot get into it to save my life. 

None of these are Shovel Knight. 0/10

Wait, what are the other six games?