Shovel Knight is that rare thing: a retro-styled game that actually earns its nostalgia instead of coasting on it. The gameplay is tight, the difficulty is fair, and the whole package has real heart.

Yes, it's challenging—your kid will die a lot, especially early on. But the game teaches you to learn from failure without punishing you into oblivion. You lose some gold when you die, but you keep your progress. It's old-school hard, not modern-game manipulative.

The wholesome factor is surprisingly high. Shovel Knight is genuinely heroic—honest, helpful, determined—without being saccharine. The quest to rescue his beloved gives emotional stakes, and the humor keeps things light. The 'Code of Shovelry' is tongue-in-cheek but models real perseverance.

This is a legitimately great game that happens to be kid-appropriate, not a 'kids game' that adults tolerate. A decade later, it still holds up beautifully.