Yacht Club Games

There are no new releases today that fall under our coverage but a few titles launched over the weekend, as well as a new update for Shovel Knight, that are worth …
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Yacht Club Games, the developer behind Shovel Knight, took to the stage last night at The Game Awards to unveil the next entry in the series, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. …
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Yacht Club Games continues to support its Mega Man and Ducktales-inspired game Shovel Knight, releasing new details about DLC that centers around the Specter Knight character. The DLC will let …
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It was with “extremely heavy hearts” that Yacht Club Games announced last week that the studio would have to cancel the physical, boxed version of Shovel Knight for Xbox One. …
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It’s almost time to dig up their buried copies of Shovel Knight. The platformer’s free Plague of Shadows update will release for all platforms and regions on Thursday, September 17, …
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There was once a time we now call the “Good Old Days.” In those days, instant classics spewed forth from every developer’s spicket at such a torrid pace that there was nary an excuse to ever emerge from your parents’ basement and absorb so much as a single UV ray.

Ah yes, they were glorious, those days, weren’t they? Every game was a masterpiece of innovation and craftsmanship, and there wasn’t a single rushed sequel or licensed shovelware release in sight. Replay values were always near infinite, color palettes were consistently varied and vibrant and every single game featured stellar multiplayer and single-player modes.

There’s just one problem with the Good Old Days – they weren’t really that perfect. Certainly it was exciting to grow up during the days of gaming’s so-called Golden Age – sometime between the late ‘70s and mid ‘90s, depending on whom you ask. Everything was new and exciting back then, but not everything was necessarily better. There were good games and bad, just like today. One thing that was almost universally true, though, is that every game was much harder than modern games are. But that doesn’t mean today’s developers should rush to emulate that difficulty – at least not without providing some conceits.

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Shovel Knight was developed and published by Yacht Club Games on Xbox One. It was released on April 29, 2015 for $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

So this review is a little late. Why, you ask? Five hundred and forty-three deaths, that’s why. I played Shovel Knight for a little over 16 hours, but at times it felt like a lifetime. I cried (not kidding, but I do cry pretty easily), I screamed, I cursed at the television and I threw my controller on multiple occasions. I asked myself several times, “Who the hell would actually enjoy playing this game?” But when it was all said and done, I had my answer — me. Shovel Knight will try your patience from the start, but it will also suck you in and provide hours of quality gaming.

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The classic adventure game Shovel Knight from developer Yacht Club Games is due to release next week, according to a recent tweet from Microsoft’s Major Nelson. He first tweeted the game would …
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• The Xbox Live Family Gold pack is no longer available. Originally introduced in November 2010, the four-pack of year-long Gold memberships was a popular deal among families, allowing discounted membership as well as Family Center content management. (Via Joystiq)

• TimeGate studios, developers of Aliens: Colonial Marines and XBLA’s Section 8: Prejudice, recently underwent layoffs. Twenty-five employees were laid off. The president of the studio, Adel Chaveleh, confirmed to Polygon. “This is never easy, and we’re doing all we can to assist those developers affected.” Sources told Polygon that the layoffs were a result of the game getting many negative reviews and lack of a publishing deal.

• Starting this month,Microsoft will be selling a 320 GB media hard drive and as an added bonus, a few games will be included on the drive. Major Nelson reports that XBLA titles Ms. Splosion Man and Pinball FX (with Sorcerer’s Lair) will be included, as well as the 360 title Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The drive will be available for $129.99.

• Runner 2 is known for its flashy graphics, quick game play and fun music. Now fans can purchase music from the game with the Runner Extended Play album on Disasterpiece. The album is composed of five different tunes ranging from 30-34 seconds in length. The price starts at $1 for all five tracks, but buyers can elect to pay more as they see fit.

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