Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is what you cool kids would call a “Classicvania.” There are 21 linear stages to spear your way through, stiff movements and controls that reek of NES design philosophy, knockbacks (if you so wish), annoying enemy patterns, tough level design, and of course, sub-weapons and screen-clearing power-ups.

Let me start by saying that if you were expecting Lovish to be more of Astalon: Tears of the Earth, you’ll be very disappointed. This is a very basic NES-style action game through and through, putting players in control of a young knight named Sir Solomon, who is completely enamored by young princess Tsuna, who has of course been captured by evil forces, completing the classic trope of a knight needing to rescue the damsel in distress.