A meticulous study of gaming's action classics — with a generous handful of modern conveniences and a strongly self-referential tone — The Messenger is a delightful and surprising throwback that's just as difficult as some of the decades-old titles that inspired it, but a lot more fair.

Chosen by a legendary hero to carry a scroll across the demon-infested continent for a purpose that isn't immediately clear, our protagonist sprints, slices and wall-climbs his way through charmingly 8-bit areas that range from forests to mountains to hell itself and beyond.

Yet what initially seems like a straightforward '80s revival in the vein of Shovel Knight soon reveals itself to be somewhat different, as a mid-game time travel switcheroo propels the entire adventure — from visuals to sound to gameplay design — a decade into the future to more closely resemble a mid-'90s 16-bit game.

In fact The Messenger doesn't so much borrow mechanics from old games as it does examine them, break them down and subvert them. Even though it looks and feels almost identical to Ninja Gaiden at the very start, by the end it's certainly its own thing, blasting along at breakneck speed through elements of everything from Super Metroid to Contra, drawing them into revolution around it.

At a gameplay level, the messenger feels great to control, with the interesting and gravity-defying ability to "cloud-step", meaning you can earn an additional mid-air jump whenever you strike something. In practice this lets you leap, hit an enemy or lantern with your sword, then jump again to keep moving through the air. Combined with the ability to throw shurikens and a number of complementary powers you earn early on (like a squirrel suit for gliding), complicated platforming sections can be tackled by experienced players at full speed and almost entirely in the air.