Since the last 8-bit-style game came out, Shovel Knight has been branching out more into other genres as developer and publisher Yacht Club charts a course for where its eponymous nobleman will go next. In December, we got the wonderful Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, which smartly blended falling block puzzle mechanics with roguelite game design. Now, we’re getting another roguelite in Shovel Knight Dig, only this time the gameplay is much more in line with the action-platforming of the original game. As you’d probably expect of this franchise by now, it’s an absolute blast to play; developer Nitrome (Bomb Chicken) delivers a tough, rewarding, and enjoyable new experience that series aficionados will want to dig into immediately.

Shovel Knight Dig takes place sometime before the original Shovel Knight, so Shield Knight hasn’t disappeared yet and the Enchantress has yet to rise to power and form the Order of No Quarter. Here, the main villain is a new character named Drill Knight, who has formed a group of knights called the Hexcavators to help him in raiding a treasure room buried somewhere deep within the earth. Their efforts to do so—and the enormous hole they’ve created—are creating problems for the people on the surface, so Shovel Knight and Shield Knight dive in to try to get to the bottom of what’s going on.

Obviously, the story isn’t much of a focus here, as this is a highly replayable roguelite platformer first and foremost. Even so, what’s here creates a certain amount of intrigue as you can’t help but wonder what awaits you at the bottom of the hole, and series fans will appreciate the many nods to other titles that take place later on in the Shovel Knight timeline. For example, it’s cool to see Shovel Knight and Shield Knight’s relationship played out in more than the brief flashbacks we get elsewhere in the series, and interacting with earlier incarnations of Mole Knight and Tinker Knight from before their time in the Order of No Quarter provides some cool insights into the characters. The ‘lore’ isn’t very heavy here, so franchise first-timers won’t feel like they’re missing out on much, but those who have played previous releases will appreciate seeing how this fits in.

Gameplay could be best described as what the original Shovel Knight game would look like if it was made with the design philosophy of Downwell. You play as the titular blue knight and start each run by jumping into the hole, with the goal simply being to get to the bottom as fast as possible while collecting as much as you can on the way down. Each run is divided up into biomes composed of three levels, with a final fourth level consisting of a boss fight with that area’s resident knight. Each time you fall in battle, you’re brought back to the surface and have to try it all over again. You retain some of your collected gems from each run, but otherwise lose all upgrades and inventory items that weren’t already permanent.

Suffice it to say, the difficulty is brutal, but not necessarily unfair. You don’t really have that much health to begin each run, and though this can later be expanded via shops and upgrades, healing items are typically pretty sparse. Most failures, then, aren’t because you hit a brick wall that you simply couldn’t get past, but rather they're deaths by a thousand cuts as every miscalculated jump and rough enemy encounter adds up to eventually take a final toll. You’d think the solution would be to simply take things slow and play it safe, but there is constantly a huge, invincible buzzsaw drill bearing down on you from above. Most of the time, you don’t even know it’s there, but if you’re taking too much time fooling around and trying to snap up every gem and collectable, it’ll catch up to you fast and kill you instantly.

Given this, there’s a delicious kind of tension to every minute of your run. Shovel Knight Dig certainly adheres to the ‘rich-get-richer’ philosophy where effective play is rewarded with boons that make the game even easier, while playing poorly will make things even harder for you the longer you go on. It’s in your best interests to collect as many gems as possible on your way down, as this will directly give you more ability to buy relics, upgrades, and healing items if you happen to come across a shop. Yet, if you don’t learn how to effectively prioritize which groups of gems to grab and which ones to pass on, you’ll find the saw eventually catching you. Finding that risk-reward line is a big part of the fun of Shovel Knight Dig, and you’ll find yourself slowly building a knowledge base as time goes on and you learn how to best handle the myriad situations and obstacles that may arise.

Though every level is randomly generated, we appreciated how the various stage gimmicks and enemy types here came together to give a handcrafted feel to these new biomes. Whether you’re bouncing between mushrooms, dodging between bubbles and swimming fish, or disarming bombs before they go off, there’s hardly ever a dull moment in Dig as you frantically swipe and jump your way to safety. Importantly, moment-to-moment gameplay feels extremely similar to the original Shovel Knight; you have the exact same moveset and even the physics feel quite similar. Given this, it feels like you’re always capable of overcoming the barriers before you, but not to the point that any of them are rendered trivial. Even the common mook enemies can land a tricky hit on you every now and then, and the damage you take there can mean the difference between life and death when you later fall into some spikes.

Along the way, you find ways to add to Shovel Knight’s repertoire and this is where your survival chances go up considerably. In treasure chests or at shops, for example, you can pick up Relics that give you access to new limited-use items to help even the odds. Whether it be a form of short-range teleportation, a helpful projectile attack, or a means of levitating briefly, each Relic has very clear use cases to help get you out of a bind.

Additionally, you can pick up upgrades in shops that give you either flat bumps to your health or magic stats, or helpful passive abilities like a gem magnet or a wider range to your shovel swing. If you’re diligent about collecting gems along the way, you can usually afford to buy one or two things in each shop, but you never have enough to get everything you want.

Additionally, there are three golden gears in every level, placed in obvious but slightly difficult-to-reach areas. They usually require putting yourself in more danger to pick them up, but if you collect them all, you’ll be given a choice at the end of a stage between a full health restore or a random new passive upgrade. These golden gears make a huge difference in your runs—the benefit of that full health restore cannot be overstated—but they introduce another variable to consider when you’re in the thick of things and weighing your options. We appreciated the gears’ role in the overall gameplay loop; they challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and push yourself, but the costs of doing so can be high.

Those of you who enjoy some meta progression in a roguelite will be pleased to note that there are some permanent upgrades that persist between runs. Leftover gems from a run will be tossed into your bank, and this can then be spent on things like different armor sets to tweak your playstyle or new kinds of relics that can then appear in subsequent attempts. These upgrades aren’t of the variety that will guarantee you succeed if you simply stay on the grind long enough, but they do offer up helpful tools and buffs that enhance your chance of success beyond the base kit. Perhaps most importantly, it feels like the economy here is well-handled, too; you can’t just buy out everything in a few runs like you could in Pocket Dungeon.

In terms of presentation, Shovel Knight Dig jumps the franchise from 8-bit to 16-bit and brings with it all the new fidelity you would expect. The art style feels like the natural progression of what came before, and seeing beloved characters and enemies rendered in a much more expressive and detailed style is exciting for Shovel Knight veterans. Environments are each given their own distinctive color palettes and have a lot of fun details going on in their backgrounds, whether that be slimy insect hives or wet, troupple-adorned ruins.

Meanwhile, the soundtrack blends together remixes of classic tunes and all new music to make for a catchy backdrop to all the slashing and dashing. Hearing more complicated and layered music compared to the 8-bit chiptunes of the original games is interesting, but none of it feels out of place or out of step with what’s come before. It does feel like the soundtrack is generally a little less memorable here, though this admittedly could just be a side effect of the more intense pace of the gameplay. You don’t have as much time to focus on the music when you’re fighting for your life!

If there’s one complaint that we have about Shovel Knight Dig, it’s that it can feel like it’s a little bit too short, even by roguelite standards. Our first full clear came a little less than three hours into our overall playthrough and though there are more things to unlock and try for in subsequent runs, we were still at over 50% completion for our file at this point. The content that’s here is certainly high quality and well worth your time, but it feels in many ways like this is more of a side dish than a main entrée. Those of you looking for a Dead Cells or Enter the Gungeon-style experience that could take dozens of hours to fully conquer may feel a little disappointed.

That said, there’s also quite a bit of replayability here beyond raw unlocks for those of you who are more competitive. Though there isn’t any multiplayer, you can post scores from your runs to the global leaderboard to see how you stack up, and there are also daily and weekly runs offered to keep you coming back. You can sort these leaderboards to just show people on your friends list, too, allowing you to focus on keeping your competition more local if you prefer. This leaderboard integration helps to keep subsequent runs from feeling too grindy by providing a secondary incentive, as there’s always someone out there a little better than you who you can work to overthrow.

Shovel Knight Dig is another triumphant and enjoyable entry in the popular indie knight’s growing legacy, offering up thrilling, challenging gameplay that will appeal to fans both old and new. Though it may be a little on the short side, every minute of Shovel Knight Dig positively oozes quality, whether that be the snappy action-platforming or the fresh 16-bit art style and animation. We’d give this one a high recommendation to anyone who enjoyed the original platformers or to anyone looking for a tough (but not offputtingly tough) new roguelite. Shovel Knight Dig has got it where it counts and can stand tall beside its noble predecessors.

Scoring Policy Review copy provided by Yacht Club Games

Mitch has been a fan of Nintendo ever since he got his start on the GBA in 2005. When he's not busy playing games or writing, you can find him down at his local MMA training facility learning how to punish the unrighteous.

Another one for the wish list to pick up on sale and then probably never play because I have too many games.

Shovel Knight and roguelike? Sign me up. 😃

Sounds great! I’ll be checking it out on Apple Arcade tomorrow for sure.

Might have to grab it then. Not really into the roguelike genre, but I love SK enough to take a shot at it.

@BenAV I'm glad it's not just me!

Interested to hear how short it is. I was under the impression that this game had no definitive ending and that it followed some of the format of Nitrome’s Leap Day. This is surely Apple Arcade’s biggest release in some time, even though last month’s Jetpack Joyride 2 is definitely not an irrelevant addition.

Sounds really cool! Already have a lot of games i want to buy tho, so this one is going on my wishlist.

Pretty great review, and definitely another one for my list. The closest thing I got to a (minor) complaint is the fact the game is another prequel - I'm curious to know in more detail what happened with some of those characters after the events of the original story.

Roguelikes/lites I'm usually a little wary of but this looks great. I'll pick this one up, for sure.

I want this, and Pocket Dungeon, but not without a physical release.

Love Rogue-like games...pure gameplay, replayability and challenge! I'm in

Just played the OG for the first time last week and can’t believe I hadn’t before. Looking forward to this after I blitz through the other 3!

I really don’t like rogues usually, they get too repetitive and dull far too quickly, but this looks like a good time and I do like myself some more shovel knight.

I've replayed Shovel Knight so many times at this point. I think I'll definitely get this.

So are we still waiting for a Shovel Knight 2? Or is this it? I can’t stomach roguelites/likes.

I love the snes styled shovel knight, I'm buying it for the art style alone. Also a more action oriented shovel knight? Sign me up! Been waiting a long time for this!

I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of this moreso than pocket dungeon for some shovel knight side content.

The game looks fun, but sadly I think the popularity of Shovel knight is seemingly past its peak. Almost nobody talked about Pocket dungeon and I didnt even remember this game was going to be released this month. I guess amongus guy is the new face of indie games.

I would be all over this, but a short rogue lite makes me nervous.

I like meaty rogue-likes/lites

"kinda short" is actually a selling point for me. never played any of the other shovel knight games.

@fenlix I don't know about that, pocket dungeon is a puzzle game which spun off of a platformer. I'd be hard pressed to say that a puzzle game would amass the same attention as a shovel knight platformer since that's what originally made it a success anyway.

I have truly enjoyed all of the Shovel Knight games. I look forward to playing this one; the 16-bit art style is very appealing.

Watch list till decent sale woooo

NL users: *Buys indies only on SALE

Also NL users: *Buys AAA game full price

We have to practice supporting indies at full price guys.

This game isn't quite what I thought it would be (going off the review), but I'd be willing to take a chance eventually when it goes on sale.

@Vivianeat We have to practice supporting ourselves by wasting as little money as possible. Some of us enjoy the frugal life.

Everything sounded so good until i got to the paragraph regarding length. Still will probably pick this up in the near future. Helpful review!

I really love what Apple is doing with Arcade and wish Nintendo would do something similar with its online services….sponsor some smaller devs and have them create games exclusively for Nintendo….

I'm with u on that but we have to support indies full price as well. They're as frugal as us.

I am most definitely going to get this but I absolutely hope that they eventually do a shovel knight 2 in the vein of the 1st game.

@Vivianeat haha nope, not a chance, early adopters get nothing extra for paying premium. Sales is where its at for Indies for me!

@Markiemania95 well there currently working on a another IP, Mina The Hollower so it might be a while before we get a new Shovel Knight game, seeing as they probably want to be known for making other games besides Shovel Knight

Somehow I was under the impression that this wouldn't be a roguelite. Sad times.

Also annoying how indie devs are treated like some protected minority and that some bloke on the Internet is trying to make others feel pressured to buy at full price when they'd rather wait for a price that suits them. Needs to end. We can't be held responsible for someone else entering a crowded, competitive market. I often buy at full price if I want a game at launch. Just stop the obnoxious preaching, already. Respect us as humans, and respect our ability and freedom to make our own decisions.

Shovel Knight going 16-bit sure is eye candy. Hope they make a new mainline Shovel Knight game in 16-bit too.

Might get it if it is around ten dollars. For reference, the other shovel knight games, if bought by themself, are $8.99.

Ugh...Rogue... Oh well, I'll give it a chance, since I love the original Shovel Knight.

@Vivianeat You do know the developers of said indie game set the price. They also decide if their game goes on sale. But blame the consumer for the games being cheaper than a triple AAA game.

I on the other hand, will continue to buy games at the cheapest I can find them. This goes for first party games as well.

@fenlix I think the reason nobody talked about pocket dungeon was due to how different it was. I know I associate shovel knight with platformer, not puzzle games.

I might get it but I just wish they would make a proper sequel. It’s been years! I had shovel knight on wiiu…….. it’s been that long!

I’ll buy it and probably play through a good deal of it, but god am I sick of rogue-anything.

@blindsquarel I assume they discount them due to competition, lack of buying, not meeting sales numbers, to stay relevant, and declining trend after its launch. Doesn't Nintendo take like 35% to 40% of the cut of each copy? Not only that, taxes are taken out against the developer. Indie devs would still prefer folks to buy at full price before any change. If an indie dev sets a game at $20, Nintendo takes and taxes take. They're likely left with $8 to $10. If they discount, that's the dev trying to get it into as many hands as possible creating a trend, therefore hopefully increasing sales. Losing money from the discount is just part of the sacrifice to get noticed.

@Patendo Yes sales matter for everything. The discount indies give is the sacrifice they make hoping to trend, giving them a chance at bigger sales.

@BenAV Seriously! I've discovered Stardew Valley recently, have to jump back into Cult of The Lamb, and Hell Pie.

I played the first one on the Wii U and I had a pretty fun time. That was enough shoveling action for me, although I'm happy to see another game in the series (Is it a series? Or just DLC that has come out so far?) for the fans. I'll save my money for something else.

@Patendo I still find a lot of companies over charge for Indy titles as well. On the other side of that pretty much all the major stores take 30% and most companies don't want to lose that 30%. If the stores weren't as greedy as they are you would see games being cheaper from Indies. I'm lucky because the game that I'm making with my 2 friends we're doing most of the work ourselves so a lot of the pie stays with us minus the 30% and possibly publishing fees as well depending if it's easier to go with a publisher. We figured $19.99 is more than enough.

@CharlieGirl Pocket Dungeon is great. I beat it with SK and have been going back to replay it with the other Knights you unlock. Definitely a game to play!

@fenlix Very small amount of people(me) like Puzzle Roguelike games so I bet it just didn't hit that market enough. They are probably working on a big epic Shovel Knight platformer but these games will keep us busy until it's ready.

Not a big roguelike fan but I like SK well enough. Will wishlist for a sale.

I've been hype for this game since it was announced. I'm a big platform fan, I love SK, and I especially love rogue likes. Can't wait for this to drop.

Yacht Club Games once again proving their worth. Will grab this before years end..

The graphics here look great. The older games were still lookers, but I'd like a remaster of those in this style.

I'm not a fan of Roguelikes/lites. I am a fan of Shovel Knight-- I may still consider it, but I'm on the fence for now.

Another roguelike? Groan.. it is Shovel Knight, but... :/

@BenAV "Another one for the wish list to pick up on sale and then probably never play because I have too many games."

Q1: What is something you have too much of?

A1: "video games."

Q2: What is something you desperately need more of?

A2: "video games."

@Vivianeat There is no use to arguing about this. If you aren’t okay with buying indie games at a discount then that is fine. It is your choice and you shouldn’t be judged for it. But that not judging part also goes for the people who buy indie games at a discount.

I have a confession, I never finished the original shovel knight. I played alot of it and liked what i played but other games kept pulling me away. I better get on that finally. As for dig is this the official sequel or more like a spin off?

@Truegamer79 According to the review, Dig is set before the original Shovel Knight, making it a prequel, even though the 16-bit art style makes it look better than original (similar to Star Wars episodes 1-3).

Well it looks like a game a can dig! Not a fan of rogue likes and randomly generated levels but i may give this a try.

Still not purchasable on the NA eshop

Can you play as shield knight?

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