Review of Shovel Knight Dig: An intriguing new experience

Our Verdict

A charming spin on the original’s gameplay, Shovel Knight Dig feels great to play, and the presentation around it is absolutely stellar. Sadly, the rogue-like elements aren’t well-balanced or interesting enough to reward many subsequent runs with little additional content to dig into, so while it’s a blast to play and complete, I doubt fans will be sticking around for long after the credits.

It's hard to think that more than eight years have passed since everyone's favorite dazzling hero in sparkling armor walked into the scene and then swiftly used his shovel to bounce on the skull of an opponent. Since entering the market in 2014, Shovel Knight seems to be becoming stronger every day.

The knight has made guest appearances in a number of other independent games. Shovel Knight Treasure Trove now offers four unique campaigns with fresh playable characters and movesets. Yacht Club and Nitrome collaborated to create Shovel Knight Dig, an exciting rogue-like spin on the knight's signature old school platforming, following the release of Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon last year.

If you've played the original Shovel Knight, you may be familiar with the hero's special attacks, his shovel-based digging skill, and his ability to bounce himself downhill during his shovel attack. Dig transforms the original game into a vertical journey through many randomly generated locations while keeping a lot of the elements that made the original game enjoyable. Heading straight down is the only way to go up the ranks.

You should know quite well what to anticipate if you've played the original Shovel Knight and rogue-likes. In the adventure that descends, Shovel Knight must pursue Drill Knight, a new foe who assaults his camp, grabs his riches, and then flees into the earth's center. Shovel Knight follows him into the hole, where he must search for the several bosses positioned between him and the Drill Knight while collecting wealth that has been dispersed across each level.

Even if it often seems like we've had a little too much Shovel Knight lately, Shovel Knight Dig shows that this well hasn't exactly run dry yet, and a big part of that is because of the dependably fantastic platforming. With a precise moveset and a formidable task requiring extreme skill, the original Shovel Knight feels almost flawless to operate.

Even while Shovel Knight Dig may not be as difficult as its predecessor, it still proves that gameplay is the main attraction since it's really rewarding to just dig through the game's several stages, bounce off of adversaries, and bash gold with a shovel. You never know what's going to happen in this procedurally generated game, but it doesn't make a minute of gameplay less enjoyable. Dig, on the other hand, requires you to pay more attention to your reflexes than to your platforming technique since it's possible to overlook certain crucial details during your rapid drop.

The objective of the game is to collect the riches and descend to the bottom, but on the way, a number of merchants will emerge in side chambers (quite similar to Downwell) and will be willing to charge you for food, relics, or other stuff. In the meanwhile, there are three golden gears in each of the three levels that comprise a region. When you finish the level, collecting all three unlocks a prize that lets you choose between food to recover your health or an additional item, perhaps a relic to increase the amount of moves you currently have.

Shovel Knight can dig through the soil of each level sideways and downwards, but he is unable to dig up here, therefore whatever you miss will be lost forever. The Omega Saw is another, a massive screen-filling drill that materializes if you linger in any one spot for an extended period of time. After a short while of dawdling, this enormous machine approaches; one touch eliminates Shovel Knight and puts an end to your run. Although it creates a wonderful feeling of urgency, there are moments when the pace and the accuracy of the platforming are out of sync, which may lead to frustration when you miss something crucial and are unable to go back.

The rogue-like aspects truly shine here, as the complexity of your run is mostly determined by the relics you locate, the food items you come across, and the kinds of randomly generated stages you go through. You now have a choice between two regions to go after finishing a level successfully, with a little message indicating what to anticipate. In addition to allowing you to choose which of the several biomes to explore, the signs also provide you a brief visual cue that often indicates an obstacle type or a potential vendor (for food, relics, accessories, etc.). Sometimes the better choice is even locked behind a padlock, so in order to even access the better of the two possibilities for the following section, you must locate a key within the level and manage to carry it to the finish without losing it.

Unfortunately, most of the relics you uncover seem quite little, and you encounter them so seldom that even when you do manage to locate one, it feels more instinctive to stay with Shovel Knight's usual techniques. Every run doesn't begin with a relic. You never have enough time with these extra weapons to really develop a feel for them; instead, you just have to hope that you locate one on your quest. Even then, it's rather random whatever relics or dealers you come across.

During boss battles, the flaming wand and throwing trowel's ranged assaults are useful, but in the main levels, you're going through the stages too rapidly to actually require a weapon other than your reliable shovel. Though unusual things like the war horn sometimes come in useful with their huge blast area that readily clears space and allows you valuable time to plan your next move, close-range weaponry like the morph lance seem particularly repetitive.

In the end, however, a lot of the platforming is so difficult that I was reluctant to try anything other than the standard move set. A propeller or a bubble that may be used as a shield are two examples of relics that provide extra platforming skills, while other relics, like a massive lance that pierces through walls, are weapons. However, it merely seems out of step with the player's desires for difficulty and urgency in the level design, and even in boss battles, when they make more sense, they hardly ever seem more useful than a regular shovel.

This takes us to still another problem. Similar to several rogue-like games, Shovel Knight Dig resets your progress upon death. With just four regions to explore before facing the final battle, the game's replay ability is mostly derived from the items you may get outside of the main story. After every run, you get to retain a sizable portion of your treasure, which you may spend to purchase new armor, relics, or unique keys that open even more relics across the levels.

However, although new armor sets seem like a reasonable investment, the actual relics are much less so and don't provide much of a reason to keep going down the mines in search of additional wealth. Every time I discover or acquire a new weapon in Dead Cells, I get excited since each one has a distinct control scheme yet still feels rewarding and unique. But again, all you really need is the basic gameplay.

A few tweaks, like as adding some more damage to your downward punch or allowing you to halt in midair when you swipe sideways, are certainly appreciated, but they don't alter or enhance the gameplay enough to prevent the game from becoming boring after a few hours. You may participate in daily and weekly challenges from the campground to advance on the worldwide leaderboards if you do want to get more out of the standard gameplay. Though ultimately it's more of the same, it's a wonderful addition.

As previously said, there are only four stages and a handful of monsters in this brief campaign that stand between you and the opponent, Drill Knight. When presented with an option between two levels after a monster, you may choose between other worlds such as the Smeltworks or the Secret Fountain, thus you could not always wind up in the same places. But getting to Drill Knight's castle only ever requires completing the four stages. In addition, you may buy and unlock shortcuts to each location, so if you have a little more cash, you can skip the bother of traveling there and just enter the Smeltworks.

Since you won't have to go back to the Mushroom Mines (the initial level) as much as you'd otherwise lose your head, I truly like being able to delve into certain sections. As a matter of fact, Shovel Knight Dig offers an amazing array of accessibility settings that let you customize elements such as your starting hand quantity, enemy damage, and the frequency of food and treasure drops. I feel that the regular difficulty is effective for me, but if you are having trouble, there are many options to adjust the experience until you find a rhythm that suits you.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more experiences available. The controls of the game are excellent, and even if I wish the relics and accessories had more of an impact, I still like plunging in and scything through a number of adversaries while collecting wealth for my pockets. The game looks and plays fantastic, and Nitrome and Yacht Club did a tremendous job capturing the essence of Shovel Knight. However, I don't believe they created a particularly outstanding rogue-like to cap it all off.

And now, for the fun part. Creator Nitrome is regarded as a master of pixel graphics, and Shovel Knight seems to be in better shape than before. Some of the greatest pixel art on the Switch can be found here; it's colorful, expressive, and bursting with personality in every little detail and movement. The gorgeous visuals of the explorable hamlet and the several levels you encounter on your deep plunge on the Switch OLED have really amazed me. Flowing lava fills the screen, and many of the adversaries have charming and amazing designs.

To no one's surprise, Jake Kaufman has also composed yet another amazing music, which livens up every moment of gaming with a lively and upbeat touch. Much of the themes and sounds from the original game are still there in these songs, but they also have an added dash of manic energy that goes well with the faster-paced action. The Marble Garden Zone from Sonic 3 seems to have influenced the Secret Fountain region, as Kaufman employs a similar moaning lead synth noise over the throbbing electronic chords that made me grin a lot.

Similar to this, even while I have complaints about how rogue-like components like relics and accessories are handled, I'm still rather pleased with how fulfilling the main gameplay is, particularly the several exciting boss fights. Favorites like Mole Knight make a surprising comeback, while new characters like Drill Knight leave a lasting impression with their formidable combat and solid design. The engaging characters and razor-sharp prose are two more reasons why I really loved my experience even after all these years.

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Overall, Shovel Knight Dig is an amazing game that plays, looks, and sounds like a dream. I had a fantastic time with it. Unfortunately, this dig is merely a rather shallow adventure that doesn't counterbalance its rogue-like aspects enough to encourage players to try new things and come back for more money. Playing Shovel Knight Dig is a lot of fun, and here is where the blue knight himself could be at his peak. Although there's still a ton of fun to be had, you should plan on finishing soon and finding little incentive to come back and try out more runs.

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