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Reviews Shovel Knight Dig Reviews & Place to Share Your Impressions!

Nabbit

Heading to Lorule? Rent your equipment here!
As a big Shovel Knight fan - especially Specter of Torment and King of Cards - I've been really looking forward to Dig. Reviews dropped today and they did not disappoint:


84 average (the traditional averaged score) and 88% (the RT-style percentage-based recommend vs. not recommend ratio). I think that's super good for this type of game.

A few choice review quotes that stuck out for me:

EGM - 5/5 stars
Shovel Knight Dig isn't just a cash-in on the series' popularity. It's a game that stands on its own merits as a worthy prequel to the original. The titular hero's moveset translates perfectly to a more vertical orientation, and Nitrome's bite-sized level design makes full use of Yacht Club's well-established gameplay style. The 16-bit-style visuals and music are an absolute treat, especially for fans of the series, and the roguelike elements present a nice sense of progression and replayability. Shovel Knight Dig might not be the exact sequel that fans have been clamoring for, but it's the next best thing.

Goomba Stomp - Recommended

Perhaps no game better demonstrates the sheer scope of Yacht Club Games’ blue-armored hero than Shovel Knight Dig, a roguelike platformer that manages to carve out a place for itself amid a veritable sea of indie roguelikes. While taking many notes from previous Shovel Knight titles, Dig overflows with ingenuity and originality, becoming a starkly creative take on an often overwrought genre and a standout entry in an impressively ambitious series.

Nintendo Life - 9/10

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.

Usually in order to give some balance I'd include some negative reviews for an alternate perspective but there are no negative reviews really, just some 7-7.5/10 reviews of people who didn't love it.

Some questions to spark discussion:

Are you planning to pick up the game?

Will this be your first roguelite?

What's your previous experience been like with the Shovel Knight series? What's your favorite DLC campaign in the original game?
 
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It's in my wishlist, I was going to get it but had some emergencies this month ,so no money for games untill October. Still good to see it has depth (pun intended)
 
It's in my wishlist, I was going to get it but had some emergencies this month ,so no money for games untill October. Still good to see it has depth (pun intended)
Sorry to hear that, I hope your October shapes up to be a much better month for you!
 
I just replayed the shit outta Hades so this might be the perfect follow up..? I know nothing about this game so I’ll read some reviews! I remember really liking SK.
 
I really liked Treasure Trove but ended up skipping the puzzle game. This could be the perfect opportunity to dig back into the franchise.
 
Dig is on Apple Arcade, so I’m going to download it on my iPad. I’ve never played a Shovel Knight game before, but the previews made the game look like a ton of fun. I’m interested in giving it a shot!
 
@Nabbit thanks for the thread! I will be getting the game. I bounced hard on the puzzle game but this is a little more in line with what I want from SK.
 
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Those Yacht Club Games folks sure seem like talented people. I can't wait to see what they cook up with Mina.
They are talented but I think Nitrome did the bulk of development here, with YCG making sure it matched up to the Shovel Knight IP. Mina the Hollower does look great!
 
I'm a big fan of SteamWorld Dig and this game gives me similar vibes. Might check it out.
 
Sorry to hear that, I hope your October shapes up to be a much better month for you!
In good things happening today (after 2 earthquakes here) it turns out my car fixes were waay lower than expected (like half of it), so I'm joining the launch party!
 
In good things happening today (after 2 earthquakes here) it turns out my car fixes were waay lower than expected (like half of it), so I'm joining the launch party!
Awesome news, congrats!!! Looking forward to your impressions. Let's make this an impressions thread too!
 
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Dig is on Apple Arcade, so I’m going to download it on my iPad. I’ve never played a Shovel Knight game before, but the previews made the game look like a ton of fun. I’m interested in giving it a shot!
Same here! Surprised to hear it only has a 4 hour run time, so Apple Arcade is perfect
 
Same here! Surprised to hear it only has a 4 hour run time, so Apple Arcade is perfect
That is surprisingly short! I hadn't come across a specific runtime yet in the reviews I read but I did see one describing it as short. Guessing it takes longer to fully complete (not sure if there are collectables or how that works).
 
Helpful info about completionist options and game length from IGN's review:

It didn’t take me too long to reach the end of Shovel Knight Dig’s short, four-level excavation, with my play clock coming in at just under four hours. While there’s certainly a lot of game left in the form of achievement like-feats to accomplish, hidden armor blueprints, relics to unlock, and accessories to purchase from the shop, there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to keep going outside of satisfying that completionist’s itch.
Minor spoiler regarding post-game content:

After publish, I was made aware that there's actually a very deviously hidden ending that adds an extra level and several more hours to the total run time. It doesn't change my overall score, but it certainly does add a reason to keep playing after rolling credits for the first time.
 
Also worth mentioning it also has very good accessibility options

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Shovel: steeled

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Had a good luck for this run and manage to complete it. Overall it's very well designed and does have the quality expected from the series with great artwok and also a very good OST (speciall the last area, which IMO has the best track of the game), and I really like the different hazards the game offers in each area. Now going to work on completing the feats
 
I've got a few (very short) runs under my belt now. This game is hard! You don't have a ton of health, and there are so many enemies. And spikes. Goodness. I've made it to the first boss twice, but they took me out quickly both times. Guess I'm gonna have to get good.

Shovel Knight seems to walk very slow. Is there a run button or a dash? When you die, what does Recover mean? I thought it meant you could spend gems to continue, but it doesn't seem like that's the case.
 
I've got a few (very short) runs under my belt now. This game is hard! You don't have a ton of health, and there are so many enemies. And spikes. Goodness. I've made it to the first boss twice, but they took me out quickly both times. Guess I'm gonna have to get good.

Shovel Knight seems to walk very slow. Is there a run button or a dash? When you die, what does Recover mean? I thought it meant you could spend gems to continue, but it doesn't seem like that's the case.
There is an upgrade you can find to make him faster, but its only for the run, and after a lot of runs I think the speed its ok considering all the hazards you need to avoid,

Regarding recover, it only shows you how much money you will be able to get from that run in the next one (in the form of bags), the rest is banked in the overworld to be able to buy permanent upgradres

Regarding difficulty, also pay attention to the signs near the banners when you have to choose paths, if it has a skull it means it's a harder path (still the game sometimes throws you 2 paths with skulls lol).

Finally, use the accesibilty options, you can have more life or have a greater chance to get food drops or do more damage. It helps untill you get used to the game mechanics a lot
 
Congrats on beating it @ermitron2! How many hours would you say it took from first loading up the game to completion? Just wondering with the disparate limited info in the reviews. 🙂
 
There is an upgrade you can find to make him faster, but its only for the run, and after a lot of runs I think the speed its ok considering all the hazards you need to avoid,

Regarding recover, it only shows you how much money you will be able to get from that run in the next one (in the form of bags), the rest is banked in the overworld to be able to buy permanent upgradres

Regarding difficulty, also pay attention to the signs near the banners when you have to choose paths, if it has a skull it means it's a harder path (still the game sometimes throws you 2 paths with skulls lol).

Finally, use the accesibilty options, you can have more life or have a greater chance to get food drops or do more damage. It helps untill you get used to the game mechanics a lot
This is all very helpful, especially the bit about the signs.

I've now lost to the first boss four times. I think eventually I will break down and use some of those options to make it just a smidge easier. I don't have to prove anything to anybody! lol
 
Congrats on beating it @ermitron2! How many hours would you say it took from first loading up the game to completion? Just wondering with the disparate limited info in the reviews. 🙂
To complete my first run it took me about 2h 30 min and see the normal ending. Still have to complete the real ending and get all armors and upgrades of course. At the end it is a roguelike so it also has the option to do daily and weekly runs to post your score.

This is all very helpful, especially the bit about the signs.

I've now lost to the first boss four times. I think eventually I will break down and use some of those options to make it just a smidge easier. I don't have to prove anything to anybody! lol
Yeah, the idea it's to be enjoyable! if they put the options, use them and the game doesn't even penalize you. These are only disable if you want to post scores for the daily and weekly run.

Also once you beat the first boss, try going to the smeltworks first. In that area you can rescue the blacksmith and in the overworld he can sell you an armor that halves damage (but you find less jewels)
 
I doubled my health bar and then in the very next run made it all the way to Drill Knight's Castle 2. SO CLOSE! I had some good luck though, finding a revive and then being able to buy the beetle armor health upgrade. I think I might have been able to make it to the boss, except for the tricky part that killed me. I think you had to redirect a drill downwards to break through a metal plate. I took too long and the buzzsaw of death showed up. Oh well!

The game really is a lot of fun. I'm really enjoying it!
 
This is all very helpful, especially the bit about the signs.

I've now lost to the first boss four times. I think eventually I will break down and use some of those options to make it just a smidge easier. I don't have to prove anything to anybody! lol
Yes! For sure. This is exactly why accessibility options are so great. The 'git gud' discourse has poisoned discussion of accessibility for years and unnecessarily shamed gamers for wanting more considerate accessibility.
 
To complete my first run it took me about 2h 30 min and see the normal ending. Still have to complete the real ending and get all armors and upgrades of course. At the end it is a roguelike so it also has the option to do daily and weekly runs to post your score.

Is there a lot of diversity in the level design in terms of the procedural generation? I'm not sure if I phrased that right but I think I mean, are you still running into content that's new to you at this point?
 
Yes! For sure. This is exactly why accessibility options are so great. The 'git gud' discourse has poisoned discussion of accessibility for years and unnecessarily shamed gamers for wanting more considerate accessibility.
Totally and this is more apparent in roguelike games, like the classic "you didn't really finished it" or "cheated" the game. The fact that the game never calls you on this is awesome (which even Celeste did, even if it was in a more polite way)
Is there a lot of diversity in the level design in terms of the procedural generation? I'm not sure if I phrased that right but I think I mean, are you still running into content that's new to you at this point?

Yes, the areas are diverse and each area has it own sets of rules and hazards. Of course at one point you start to recognize some of the patterns of the rooms, but even then you have to adapt to what the game throws you, so it never feels the same. Also the randomness of the levels helps to, I'm now 3 hours in the game and still haven't fight Scrap Knigh at all
 
I think I rescued the blacksmith, but I can't reach him to talk to him. Do you have to talk to him to get him to move up to the surface?
 
I think I rescued the blacksmith, but I can't reach him to talk to him. Do you have to talk to him to get him to move up to the surface?
Yes, untill you talk to him it won't trigger the flag for him to move to the surface, so if you destroyed all the dirt floor and can't reach him you'll have to do it again.

That's rad @ermitron2. Thanks for the info. So you feel like the asking price is reasonable?
Totally, the replayability value here is very good. Also roguelikes tend to have updates with new modes or more characters, I'm really expecting them to add playable Shield knight in a future update.
 
I tried it on Apple Arcade and I really didn’t like the touch controls. The attack button defaults to down so you basically need to move at the same time to attack sideways so I had trouble with basic enemies. I guess apparently the Switch controller works but I haven’t tried it yet since it’s kind of weird to bring out that just to play on my phone lol. Some games on there are fine with touch controls but this one ain’t it sadly

I’m not sure how it compares to other roguelikes but if it’s not that long before you get your first complete run maybe it would be more worth it after a few updates, most games of this genre get new content eventually. So far there is no data for HLTB so not sure how long it takes for completionists
 
I tried it on Apple Arcade and I really didn’t like the touch controls. The attack button defaults to down so you basically need to move at the same time to attack sideways so I had trouble with basic enemies. I guess apparently the Switch controller works but I haven’t tried it yet since it’s kind of weird to bring out that just to play on my phone lol. Some games on there are fine with touch controls but this one ain’t it sadly

I’m not sure how it compares to other roguelikes but if it’s not that long before you get your first complete run maybe it would be more worth it after a few updates, most games of this genre get new content eventually. So far there is no data for HLTB so not sure how long it takes for completionists
I'm playing with an Xbox Series controller on my ipad and it's working brilliantly. I can't imagine playing this game with touch controls; it's difficult enough as it is!
 
Yes, untill you talk to him it won't trigger the flag for him to move to the surface, so if you destroyed all the dirt floor and can't reach him you'll have to do it again.


Totally, the replayability value here is very good. Also roguelikes tend to have updates with new modes or more characters, I'm really expecting them to add playable Shield knight in a future update.
Sweet, thanks! And I have a feeling it'll take a roguelite newb like me longer to get a successful run anyway 😄
 
I tried it on Apple Arcade and I really didn’t like the touch controls. The attack button defaults to down so you basically need to move at the same time to attack sideways so I had trouble with basic enemies. I guess apparently the Switch controller works but I haven’t tried it yet since it’s kind of weird to bring out that just to play on my phone lol. Some games on there are fine with touch controls but this one ain’t it sadly

I’m not sure how it compares to other roguelikes but if it’s not that long before you get your first complete run maybe it would be more worth it after a few updates, most games of this genre get new content eventually. So far there is no data for HLTB so not sure how long it takes for completionists
I’ll have to try this on my Apple TV or iPad with a game pad because I didn’t like the touch controls either. It’s a shame because it would have been convenient to play at the laundromat.
 
I’ve been playing this a good bit over the weekend, I’d say I have maybe three or four hours in it. I haven’t gotten as far as that one lucky run to level four. I’ve only seen the blacksmith the one time when I wasn’t able to reach him, and can’t seem to find him again. And I kinda wish there was a stronger sense of progression. It feels like each run gets you gems, sure, but there isn’t anything meaningful to spend them on.

I feel myself getting better at least. I still have extra health turned on, but I can reliably beat the first boss now with little trouble.
 
ok this is what I’m talking about with the redirecting drills being impossible. There is NO WAY to reach the top drill to redirect it down. This is now the fifth run in a row I’ve lost to this, and I’m getting sick of it.

 
ok this is what I’m talking about with the redirecting drills being impossible. There is NO WAY to reach the top drill to redirect it down. This is now the fifth run in a row I’ve lost to this, and I’m getting sick of it.


I see there is a block in the center where you can jump and hit the upper drill. IIRC you don't actually need to pogo on it, as long as you hit it will go down. Still have to say that's some reaaaaly bad layout, after 10 hours haven't got that one thankfully
 
I see there is a block in the center where you can jump and hit the upper drill. IIRC you don't actually need to pogo on it, as long as you hit it will go down. Still have to say that's some reaaaaly bad layout, after 10 hours haven't got that one thankfully
That doesn’t work actually! Because if you jump from that block, you get hit by the top drill and can’t redirect it. You have to hit the drill from behind, not in front, and there’s no way to reach it. I’ve run into this room every single time I’ve gotten down here, and I’m honestly thinking of dropping the game because of it. This run I had SO MUCH - spike resistance, a revive, boosted attack, the beetle health armor, everything. I was gonna clear this run. But inevitably I come to this room. It’s awful.
 
I see there is a block in the center where you can jump and hit the upper drill. IIRC you don't actually need to pogo on it, as long as you hit it will go down. Still have to say that's some reaaaaly bad layout, after 10 hours haven't got that one thankfully
@Red Monster Ok took me 20 min to get that layout, but you should be able to jump and hit the drill , the normal jump easly reaches that area. Heres a video. It doesn't matter where you hit the drill, if there in area where it's supposed to go, it will always redirect towards that area

 
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Thank you for the help @ermitron2! As it turns out, I gave up and accepted defeat there. On the next run I decided to take a ticket down to drill knight’s lair. Didn’t encounter that impossible room. And beat Drill Knight with ease. So easily that I thought there would be a second phase. Not the most satisfying way to win, but I’m watching the credits now and really that’s all I wanted! Haha
 
Thank you for the help @ermitron2! As it turns out, I gave up and accepted defeat there. On the next run I decided to take a ticket down to drill knight’s lair. Didn’t encounter that impossible room. And beat Drill Knight with ease. So easily that I thought there would be a second phase. Not the most satisfying way to win, but I’m watching the credits now and really that’s all I wanted! Haha
Congrats!

And yeah, the tickets are a good way to train in any area so you can later try a full run. I used those for Scrap Knight area as the warps keep messing my runs the first time
 


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