+ Platforming focused roguelite
+ No progression outside of runs other than unlockables
+ Good bosses with high number of possible different arenas for each one
+ A lot of room variety, still seeing new generations even now
+ Loads of clever design evenly spread out across each world
+ Good Soundtrack
+ Satisfying SFX
+ Gorgeous pixel art
+ Worthwhile true ending run

- Some rooms can be frustrating / boring
- Can miss cogs due to not being able to see down far enough (happened roughly 3 times in 27 hours)
- Bouncing up after every pogo on a block gets tiring fast

Also Bosses can become pushovers with certain relics (although the game challenges you to beat it without them)

One of my favourite roguelites next to Spelunky 1 & 2.

Honestly, the roguelike modifiers aren’t unique or fun enough to make runs distinct, the randomized level designs are really frustrating, collision and hit detection (especially on moving dirt in Drill Knight’s castle) is janky, and the Knightmares they recently introduced are 100% unfiltered bullshit. Despite all this, I had the game 100% complete before the recent Fate and Fortune update. I don’t think I have the patience to grind through the frustration of the new content they introduced here.

Pros:
+ the roguelike genre is a natural fit for Shovel Knight
+ most of the cast of the original returns in some form
+ look, sound, and feel are familiar to fans of the original game
+ one playthrough is quick and possible without too many meta-upgrades
+ choice between health and item after a stage offers tactical options
+ procedural level design rarely feels artificial
+ stages offer a lot of unique new challenges to overcome
+ many secrets to discover both within and outside of the dungeon

Cons:
- soft time limit feels manufactured and at odds with the exploratory design
- losing items after being hit leads to frequent moments of frustration
- some items are practically useless compared to movement upgrades
- collision and hit detection are wonky in the later stages
- meta-upgrades are exceedingly expensive
- level select signs are unexplained and unclear
- finishing a run is practically impossible without health upgrades
- most characters in town do not serve any function and have nothing to say
- the secret ending is almost impossible to discover on your own

Playtime: 6 hours with one ending discovered and only few additional armor and other upgrades found.

Magic Moment: Discovering that the owl is not what it seems.

Verdict:
A decent if somewhat unremarkable excursion into the roguelike genre for Shovel Knight and the team behind his creation. The soft time limit in the form of a deadly saw that follows you throughout the stage feels unnecessary and artifically inflates the difficulty, while the combat and bosses are fair and mostly fun to fight.

Take a lot at it if you want more Shovel Knight, but do not expect a deep roguelike action game.

On paper, this is a dream come true.
The visuals of Nitrome mixed with the world and music of Shovel Knight? Unreal.
But for some godforsaken reason, this game LOVES to play dirty and I don't mean the digging.
Enemies, some constantly spawning (sometimes right in your face), some dealing damage offscreen from above or so fast that you couldn't possibly react.
A lot of items in the game are worthless, a couple making the run harder, which is just ridiculous.
The requirements for the true ending are insane and incredibly easy to miss simply because the game is random. Not to mention unfair hitboxes.
Previous Shovel Knight entries feel like a grand, fun adventure. This, however, feels more like getting punched in the balls, getting sand in the eyes, or slapped in the face, constantly.
It knows how to introduce secrets right, but unfortunately, that's it.
Disappointing!

I was really looking forward to this as my first entry to Shovel Knight games. What I got is a typical rogue like, the type I DON’T like. There is no meaningful progression you can bring with you after dying. You can only buy the chance to encounter certain items based on the short time I played. I read that you can also unlock shortcuts eventually. There are other upgrades but they reset after dying. This is a big red flag but there is more that didn’t jive with me.

The controls/gameplay didn’t feel right. It’s hard to explain how but there is a chance this could improve the more you play. However, I can already tell that the levels and enemies are not great. There are some cheap sections right at the start, there are enemies that keep respawning, there is a drill that follows you if you stay too long in one spot etc. It doesn’t feel like a good gradual introduction to the game and its challenge.

There might be a great game hidden here but I’m not sticking around to find out. I can already imagine the repetitiveness and frustration that will show up and that’s never a good thing when you barely played the game.

Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIO1SbvACKk

Shovel Knight Dig is a decent game, but it lacks that juicy hook that keeps me coming back to roguelikes. Listen, I know there’s a difference between roguelikes and roguelites but I just don’t care. They’re all roguelikes to me. Now, what I love about this genre is how it feels like you’re always making progress, even when you’re not.

Dig don’t do dat doe.

Instead, you barely get any upgrades as you ram your head in to the wall over and over. Or, in this case; in to bed of spikes. I don’t say this very often, but I think this game is too hard. At the very least, it’s difficult in the wrong ways. It just wants you to keep trying but not really have much more of a chance the next time around. Sure, you vaguely pick up on a pattern of that one enemy that keeps taking you out, but that’s 25 minutes in to the run and you might forget your new strategy by the time you attempt revenge. Also, I feel like I never just get hit once. The majority of damage I took in this game was due to me getting hit by one thing in to another thing, and then potentially in to ANOTHER thing.

Your moveset is very lackluster. It’s just not that fun to use. Even the “upgrades” you get to enhance your shovel feel weak and mostly useless. I wasn’t ever excited to get to a shop and see how I could improve my kit. The only reason I was ever happy to see a shop was so that I could heal myself.

On a positive note, the music is great. I had it stuck in my head for a couple weeks. The pixel art is lovely and I didn’t have any issues with how it performed. The boss fights are pretty fun, until you have to repeat them over and over. This really highlights your limited moveset. There isn’t much opportunity to try to take down the bosses (or any enemies for that matter) in more than 1 or 2 ways.

Going in, I thought I’d have a great time. I liked Shovel Knight a lot and I LOVE roguelikes. I just don’t think they did it justice. It’s a solid game. If you like what you see, you might enjoy it. It’s pretty much exactly what it looks like. If you can handle repetitive punishment minus the usually satisfying payoff that roguelikes provide… try it out. You may appreciate it more than I did.

(Logging ratings from glitchwave.com)

is it fair to think less of a game because getting the true ending is aggravating and you get sick of playing the game due to the tedious conditions required to achieve it?

yeah

Game is fine with beautiful graphics, really good control and thoughtful attention to detail. But really flounders with progression and gets repetitive quickly. My favorite thing about roguelikes is making insane builds and skillfully using that to complete the game, but in this game there isn't any item you pick up that feels particularly broken when you combine it. Everything feels pretty weak actually. Couple that with complete lack of progression other than buying your way to the later levels. It can feel like throwing yourself at a brick wall constantly to beat the game.

Man did I enjoy the original Shovel Knight collection, and seeing that there was a mobile Rouge-like version I downloaded it imminently. Overall this is a fun Rouge-like package that includes a bunch of fun secrets, a solid core gameplay loop and a few post game challenges and achievements that will keep me coming back to it even after finishing the main run. I do find it a little lacking, while everything that's here is fantastic and should be played, it left me wanting a little more. Once the few upgrades are unlocked, your treasure becomes a little useless. Overall a good game leaving you wanting more isn't a terrible thing.

I really love Shovel Knight! The charisma of the series is enormous! and Shovel knight Dig is charismatic is a challenging and difficult roguelike! There are points in the game that are very frustrating, I know it's a Roguelike but it was frustrating at a certain point in the game to lose progress and do everything from scratch, it's addictive to have these adventures and try again the original game remains my favorite but the experience was very fun with Shovel knight Dig, the game will receive DLC and also has an alternative ending.

Unfortunately, playing this one made me think of better games that I would rather be playing. Well, one is a set of games: the Treasure Trove games. I could be playing any one of those and doing a challenge run in which I destroy every checkpoint. That would have the same effect of resetting my progress with each death, but I would benefit from well-crafted levels and more precise controls. Similarly, I think there's some clear inspiration from Downwell in here, but without the momentum and deceptive simplicity. Those are good ingredients, but they don't come together in Shovel Knight Dig. Ultimately, I don't think that procedural generation and Shovel Knight go all that well together.