As a new rogue-lite approach to Shovel Knight, Dig introduces a lot of cool changes accompanied by some subtle tweaks, which I think ends up making a pretty awesome spin-off.

The emphasis on vertical scrolling and a more intricate digging mechanic, lead to consistently great platforming and hidden secrets, even when parts of the level design are randomized. The core gameplay with Shovel Knight feels just as good as before, possibly even better at times.

Dig is a lot more difficult compared to the original game, definitely to facilitate aspects of replayability and upgrading, but it's still important to mention how much more densely packed the enemies are and how much faster the game's pace is. Throughout runs, the temporary buffs you receive are not created equally, but they can generally give you an edge in a run.

The gripes I have with Dig come down to the short length, as well as the balance of some bosses and randomization. This game is ultimately not very long, though it can be replayable due to its difficulty and eventual planned DLC. What items you get, mid-game stages, and level layouts are, of course, random like in a roguelike. Some aspects of balance between upgrades and choices felt off to me personally. My experience starting at the last area via warp and beating the final boss, felt much easier compared to my previous attempt getting up there with similar upgrades.

Even though an actual successful run through this game from start to finish can be only about 30 IGT minutes, I believe Yacht Club and Nitrome did an excellent job making this game really challenging to master and just as enduring to replay.

Reviewed on Sep 24, 2022


Comments