Shovel Knight Dig is a fun and short Shovel Knight adventure, if you liked the original Shovel Knight then check this out! Because, unlike the other Shovel Knight spinoffs, this entry has very similar gameplay to the original. This fact is one of the game's greatest strengths as the original Shovel Knight is awesome! But, its also one of the games greatest weaknesses, as this game does not really play much like a roguelike past the surface.
The game's main structure is sort of a mix between Downwell + Mr Driller. You dig your way down whilst fighting off enemies and occasionally entering side areas for shops/secrets. This structure added with the moveset and controls of Shovel Knight are fantastic and although the game is randomly generated the chunks of level blend together well and don't just feel like pure random nonsense. The level themes are interesting enough and the soundtrack for each one (and the entire game) is kickass, although in terms of actual gameplay they don't really shake things up THAT much.
As you progress through runs you will obtain upgrades, and whilst some of them are interesting, they feel more like cheats/mini buffs rather than items for a roguelike. They don't ever change your approach to playing the game, they simply make tiny alterations. The only exception to that is the relics, which are limited-use items and again, don't really shake things up all that much.
The plot is OK, but there is far too much dialogue within the actual run, dialogue that, to me, was not even that interesting, I understood the general gist of the plot seconds after I started playing, I really didn't need to read/skip through the same dialogue boxes over and over. The story is also pretty cut and dry, it starts, and it ends, relatively quickly too which is odd for this game being a roguelike.
And with that, we begin to see the issue with this game, the replay value is minimal. Which is quite a big deal for a roguelike. Once you've beaten the game once, there is really little incentive to keep playing after you finished 1 run, and getting to the point of beating your first run is great and will take a decent amount of time. But past that, the lack of item variety, and rather samey level generation, accompanied with a story that's already over just leads you to move on to the next game.
So in conclusion, as you're making your way to completing your first run, you'll have a blast, its just more of that original Shovel Knight goodness. But past that, as a roguelike, this game has little to offer.
The game's main structure is sort of a mix between Downwell + Mr Driller. You dig your way down whilst fighting off enemies and occasionally entering side areas for shops/secrets. This structure added with the moveset and controls of Shovel Knight are fantastic and although the game is randomly generated the chunks of level blend together well and don't just feel like pure random nonsense. The level themes are interesting enough and the soundtrack for each one (and the entire game) is kickass, although in terms of actual gameplay they don't really shake things up THAT much.
As you progress through runs you will obtain upgrades, and whilst some of them are interesting, they feel more like cheats/mini buffs rather than items for a roguelike. They don't ever change your approach to playing the game, they simply make tiny alterations. The only exception to that is the relics, which are limited-use items and again, don't really shake things up all that much.
The plot is OK, but there is far too much dialogue within the actual run, dialogue that, to me, was not even that interesting, I understood the general gist of the plot seconds after I started playing, I really didn't need to read/skip through the same dialogue boxes over and over. The story is also pretty cut and dry, it starts, and it ends, relatively quickly too which is odd for this game being a roguelike.
And with that, we begin to see the issue with this game, the replay value is minimal. Which is quite a big deal for a roguelike. Once you've beaten the game once, there is really little incentive to keep playing after you finished 1 run, and getting to the point of beating your first run is great and will take a decent amount of time. But past that, the lack of item variety, and rather samey level generation, accompanied with a story that's already over just leads you to move on to the next game.
So in conclusion, as you're making your way to completing your first run, you'll have a blast, its just more of that original Shovel Knight goodness. But past that, as a roguelike, this game has little to offer.