Part 1 (Sep 2023) · #35 of 35 in that tierWatch the moment (2:23:40)
Shovel Knight Dig
- Developed by
- Nitrome, Yacht Club Games
- Published by
- Yacht Club Games
$24.99
Meet new friends and foes, visit strange lands, and outfit yourself on a quest to keep the entire land from collapsing underfoot! Jump, slash, and dig your way down an ever-changing chasm of mystery in this standalone Shovel Knight adventure.
Consensus
D62.2/100
Steam players75.1% positiveMostly Positive909 reviews
Metacritic ↗81/100Users: 6.5/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈27.3K copies · ≈$499K gross
What creators say
Ranked Jun 2023 · #7 of 12 in that tierWatch the moment (0:47:25)
Ranked Apr 2023 · #2 of 30 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
What players say
A vertical, digging-focused action roguelite spin-off of Shovel Knight, made by Nitrome with Yacht Club Games, where you dig down a collapsing well chased by an ever-rising buzzsaw.
Critics received it warmly (Metacritic PC 81 from 26 reviews, Switch reportedly 85) for tight Shovel Knight platforming, charm and Jake Kaufman's music, while Steam players are more mixed (75% of ~909 reviews, Mostly Positive) and Metacritic users land at 6.5 from only 31 ratings. The recurring split is between people who love the core movement and digging feel and people who find the roguelite layer shallow, repetitive and punishing. It is a finished, supported game rather than early access: two free DLC updates (Fate and Fortune in 2023, Wicked Wishes in 2025) plus PS5/Xbox Series ports in May 2025. Third-party estimates put Steam sales in the 20-50k owner range, which is modest, and the $24.99 price draws recurring complaints.
Players love
- Tight, responsive Shovel Knight controls; digging downward at speed feels satisfying
- Procedurally generated wells still deliver handcrafted-feeling platforming challenges with hidden side rooms and Cog collectibles
- Jake Kaufman's chiptune soundtrack is widely praised, as are the art style and charm of the world and characters
- Fast, bite-sized runs that make 'one more run' easy; some players report 100+ hours
- Variety of terrain and hazards across well regions, plus Knightmare difficulty modes and armors extend replay value
- Free DLC (Fate and Fortune, Wicked Wishes) added content and quality-of-life improvements
- Critics and fans call it a worthy, polished entry that adapts the series' moveset to a new structure
Common complaints
- Tiny relic/item pool and weak synergies; runs feel very similar, and you can hold only one relic
- Item usefulness varies hugely; some relics are situational to a single enemy or region
- Enemies constantly spawn and respawn from awkward angles, with low health and rare health upgrades, so deaths can feel cheap
- Permanent progression is thin: armors carry downsides, so you rarely feel meaningfully stronger between runs
- Bosses are described by some as simplified compared to the original and beatable by spamming the shovel
- No mouse-button binding, and menu controls tied to gameplay rebinding, were called out as poor PC options
- Price ($24.99) seen as steep for the content; several reviewers recommend buying on sale
- Some reports of softlocks and unresponsive characters on Steam forums; one user reported gem-banking problems
Can feel tedious
- Repeating the same set of actions and early sections after every death feels like insane tedium to critics of the loop
- Hub-world quests and minigames seen as busywork for replayability; the multi-step true-ending quest is considered convoluted
- Unlock conditions for certain achievements and unlocks described as ridiculous
- The rising buzzsaw pressure forces rushing, which some find stressful rather than fun
- Falling past items with no chance to backtrack, or into unseen hazards, frustrates players
- Very high Knightmare difficulty (Knightmare 5 and up) is called out as infuriating by some long-time players, e.g. dying to unseen enemies right after a secret fountain
What's unique
- Vertical digging roguelite where downward movement is the core verb, inspired by Downwell, Spelunky and Dig Dug
- An unstoppable buzzsaw above forces constant downward momentum instead of letting you explore slowly
- Retains Shovel Knight's shovel drop and platforming toolkit adapted to randomized wells
- Hub camp with friendly characters, quests and unlockable areas, plus a prequel-style story set with Drill Knight and the Hexcavators
- Knightmare mode and hidden fountains/secrets add optional challenge layers
Players want
- Much larger item and modifier pool with real build synergies
- Let players equip newly unlocked upgrades for the next run instead of requiring a lucky drop
- Better permanent power progression so repeated runs feel cumulative
- Options to disable relic auto-swap, difficulty settings and more accessibility options
- Bindable mouse buttons and separate menu vs gameplay control rebinding on PC
- Clearer or less convoluted true-ending quest and less busywork in hub quests
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Action RoguelikeAction-Adventure2DRogue-likeCuteActionFunnyLinearStory RichCartoony
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Shovel Knight Dig is a platformer roguelike spin-off of the classic 2D platformer Shovel Knight. He thinks the developers did a good job with the hard problem of making platformer level design replayable. Visuals and audio are excellent, but platformers aren't his favorite genre and he struggled with the combat. Runs feel too similar and it became repetitive; he finished it twice and won't return. He places it in low B.
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