After a long long wait Yacht Club Games' titular hero Shovel Knight returns to the PS5 to brave and best a new roguelike experience known as Shovel Knight Dig. It seems while slumbering at camp with loot in hand Shovel Knight is robbed by a villain into drillin'. This drill handed and headed foe not only steals Shovel Knight's precious bounty, but takes it deep down into the Earth with him. As Shovel Knight this crime won't stand unpunished. Thus with shovel in hand you follow intently after the thief into the depths below fighting off fiends as you gather the scattered leftovers of the stash that was taken from you.
Shovel Knight Dig changes the Metroidvania style formula we've all grown accustom to as seasoned Shovel Knight players in this spin-off release. In it's stead is a procedurally generated series of five biomes with five stages each that require you to outpace a large buzzsaw further and further down while looting gems, collecting relics, and beating both bosses and enemies alike. All while avoiding damage dealing hazards of different sorts.
As Shovel Knight you'll find that you have equipment to equip this time around to aid you in this excavation. This includes shovel upgrades, armor, an accessory, and upgrades. Each with their added benefits. That and a limited amount of health points will be what keeps you from having to repeat a run, forever. Like most roguelikes though most of what you collect and pickup along each run will be forfeit if and when you die. The only way to circumvent the penalty to currency or gems, in this situation, is to take the randomly appearing Doggo NPC's journey offer and head back to the surface to bank your loot gathered so far so that you have it all instead of losing some in death. Currency or gems being the means in which more features open up to you in-game.
Runs in Shovel Knight Dig are procedurally generated, as previously mentioned, with different branching paths at the end of each of the five biome's five stages. Along the way if you collect three golden gears you can choose a full health refill or a random relic that acts as an assisting weapon/perk before digging down deeper into the next stage via one of two paths. Paths each showcase their risks and rewards via images letting you know what you'll be up against in each route. Sometimes there's shop and vendor opportunities along the way as well to help you pad out your inventory. Such luxuries come at a price, and are random. Supposing you make it to the fifth stage's ending you will face off against that biome's boss character. This then leads to the next environmentally themed biome, and it's set of five stages and boss fight. This repeats five times until you get to the big bad drill dude himself, and take back the rest of what is rightfully yours.
While all of this details the core gameplay loop you will find that the game is much larger than just a simple run based roguelike. You will find leaderboards that house overall player progress as well as a daily and weekly run leaderboard that you can attempt for bragging rights. This extends replay value tremendously. Alongside the quest for bragging rights the game also features a variety of different surface level NPC quests that will serve to further unlock more permanent features. Most quests deal with mini-games while some require you to find things on outings. The rest of the permanent unlocks comes from the vendors that appear more and more as you progress. And the more you play the more lively the world of Shovel Knight will become.
Gameplay aside, Shovel Knight Dig for the PS5 comes complete with accessibility options. The catch being that if you scale up health or damage output among other stat/effect based sliders you will not be allowed to unlock some of the game's features. The game itself can feel a bit unforgiving, especially early on, but the more you grind the more features are unlocked making your efforts not so uphill.
The Presentation ...
Shovel Knight Dig looks and plays a lot like the previous Shovel Knight games, but with a digging focus. It features sectional mazes of materials to dig through and plenty of hazards lying in wait as you try to loot the underground for all it's worth. Visually, it's a vibrant and colorful fantasy world with slightly improved graphics compared to the original releases. The character sprite work is really impressive, and the pixel art equally as so. That, and the fantasy themed classically inspired instrumental soundtrack complete what amounts to a proper AA indie experience.
The Verdict ...
I have absolutely enjoyed my time with Shovel Knight Dig. I can see it being one of the roguelikes I return to regularly for the leaderboard rankings. The fact that it has daily and weekly runs extends the replay value greatly. Not to mention the fact that the core gameplay loop is truly addictive. It is a must buy and must own for Shovel Knight fans, and fans of roguelikes, in general!
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