Shovel Knight Dig APK (Unlocked FULL GAME)

Shovel Knight Dig sends the blue knight straight down a shifting well after Drill Knight steals his loot bag, and a giant drill grinds after him the whole way. New diggers who keep dying in the opening mine get a clear spending order for their gems, so every trip to the Surface moves them closer to Drill Knight’s castle. The biggest early gain comes from grabbing all three Golden Cogs in a stage, because the machine at the exit then trades them for a full heal or a free Accessory.

How to Play Shovel Knight Dig: The Downward Run Explained

Shovel Knight Dig is a roguelite platformer where you dig downward through a well built from handcrafted chunks that shuffle on every run. You bounce on foes with the Shovel Drop, carve dirt with the Speed Shovel, grab gems, and reach each exit before a giant drill from above catches you.

Nitrome and Yacht Club Games built the game together. Both teams named Downwell, Spelunky, and Dig Dug as early inspirations. It launched on September 23, 2022, as a prequel to the original Shovel Knight, so the story fills in events before the knight’s famous quest.

Each run ends in one of two ways: you clear the final layer or you fall. Either way, the gems you carry home still buy upgrades at the Surface camp. Even a bad dive counts.

How the Shovel Drop and Speed Shovel Dig Slash Work

The Shovel Drop fires on its own whenever you fall, so you never press a button to pogo. Land it on an enemy, a jar, or a bubble and you bounce back up. That bounce is your main defense, since most foes hurt you from the side but rarely from above.

The dig slash handles everything else. Swing down or sideways into dirt, and the knight moves into the gap as he carves it. In my runs, the real trick was planning the path before swinging, because a careless tunnel can seal a gem pocket off to the side. You can still jump and dig sideways out of a shaft, but it costs time you rarely have.

Drill Knight, the Hexcavators, and the Stolen Loot Bag

The story opens with Shovel Knight asleep beside his bag of treasure. Drill Knight bursts up through the campsite with his Rocket Drill, grabs the bag, and tunnels back into the earth. The bag holds the last gemstone, so this is more than a simple theft.

Drill Knight leads a digging crew called the Hexcavators, and each member guards a layer of the well. Shield Knight joins the chase, and the pair soon realize the giant hole threatens the whole valley. However, the tone stays light, with jokes, chatty villains, and a Jake Kaufman soundtrack that keeps every layer upbeat.

Shovel Knight Dig Compared to Downwell and Dead Cells

On phones, the closest match is Downwell, which also drops you down a vertical shaft while you stomp foes and grab treasure. Critics compare the two often. Yet this game adds digging, so you shape your own route instead of only falling through a fixed one.

Dead Cells is the other mobile action game most players weigh it against. It leans on weapon builds and long biomes, while this one keeps runs short and puts the focus on route choices and timing. If Downwell feels too thin and Dead Cells feels too heavy, this sits right between them.

Apple Arcade Version vs Switch, Steam, and Console Versions

The only official mobile version lives on Apple Arcade, where it runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV at no extra charge for subscribers. On Nintendo Switch and Steam, it sells for $24.99 as a one-time purchase. A PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S release followed on May 15, 2025.

Touch input works because the knight only needs left, right, jump, and a swing. Even so, a controller still feels tighter during a tough boss fight. Every version shares the same content, including the free Wicked Wishes expansion, so the real choice comes down to the device you already own.

What the Giant Drill and Well Hazards Do in Each Stage

A giant drill grinds down from the top of every stage in Shovel Knight Dig, which forces players to keep moving toward the exit. It stays off screen for a while. Then the rumble starts, and the screen begins to shake.

That pressure shapes every choice in the well. Gems, cogs, and side rooms all sit off the fastest path, so each detour trades safety for loot. Meanwhile, the hazards inside the dirt punish anyone who digs without looking first.

Most deaths come from three sources: the drill, instant-kill traps, and greedy digging into enemy nests. The reward for surviving that mix waits at the bottom of each stage, inside a machine that pays out only for careful players.

The Giant Drill That Chases You Down the Well

Think of the drill as a soft timer with no number on it. You never see a countdown. Instead, you hear it grinding closer, and the shaking screen tells you to hurry.

In my runs, the safest rhythm was to clear one screen of loot, then dig down hard for a screen before slowing again. Stopping to fight every Beeto or Boneclang lets the drill close the gap fast. If it catches you, it chips away health you will want at the next boss.

Spikes, the Omega Saw, and Floating Mushroom Shrinks

Spikes kill the knight on contact no matter how much health he has. The Omega Saw works the same way, so a full health bar offers zero protection near either one. Read the dirt around a gem cluster before you dig into it, because spikes often line the bottom of tempting pockets.

Floating mushrooms do something stranger. Touch one, and you shrink into a tiny knight who fits through small tunnels. That shrink sounds like a trap, but it opens hidden paths, including one that holds an armor template.

What the Drill Machine Gives for Three Golden Cogs

Every stage hides three Golden Cogs, and each one usually sits behind a tricky jump, an enemy nest, or a timed dig. Grab all three and the Drill Machine at the exit opens up. It then offers a choice between a Turkey that fully refills your health or a random Accessory.

Missing even one cog keeps the machine shut. That makes the cogs the most valuable pickup in a stage, worth more than any gem pile. On rare occasions the machine also drops a relic you have already earned, which is a nice bonus later on.

How to Unlock Relics With Relic Keys and Relic Doors

Players unlock Relics in Shovel Knight Dig by buying a Relic Key from Hoofman at the Surface and carrying it to a Relic Door inside the well. Behind the door sits a challenge stage, and clearing it adds that Relic to the item pool for every future run.

Relics are active items, like the Gusteo Wand or the Shadow Locket. Each one has a limited number of uses per run. Keys count as follow items, so a key trails behind the knight until you reach a door.

A key only pays off if you find a door before the run ends. For that reason, carry it carefully and avoid crowded rooms. The payoff then lasts across every dive that follows, which makes relic hunting one of the best long-term investments at the camp.

Buying Relic Keys From Hoofman at the Surface

Hoofman is the dandy horse who runs a shop at the Surface camp. He sells two things: Relic Keys and follow slot upgrades for your backpack. The keys are your entry ticket to new relics.

Buy a key before a dive, and it rides along behind the knight. When a door shows up in a stage, walk the key into it. Not every run rolls a door early, so a key may ride along for a stage or two before it finds a use.

Relic Challenge Stages Like the Gusteo Wand Challenge

Each door leads to a short challenge stage built around one relic. In the Gusteo Wand Challenge, for example, the wand waits on an altar at the start, and you get infinite uses of it until the stage ends. The level layout then tests exactly what that relic does.

Clear the stage and the relic joins the pool for good. From then on it can show up as a pickup, inside treasure chests, or from the cog reward at the exit. The Shadow Locket Challenge works the same way, with Propeller Rats added to the mix.

How Magic Upgrades Stretch Each Relic Further

Relics run on magic, and each use drains some of it. Collect Magic Upgrades during a run and every relic lasts longer before it runs dry. Health Upgrades work alongside them, so a strong run often stacks both kinds.

Chester sometimes sells these upgrades in side rooms. I usually take a magic upgrade over a weak Accessory when I already hold a damage relic. One extra blast at a boss often ends the fight before it turns ugly.

How to Unlock Accessories at Chester’s Shop

Players unlock Accessories in Shovel Knight Dig by paying Chester gems at his Surface shop, starting at 1,000 gems for the first one. Each later unlock costs 1,000 gems more than the last, and every new Accessory then joins the random pool inside the well.

Accessories are passive buffs. One magnetizes gems to you even through dirt, while others boost defense, damage, or loot. You lose them all when a stage fails, when you quit, or when a run ends.

The game holds 27 Accessories, and 15 start unlocked. That leaves 12 to buy. The rising price is where most new players misjudge their gem budget.

Chester’s 1,000 Gem Price Ladder and the 27 Accessories

Chester shows four Accessories at a time, and the same four stay on the shelf until you buy one. Prices climb by 1,000 gems after each purchase. So the first costs 1,000, the second 2,000, and the twelfth 12,000.

Add that ladder up and the full set runs roughly 78,000 gems. For scale, that equals almost four Ornate Plate armor sets. Buying every Accessory on his shelf also earns a Memento, a Sold Out sign hoisted above the Bohto Wagon.

Chester’s Side Room Offers During a Run

Chester also pops up inside the well. He can appear in a side room and offer three random picks from Accessories, relics, health or magic upgrades, eggs, or keys. Accessories show up far more often than the rest.

These side rooms are often the best way to shape a run around one plan. If I already hold a gem magnet, I spend on defense instead of more loot. One armor set stops side rooms from spawning at all, so check what you wear before counting on him.

Tom Bola’s 250 Gem Tombola Draws

Tom Bola runs a tombola game that hands out a random Accessory for 250 gems a draw. It is a gamble, because you cannot pick the result. Still, 250 gems is a small price next to the shop.

I treat the tombola as a spare-change sink. When I hold a few hundred loose gems and nothing better to buy, one draw beats letting them sit idle. Early on, though, those gems do more work saved toward a permanent unlock.

How to Get New Armor From the Shovel Knight Dig Armorer

Players get new armor in Shovel Knight Dig by rescuing the Armorer in the Smeltworks, then finding Armor Templates hidden across the well. Once you find a template, the Armorer at the Surface crafts that armor set in exchange for gems.

Armor is not a pure stat boost. Each set changes how the knight looks and adds a bonus, and most also add a drawback. The Armorer gives clues about where each template hides, which turns armor hunting into a small side quest.

The first set most players buy helps them keep more gems and items after a failed run. That makes it a strong early pick for anyone stuck in the first act.

Rescuing the Armorer in the Smeltworks

The Armorer is missing when you start. You find him under attack in the Smeltworks, a metal refinery layer of the well. Clear the threat around him and he returns to the Surface to work his forge.

The Smeltworks shares its slot with the Secret Fountain after the first boss, so you may need a few runs before it shows up. Keep diving until the route rolls the refinery. Until then, armor stays locked no matter how many gems you bank.

Where Armor Templates Hide in Each Stage

Each layer holds a template, but the right room may take several runs to appear. In the Mushroom Mines, a tiny blue mushroom on a wall marks a shrink tunnel past a zigzag of platforms. In the Secret Fountain, a boarded-up tunnel hides a template in shallow dirt.

The Smeltworks template rides a spinning barrel, and a slap from your shovel can stop it on the right prize. In the Magic Landfill, thin metal mines hang on the walls, and knocking them loose reveals the spot. Drill Knight’s castle holds one more for players who reach the end.

Final Guard vs Ornate Plate: Which Armor Pays Off

Final Guard costs 3,000 gems and cuts the damage you take. Fewer gems spawn while you wear it, but you keep more gems and Accessories after you fall. For a struggling player, that trade is excellent.

Ornate Plate costs 20,000 gems and only changes your look to shiny gold. It gives no combat bonus at all. Buy it last, after every useful unlock, unless style matters more to you than progress.

How Stages, Bosses, and Shortcuts Work in Shovel Knight Dig

Shovel Knight Dig splits the well into three acts of themed layers, and each layer ends in a fight against a Hexcavator. Beating the first boss, Spore Knight, unlocks stage shortcuts at a camp near the Surface, which let later runs skip the opening layers.

Layers shuffle in a branching order. After the opening mine, the route rolls either the Secret Fountain or the Smeltworks, and later layers include the Magic Landfill and the bug-filled Grub Pit. Drill Knight’s castle waits at the very bottom.

Gems tie the whole structure together. Everything you carry out of the well funds permanent upgrades, so even a failed run in the second act still moves your save forward.

Three Acts From Mushroom Mines to Drill Knight’s Castle

The Mushroom Mines open every fresh run. Spore Knight’s mushroom stents reopened this collapsed mine, so bouncy caps and spore creatures fill each screen. Walking mushrooms are safe to land on, and their caps launch you high.

Deeper down, the Smeltworks swaps fungus for molten metal, while the Magic Landfill piles up magic junk, old armor, and ruined buildings. In the Grub Pit, Carnivorous Dirt fires spikes when you dig it, so speed matters more there than anywhere else. Finally, Drill Knight’s castle closes the story with traps and the last showdown.

Hexcavator Boss Fights From Spore Knight to Scrap Knight

Each crew member brings a fight built around their home layer. Spore Knight guards the end of the first act and serves as the first real wall for new players. Hive Knight, a bug lover, rules the Grub Pit.

Scrap Knight lives in the Magic Landfill and holds one of the stolen gemstones, which you take back after beating her. Mole Knight also rides with the crew, wearing blue water-themed armor instead of his later fire suit. After you beat them once, these knights hang around the Surface campfire and chat between runs.

Unlocking Stage Shortcuts and Buying Shortcut Tickets

First, beat Spore Knight and reach the next layer, whether it is the Secret Fountain or the Smeltworks. Return to the Surface by falling or leaving, and a new face mentions a camp to the left. Walk two full screens left of the giant hole to reach it.

A robed wizard at that camp unlocks shortcuts to layers you have reached. Even after the unlock, each run needs a shortcut ticket bought from him. Shortcuts save time, but starting deeper means skipping the early gems and upgrades a full run would gather.

Banking Gems and Recovering Lost Gem Bags

Gems are the only currency, and whatever you carry out of the well goes into your bank. When you fall, part of your haul scatters into flying bags. Dive again, and you can grab those bags to win the lost gems back.

That recovery system rewards a second dive right after a bad death. A quick follow-up run grabs the bags before a fresh mistake costs you more. Players who wear Final Guard keep even more on each fall, which softens the sting further.

What Unlocks After the Credits in Shovel Knight Dig

Finishing Shovel Knight Dig unlocks Knightmare Mode, a harder take on the main run, and adds a silver monument of Shovel Knight and Shield Knight to the Surface. The free Wicked Wishes expansion adds Hoofman’s Guild Hall, with quests, new bosses, and stronger Accessories.

The expansion arrived on May 15, 2025, on every platform at once. Yacht Club Games described it as the final content drop, closing out a project that began in 2018.

Leaderboards add one more reason to keep diving. Daily and weekly runs give everyone a shared goal, and they reset often enough that a bad score never sticks for long.

Knightmare Mode and Its Harder Runs

Knightmare Mode unlocks once you complete the base game. It reuses the familiar layers but raises the challenge. As a result, sloppy habits that survived a first clear stop working.

Treat it as the real test of everything you unlocked. A full Accessory pool and a trusted armor set matter far more here than on the first trip down. If a run feels too hard, bank gems in the normal mode and come back stronger.

Hoofman’s Guild Hall Quests in Wicked Wishes

The expansion starts in Hoofman’s Guild Hall, a hidden hideout for elite quest seekers. You climb its ranks by finishing challenges, and those ranks bring relics, buffs, and new Accessories. A mysterious top adventurer called the Guildarch sits at the center of its story.

The expansion also introduces the Lamp Lord, a genie-like figure tied to Hoofman’s wish and the vanished Hooflings. Defeat him inside his lamp, and he frees them. True to its name, every wish carries a wicked cost, so the story takes a darker turn than the base campaign.

Walter’s Daily and Weekly Leaderboard Runs

Walter stands at the start of the Surface camp and tracks the leaderboards. Sign up with him to play a daily or weekly run.

These runs suit short sessions on an iPhone, since one attempt fits into a coffee break. They also give you a clear goal on days when the main story is done. In addition, they push you to try routes you would normally skip.

Common Shovel Knight Dig Mistakes That End Runs Early

Run-ending mistakes in Shovel Knight Dig usually come from route choices, since the game rewards side detours with cogs and punishes slow digging with the drill. Upgrades help, but they cannot fix a bad habit. A player with every Accessory still dies after digging into spikes.

Watching my own early runs, the same pattern kept repeating. I would skip a cog to save time, carry fragile follow items into a nest, or grab a shiny Accessory at low health. Each choice felt small in the moment.

Fixing even one of those habits often adds a whole layer to an average run. That gain costs nothing, which beats any purchase at the Surface.

Digging Straight Down Past Golden Cogs

Tunneling straight to the exit feels efficient, but it often seals a cog behind a wall you cannot reach. Once you pass a cog’s height, the drill makes going back risky. So the machine at the exit stays locked, and you lose a heal or a free Accessory.

Before swinging down, scan the screen for a gold glint. Dig sideways toward it first, then drop. The extra two seconds almost always pay off at the exit.

Wasting Follow Slots on Eggs You Cannot Protect

Eggs follow behind the knight once you touch them, and they take damage whenever you do. Carrying one into a crowded room is a fast way to lose it before it pays out. Each egg also fills one of your limited follow slots.

Hoofman sells follow slot upgrades, but early on your backpack holds very little. Save that space for keys when you plan a relic run. Take an egg only when the path ahead looks calm.

Taking an Accessory Over the Turkey at One Heart

A fresh Accessory looks exciting, but a Turkey refills your health completely. At one heart, the heal almost always wins, because no buff helps if the next stage ends the run. Accessories also vanish when a run ends, while survival keeps your banked haul growing.

My rule is simple. Below half health, take the Turkey. Above half, take the Accessory and keep building.

Best Shovel Knight Dig Tips and Tricks for Beginners

The most useful Shovel Knight Dig tips for beginners focus on bounce control, a smart gem spending order, and an early win over Spore Knight. None of these need rare unlocks. They work from the very first dive.

New players often spend gems the moment they surface. Patience pays more, since a planned order turns the same income into stronger runs.

Movement matters more than combat here. Bounces carry you over danger, and danger is where most health goes. Also, a confident bounce chain saves more time against the drill than any shortcut.

Chain Shovel Drop Bounces Off Walking Mushrooms

Walking mushrooms in the opening layer work as springboards. Land on a cap and you rocket upward without taking damage. That height lets you reach high gem ledges and cogs that look out of reach.

Bubbles give a smaller bounce when you pop them from above. Chain a bubble into an enemy, and the knight can cross a whole gap without touching the floor. Practice this early, since later layers punish missed landings much harder.

Unlock Cheap Chester Accessories Before Armor

Chester’s first two unlocks cost 1,000 and 2,000 gems, which together match the price of Final Guard. Grabbing two Accessories early widens the pool for every cog reward and side room. That raises the floor of every run.

After those two, switch to the Armorer for Final Guard. Then return to Chester as the prices climb. This back-and-forth order keeps both systems growing instead of starving one.

Beat Spore Knight Early to Open the Shortcut Wizard

Spore Knight is the gate to the shortcut wizard, so beating him early saves real time later. Watch his attacks for one full cycle before swinging. Then punish the openings with bounces from above.

Bring a damage relic if you have one, and take the Turkey before his arena if your health is low. Once he falls, the camp to the left opens up. You can then practice later layers directly instead of replaying the first act every time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Shovel Knight Dig

Is Shovel Knight Dig on Android?

No. Shovel Knight Dig has no official Android release, and its only mobile home is Apple Arcade on iPhone and iPad. Android owners can buy the Steam version and stream it to a phone through Steam Link. Avoid unofficial app files, since they carry real security risks.

Is Shovel Knight Dig hard for beginners?

It feels tough at first but forgiving over time. Most runs bank at least some gems toward permanent upgrades, so progress never fully resets. The settings menu also offers accessibility options that soften the challenge, which helps newcomers settle in before chasing a full clear.

Does Shovel Knight Dig still get updates?

Wicked Wishes was the final content update, so the developers plan no new stages. That release also rebalanced level generation and shipped more than 100 bug fixes, tweaks, and translation improvements. The game is now complete, so anyone who starts today gets the finished version on every platform.

Who Should Play Shovel Knight Dig Right Now

Shovel Knight Dig suits players who want short, punchy roguelite runs with real platforming skill behind them. Fans of the original Shovel Knight will feel at home within minutes, and Downwell players get a deeper loop with more to unlock. iPhone owners should start on Apple Arcade, while Android owners should pick the Steam version instead.

After dozens of dives, my honest verdict is that nothing in the series beats the moment a planned cog route finally pays off at the exit machine. These Shovel Knight Dig tips simply make that moment arrive sooner. The well rewards patience, and every banked gem brings Drill Knight’s castle closer.