Earning the true ending in Shovel Knight Dig is a very challenging undertaking, and players that choose to pursue it have their work cut out for them. A significant part of this difficulty is due to the variety of ways that a run for the true ending can be thwarted, and fans will likely need to make many attempts before they are successful. For those players that would like a better understanding of exactly what they must do to reach Shovel Knight Dig's true ending, full details can be found in this guide.
Shovel Knight Dig: How to Get True Ending
Step 1: Send Altius Underground
Upon starting Shovel Knight Dig, players will see a purple owl perched on a sign on the right side of the screen. This owl is known as Altius, and roguelite fans should hit him with their shovels to force him into the air. Players should then watch Altius's flight path and jump on him repeatedly when he is above the chasm to send him underground.
Step 2: Find Altius in Mushroom Mines
Altius will now be situated in either a hidden room or a room marked with a blue lantern on one of Mushroom Mines' three floors. Upon locating the owl, fans of hard video games should strike the chest that he is perched on and then proceed to complete the biome.
Step 3: Find Chester and All Cogs in Secret Fountain 1 or Smeltworks 1
With Mushroom Mines in the rearview, players will now find themselves in either Smeltworks 1 or Secret Fountain 1, and they have two tasks to complete before they leave the floor. The first task is to find Chester and purchase the Cog on a String, an accessory that costs 1,500 Gems. The second task is to find all three Cogs, and fans can proceed to the end of the first floor when both of these requirements have been fulfilled.
Step 4: Complete Secret Fountain or Smeltworks
Players should now simply reach the end of the biome and beat the Shovel Knight boss that they find there. Fans will then be given access to either Secret Fountain or Smeltworks, depending on which biome they just cleared, and that is where they will work on the next step.
Step 5: Sacrifice Three Accessories in Secret Fountain or Smeltworks
Regardless of the biome in which players now find themselves, their task is to locate a large golden statue on each of its three floors. These statues are in rooms marked with blue lanterns, and fans of 2D video games must sacrifice an Accessory at each of them. When that is done, players should beat the biome's boss and proceed to the bottom to receive a Skeleton Key.
Step 6: Unlock the Triple Locked Door in The Grub Pit or Magic Landfill
Players will now enter either The Grub Pit or Magic Landfill, and the Shovel Knight character must locate a Triple Locked Door in the biome and use the aforementioned Skeleton Key to open it. Notably, the Skeleton Key will be destroyed if it lands on spikes, and that will be the end of a true ending run. Once a fan passes through the Triple Locked Door, Altrius will pick up the Omega Driver Relic, and they should then work their way to end of the biome.
Step 7: Use the Bomb in The Grub Pit or Magic Landfill
Players will now enter the biome that they did not select for Step 6, and they will receive a bomb at the beginning of the first floor. This bomb is set to detonate in 30 seconds, and fans need to get it to a path that is blocked by cracked rocks before that occurs. Putting the bomb in this position will demolish those rocks, and fans should enter the room that is now accessible before completing the biome.
Step 8: Fight Drill Knight
After finishing the fifth biome, players will enter Drill Knight's Castle and receive the Omega Driver Relic. This Relic must be held all the way through the biome, at which point fans of Yacht Club Games will encounter Drill Knight. During this fight, players should make absolutely sure that they do not use the Omega Driver and instead use their shovel to damage the boss until he jumps onto a wall.
Step 9: Use the Omega Driver on the Omega Saw
Once Drill Knight jumps onto a wall, the Omega Saw will show up and start chasing the player. At this point, fans of action video games need to dig to the right continuously and wait for the Omega Saw to open. When that occurs, players should wait for the saw to be directly behind them and then hit it with the Omega Driver to destroy the machine.
Step 10: Complete Crystal Core
All that is left to do now is to work through the Crystal Core biome, which features no enemies. Upon reaching the end of the biome, players will have finally completed their task and earned this video game true ending.
Shovel Knight Dig is available on Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, and PC.