Update: First teased last month, Abject's Shovel Knight-meets-Dark Souls crossover mod Shovel Souls is out now.

Available to download from Nexus Mods, the mod requires players install both DSFix and DSMODT beforehand, in order to alter icons and textures.

The mod replaces the Winged Spear with Yacht Club's iconic shovel so that players can make the switch early in their games, however its creator adds: "But the 3D model can replace any weapon you want. And there is an image with the shovel icon by itself if you want to import it and replace any weapon icon by hand."

To mark Shovel Souls' launch, Abject has launched the following trailer:

Original story:

In a world filled with retro-inspired 8-bit throwbacks, Shovel Knight stands tall as an uncompromising love letter to both the era and the genre. At first glance, From Software's Dark Souls may not appear to share much in common with Yacht Club Games' 2D sidescroller, however aesthetics aside, both tell interesting stories, boast uber-cool weaponry and offer equally intransigent takes on roleplaying.

And when you throw them together it forms something pretty wonderful.

Courtesy of modder and Reddit user _Abject_, Shovel Souls transports Shovel Knight into the first Dark Souls and replaces the game's Winged Spear weapon with the eponymous shovel—so that players can access it as early in the game as possible.

A work-in-progress, here's how the mod is so far shaping up:

"I'm still working on the hitbox, some polygons with bad texture mapping, and the overall textures," says mod creator _Abject_. "The helmet used is the Royal Helm, and the rest of the armor is from the Golem Set. I want to share it with you in order to have some feedback. I would like to do a very good looking mod and not something just like a reskin."

Between its chip tune soundtrack, retro sounding effects, altered camera angles, and lovely-looking armour and weapons, Shovel Souls looks fantastic. The fact that its creator is determined to push beyond a generic reskin is promising too, and I love how the loadout is presented in the inventory screen:

Again, Shovel Souls is a work-in-progress, however expect us to check back in with this one when it's further along.