SteamWorld Dig (2013)

I'm just writing this review so I can add a Sergio Leone reference in the title. The game already makes references to two of his movies so it would be a shame to not reference another one. Right.

No. saying Once upon a Time in Steamworld would be to easy.

Anyway. Great game. It was too damn short, but the perfect length for the structure of dig, fill the bag, go back to town, dig, fill the bag, go back to town, etc.

Steamworld dig is somewhat of a Metroidvania with resource gathering and mining mechanics. Mostly I would say it plays like a decent mobile game, which is not really my thing. I mostly played this because I’ve heard great things about the sequel.

The gameplay loop is mindless but has some good moments. You’re kinda just carving paths and gathering resources through a mining system. The main mining mechanic is pretty boring, but it has Metroidvania elements such as permanent upgrade abilities that make it more interesting.

It also has some cool puzzles and even a boss fight, so I can definitely see the potential of the sequel (which is supposedly less mining and more Metroidvania).

I probably would’ve skipped this one if not for the sequel, but as a completionist, I wanted to see its roots. It’s pretty relaxing and easy to get into, but definitely skippable imo.

Steam Curator

A tight and fun metroidvania that focuses solely on it's awesome gameplay loop, and nothing more.

SteamWorld Dig could definitely have benefited from some more post game content, but what IS here is incredibly solid. If you've ever played the flash game, Motherlode, you know what to expect here. A risk/reward element is constantly looming over you as you play, and it always keeps you pressured and engaged.

For my full thoughts, check out the video review:

This game understands what category of game it is, and it doesn't try to make it any more complex than that. I appreciate this. too many games try to ram some story beats into the kind of game you play to faff about while listening to podcasts.

It has one solid gameplay loop and nothing else. mine gems, upgrade equipment, go deeper, mine some more.

Sure there's a story, but it doesn't intrude. it just sets up a reason and there's a slow advance of things changing. that's it. it's perfect.

that said, it's nothing ambitious. it won't change your life. it'll just be a diversion. it's a good one.

I didn't expect that to be so much fun! When you first start the game, you are given a pickaxe, and you're told to dig for minerals and explore this giant cave. Okay, that's sort of cool, but what else is there. Well, as you go along, you keep getting new power ups and upgrading your gear, until by the end you're this unstoppable machine just swimming through the dirt and blowing up robots.

As long as you're working a decent pace, the game gives you upgrades quick enough that no one section overstays its welcome, and the whole game can be done in less than five hours. I thought it was almost perfectly paced; digging for minerals isn't a mechanic that could last a 20 hour game, but was great for this short burst of fun.

At the price point of $9.99 (CAD), this one is a no-brainer. I bought it for $3 and got excellent value out of it. If you're looking for a unique indie game to play this holiday, pick this one up.

The second game in the series greatly improves on this one. While this one is not bad or has big shortcomings, after playing part 2, the gameplay and mechanics could have been improved. The game has a harsh penalty of taking half your money if you die and if you get stuck, good luck making it out since the tools available to you are not that useful. In part 2 you get more tools, weapons, and means to navigate the mines with a faster pace and more charm to its characters and world. In this one it is more simple and straightforward, I had a good time never the less, but I am quite happy the series only improved from this point and just went bigger with the world, characters, and gameplay.

SteamWorld Grind is a game that forces the player to do the same thing over and over again to proceed through a threadbare story. It has some interesting platforming elements, that are ruined by the floaty and unresponsive jumping. Combat consists of holding A and hoping the enemy dies first. There are countless ways to make 2D combat interesting, and SWD still fails to do so.

Poor platforming and crappy combat form the core of the game, which makes the tedious grinding all the more tedious. Why would you want to constantly go back up to a teleporter to empty your tiny inventory and buy a Pickaxe +1 when the game isn't fun?

Continuing with my quest of clearing up my Steam backlog (consisting almost exclusively on games purchased via Humble Bundle), now it's time for SteamWorld Dig.

In this game you play as a steampunkish robot that comes to an almost deserted mining town when his father? dies and gives him the ownership of the mine. After a brief tutorial and scene setting, you are given a pickaxe and you start diggin'. Aaaand... that's pretty much it. It's a very simple game focused in it's very simple core mechanic with no deviation from it.

As you dig deeper into the mine you start encountering harder and harder rocks and you need to buy upgrades so you can keep digging. Thankfully, you mine minerals that you can sell for money that, in the words of a great thinker of our time, "can be exchanged for goods and services". Eventually you enter special parts of the mine that work like dungeons (resetting every time you get in) and which hold special technologies. You get a drill that can cut through hard stone, a special jumping ability, etcetera. But since you are steam-powered, those abilities need water. So now you must also upgrade your water tank, or get a seal that allows to suck more water from the environment. It's all pretty standard stuff.

The actual digging can be repetitive, but there are some interesting twists that force you to do some planning. In order to return to town to sell stuff and buy upgrades you need to return to the surface, so while you dig down you also need to think about how to go back up. You can also buy ladders that enable you to mine places you couldn't get and also teleporters that return you to the surface and serve as mini checkpoints in your downward progress.

But the way that ladders and other utility items are treated serve as illustration to some of the problems of SteamWorld Dig. The game have several limited resources that force you to go back to town too often and are more annoying than anything else. The first one is light. You carry a torch that illuminates your path, but it starts to fade pretty quickly. That means the you must go back to recharge it very often even though you could otherwise continue exploring. At the beginning this is specially cumbersome: more than once, by the time I got down where I left digging, my light was half empty already. The same limitation also applies to ladders (you can only carry 5 at a time, with no way to upgrade) and the ridiculously small pouch to carry ores.

By the second third of the game, though, you have enough upgrades that you can ignore resource management altogether --except for those damn ladders. I feel that a game mechanic that is annoying ar first and a non-entity in the end and it never adds to the challenge should've been left on the cutting room floor.

Upgrades and new tech keep coming in almost up to the end of the game. This makes the game refreshing and fun and prevents it from growing stale, but it also means that there's not a lot of opportunities for enjoying and exploring the use of the latter additions to your abilities.

Even though you dig deep, the game feels shallow. I played it most of the time while listening to podcasts, which made the repetitiveness of the main mechanic less noticeable. Still, at ~4 hours to completion, the game knows it's limitations and is an enjoyable ride.

Really fun game. You start out with a pickaxe and as you venture further into the mines you acquire old equipment from your grandpappy. Harness the power of the drill, and maneuver through the mines with the steam punch. Most other abilities requiring the use of water to create steam. The art is charming and the game mechanics are very fun. You mine the ores and sell them in order to gain resources for upgrades. If you like upgrades this game will keep you entertained for a short while.

The game is extremely short but well worth it.