What's better than a western? Quite simple really, a western with animals!... But Rango is a movie, not a videogame, so a western with robots will do....
I believe that games that base their gameplay around a routine or repeating a certain action over and over again without being tiresome are deserving of praising only because they manage to pull off something like that, and SteamWorld Dig is one of those games: is an experience about mining and very little else, and as much as I'm gonna dig into its problems (I need to be stopped) the fact that at no point I goy annoyed at the idea of just going down and down is a huge accomplishment of its own.
It fully plays with the routine of being a robot miner: going down, mining a bit, exploring caves, getting abilities, going up, selling materials, buying more upgrades, going down and repeat. That's basically what the entire game is all about, and I'll give it to them, it sure does it well. There were a ton of instances in which I really didn't want to get out, just so I could mine a little bit more and maybe discover new minerals or a undiscovered cave, and the gratification once I sold all I had on was spectacular.
The whole thing is about, quite literally, forging your own path; the three main zones do pull some strings to make you go to certain areas, but overall, you and only you is the one that decides what rock will you put you pickaxe to use. Some have said that the game has a ''Metroidvania'' aspect, and I'd actually have to disagree; yes, you get upgrades that make you do new stuff and in some cases that new stuff is needed to get something you left behind, but those cases are entirely optional, so when you do get a new flashy thing, is always for overcoming obstacles that come right after you got them, so while it lacks that oomf that makes ''Metroidvanias'' feel just right, it does have an extremely well-paced feeling of constant progression... shame that the pacing in the story went to fuckville while all this was happening.
It's apparent SteamWorld Dig wanted to be more grand than it appeared at first, and while there's nothing wrong with wanting to tell a story full of lore and that ends with the murder of a God, I feel that the pursuit for this bigger narrative that doesn't end up being that interesting or well told really damages the potential that was already there. There aren't really character interactions, nor between them, not even with Rusty, the main character (aside the ones with Dorothy at the beginning). The main town doesn't feel alive, everyone is just kinda there, waiting for you to either sell or buy: it all revolves around you, which might work at first since it’s the point, the fact that you are the one that brought life back to the town, but it ends up making the whole thing feeling binary. It's the golden rush, more so Rusty's golden rush, everything depends on your moola a nothing else, which it's a bigger shame considering the first time characters interact is actually really funny and nice and you want more of it... except that it's at the END OF THE GAME.
The world feeling artificial is also something that affects the rest of the areas: enemies have contracted the Goomba syndrome, only moving and very little else, and that makes it so encounters are repetitive and samey, and it's not like the combat it's interesting enough to compensate. The main caves offer some interesting level design, but most of the optional ones are just bland and the challenge they propose it's mediocre at best and very boring at worst.
Oh, and also, the game ends with a backtracking section, but honestly, it's not infuriating enough to get mad at, nor is it interesting enough to be compelling. It just... happens, I don't know why, but it sure does.
I think that's the biggest flaw: this world may be cool and have pretty looks and awesome music, but it never does enough to make you immerse yourself in it. The biggest example that I think shows all of this, is how across the entire game and at the very end, they keep telling Rusty how he has changed, how he's has left behind his old self and almost become something new, and yeah, the upgrades I've gotten do pose a difference... it never feels like they changed Rusty in any way, in great part because none of the changes are shown visually (which would be expected considering the point the game is trying to make) and also we never see the impact these upgrades have in Rusty as a robot, in fact, I barely know who Rusty even is! His quiet demeanor makes it impossible, and makes the ending, and experience for that matter, have much, much less of an impact.
At the end, SteamWorld Dig does one thing well, it may do it very well, but ultimately, it feels lesser than it could have been... how lucky SteamWorld Dig 2 exists, huh?
Yeah, I actually played the sequel before the original, I may do a full review for it in the future, but it makes me happy to know that even if the series had this kind of rocky beginning, the next entry managed to be one hell of an improvement in every aspect, which actually makes this one more worth it to play, if only to appreciate better what comes next.
It’s a fun enough adventure, with charming southern robots and about finding diamonds, and even if the game itself isn’t one, it sure has value… also the Shiners kinda look like goblins and that’s rad as hell. Goblins are fucking awesome
I believe that games that base their gameplay around a routine or repeating a certain action over and over again without being tiresome are deserving of praising only because they manage to pull off something like that, and SteamWorld Dig is one of those games: is an experience about mining and very little else, and as much as I'm gonna dig into its problems (I need to be stopped) the fact that at no point I goy annoyed at the idea of just going down and down is a huge accomplishment of its own.
It fully plays with the routine of being a robot miner: going down, mining a bit, exploring caves, getting abilities, going up, selling materials, buying more upgrades, going down and repeat. That's basically what the entire game is all about, and I'll give it to them, it sure does it well. There were a ton of instances in which I really didn't want to get out, just so I could mine a little bit more and maybe discover new minerals or a undiscovered cave, and the gratification once I sold all I had on was spectacular.
The whole thing is about, quite literally, forging your own path; the three main zones do pull some strings to make you go to certain areas, but overall, you and only you is the one that decides what rock will you put you pickaxe to use. Some have said that the game has a ''Metroidvania'' aspect, and I'd actually have to disagree; yes, you get upgrades that make you do new stuff and in some cases that new stuff is needed to get something you left behind, but those cases are entirely optional, so when you do get a new flashy thing, is always for overcoming obstacles that come right after you got them, so while it lacks that oomf that makes ''Metroidvanias'' feel just right, it does have an extremely well-paced feeling of constant progression... shame that the pacing in the story went to fuckville while all this was happening.
It's apparent SteamWorld Dig wanted to be more grand than it appeared at first, and while there's nothing wrong with wanting to tell a story full of lore and that ends with the murder of a God, I feel that the pursuit for this bigger narrative that doesn't end up being that interesting or well told really damages the potential that was already there. There aren't really character interactions, nor between them, not even with Rusty, the main character (aside the ones with Dorothy at the beginning). The main town doesn't feel alive, everyone is just kinda there, waiting for you to either sell or buy: it all revolves around you, which might work at first since it’s the point, the fact that you are the one that brought life back to the town, but it ends up making the whole thing feeling binary. It's the golden rush, more so Rusty's golden rush, everything depends on your moola a nothing else, which it's a bigger shame considering the first time characters interact is actually really funny and nice and you want more of it... except that it's at the END OF THE GAME.
The world feeling artificial is also something that affects the rest of the areas: enemies have contracted the Goomba syndrome, only moving and very little else, and that makes it so encounters are repetitive and samey, and it's not like the combat it's interesting enough to compensate. The main caves offer some interesting level design, but most of the optional ones are just bland and the challenge they propose it's mediocre at best and very boring at worst.
Oh, and also, the game ends with a backtracking section, but honestly, it's not infuriating enough to get mad at, nor is it interesting enough to be compelling. It just... happens, I don't know why, but it sure does.
I think that's the biggest flaw: this world may be cool and have pretty looks and awesome music, but it never does enough to make you immerse yourself in it. The biggest example that I think shows all of this, is how across the entire game and at the very end, they keep telling Rusty how he has changed, how he's has left behind his old self and almost become something new, and yeah, the upgrades I've gotten do pose a difference... it never feels like they changed Rusty in any way, in great part because none of the changes are shown visually (which would be expected considering the point the game is trying to make) and also we never see the impact these upgrades have in Rusty as a robot, in fact, I barely know who Rusty even is! His quiet demeanor makes it impossible, and makes the ending, and experience for that matter, have much, much less of an impact.
At the end, SteamWorld Dig does one thing well, it may do it very well, but ultimately, it feels lesser than it could have been... how lucky SteamWorld Dig 2 exists, huh?
Yeah, I actually played the sequel before the original, I may do a full review for it in the future, but it makes me happy to know that even if the series had this kind of rocky beginning, the next entry managed to be one hell of an improvement in every aspect, which actually makes this one more worth it to play, if only to appreciate better what comes next.
It’s a fun enough adventure, with charming southern robots and about finding diamonds, and even if the game itself isn’t one, it sure has value… also the Shiners kinda look like goblins and that’s rad as hell. Goblins are fucking awesome
Não foi nada demais, mas com certeza valeu apena gastar meus 2 contos nisso. Um metroidvania divertido, fácil de se encontrar a progressão e com o tempo certo pra acabar.
this is like one of those flash games where you go underground, do some mining until you can't anymore, and then return to the surface and buy all the upgrades you can, but with the addition of some incredibly light "metroidvania" elements (generous definition). it's better than those, for sure, but it still feels kinda hollow and sorely lacking in intentionality for the majority of the game. there's unique areas with more level design built in with rewards of lots more money or a new power-up, but even those segments aren't all that great. story is nothing, characters are nothing, and most shop purchases are just numerical upgrades as opposed to having cool horizontal progression with optional abilities to bolster the ones along the main path. it's fine.
I just wanna drill for God's sake
SteamWorld tem uma gameplay que apesar de não ser exatamente inovadora (afinal Dig Dug de NES já existe) traz alguns elementos novos pra esse tipo de jogo de exploração, como mecânica de vendas de minérios e power-ups que fazem parecer um metroidvania mas só parecer mesmo. O problema é que esses elementos ficaram ofuscados por alguns outros momentos que eu tive.
O loop de minerar, vender e minerar denovo acaba ficando chato e virando algo secundário do jogo, quando a parte mais legal é procurar pelo próximo power-up do mapa mais fundo na mina.
A parte que eu mais curti foram os efeitos sonoros, especialmente os do Rusty, que tu controla, os sons dele andando com o som pesado de metal das botas foram muito bem feitos.
O loop de minerar, vender e minerar denovo acaba ficando chato e virando algo secundário do jogo, quando a parte mais legal é procurar pelo próximo power-up do mapa mais fundo na mina.
A parte que eu mais curti foram os efeitos sonoros, especialmente os do Rusty, que tu controla, os sons dele andando com o som pesado de metal das botas foram muito bem feitos.
Confesso que esperava mais, tem boas ideias, mas achei incrivelmente repetitivo e em muitos momentos chato e frustrante. O que ajuda é ele não ser muito longo, no geral saí bem decepcionado apesar de não achá-lo ruim.
I'm pretty confident that SteamWorld Dig is one of the first indie games I ever played. If my memory is correct, the first was Cave Story, and I'm pretty sure that SteamWorld Dig is within the first ones I got on my 3ds. Point being, I wanted to return to the game for a little bit of a nostalgia trip.
Luckily, I think this holds up really well! It sits at the intersection of Dig Dug, Mr. Driller, Terraria, and a little bit of Metroid. I think most people would accept the first three influences, but there may be some debate on whether or not this qualifies as a search action game.
I really love the main gameplay loop of mining. The restrictions on your capabilities, namely how you cannot dig across a layer above you brings a lot of thought to each movement you make. As the game progresses, and unique obstacles are added, the game only becomes more dynamic. The various caves, while less interesting in my opinion, help punctuate the gameplay. The upgrades you collect across the game also do a good job at expanding your possibility space.
Ultimately Steamworld Dig does a great job at applying an arcade style gameplay loop into a short but featured campaign.
Luckily, I think this holds up really well! It sits at the intersection of Dig Dug, Mr. Driller, Terraria, and a little bit of Metroid. I think most people would accept the first three influences, but there may be some debate on whether or not this qualifies as a search action game.
I really love the main gameplay loop of mining. The restrictions on your capabilities, namely how you cannot dig across a layer above you brings a lot of thought to each movement you make. As the game progresses, and unique obstacles are added, the game only becomes more dynamic. The various caves, while less interesting in my opinion, help punctuate the gameplay. The upgrades you collect across the game also do a good job at expanding your possibility space.
Ultimately Steamworld Dig does a great job at applying an arcade style gameplay loop into a short but featured campaign.
I mean you basically just mine. Definitely nothing groundbreaking... unless you count the actual ground. It was kinda fun though. Simple, mindless fun. Outside of gameplay, everything is basically just okay. Not a ton to latch onto as far as characters, music, or story goes. I guess I kinda like the main character Rusty though
Me surpreendeu de verdade, nem sei o porquê de eu ter demorado tanto tempo pra dar uma chance. É bem simples, direto ao ponto, e a progressão é bem satisfatória. Os controles, em sua maioria, são precisos, só achei meio meh não poder atacar enquanto pula, mas acho que o jogo ficaria bem mais fácil se tivesse essa possibilidade. Fiquei até animado pra jogar a sequência, que parece melhorar em quase todos os aspectos!
This review contains spoilers
Grundsätzlich netter Gameplay Loop der aber in den ersten 2 Dritteln des Spiels einfach viel viel zu langsam und dadurch ermüdend ist. Im Letzten Drittel kriegt man dann Upgrades die das Spiel wirklich tausendfach angenehmer machen.
100% sucken schon ein wenig sehr, Einerseits ist ein perfekter Run gefordert (2:30 Stunden, 20.000 Geld, 150 Kugeln und No Death) welchen ich in 2:29 Stunden abgeschlossen (Ich fass es immer noch nicht)
Andererseits muss man für ein anderes Achievement mit einem... etwas nervigen Trick (Bomb Jump) die Progression vom Spiel an zwei Orten skippen was, wenn man es so wie ich mit dem perfekten Run kombiniert hatte ein wenig sehr nervig war.
Zu guter letzt das dümmste Achievement für das man 15.000 Blöcke abbauen muss, kein Fan. Nach Casual und Perfektem Run hatte ich 10k und durfte dann 30min in ner Höhle umherspringen bis ichs hatte.
Alles in allem, ganz nett, den Anfang würde ich allerdings echt ungern nochmal spielen
5/10
100% sucken schon ein wenig sehr, Einerseits ist ein perfekter Run gefordert (2:30 Stunden, 20.000 Geld, 150 Kugeln und No Death) welchen ich in 2:29 Stunden abgeschlossen (Ich fass es immer noch nicht)
Andererseits muss man für ein anderes Achievement mit einem... etwas nervigen Trick (Bomb Jump) die Progression vom Spiel an zwei Orten skippen was, wenn man es so wie ich mit dem perfekten Run kombiniert hatte ein wenig sehr nervig war.
Zu guter letzt das dümmste Achievement für das man 15.000 Blöcke abbauen muss, kein Fan. Nach Casual und Perfektem Run hatte ich 10k und durfte dann 30min in ner Höhle umherspringen bis ichs hatte.
Alles in allem, ganz nett, den Anfang würde ich allerdings echt ungern nochmal spielen
5/10
Legal. As duas ou três horas iniciais me deixaram maluco. O grosso da ação me deixou obcecado e eu jogava sem objetividade nenhuma, só pelo gosto de pegar a picaretinha e cavocar. Quando a novidade passou, eu perdi a vontade de continuar. Sei que isso é um problema meu e diz pouco ou nada sobre o jogo, mas não vou ter o empenho pra gastar outras cinco horas num jogo que traz pouca recompensa. A história é um fiapo de história, a música não ajuda muito, os personagens não têm lá muito destaque. De resto, eu tenho a impressão de que Hollow Knight tirou algumas ideias daqui.
Fun game but doesn't really do anything that amazing or interesting.
The idea of a metroidvania about digging into the earth sounds really fun but the execution was a bit underwhelming
The idea of a metroidvania about digging into the earth sounds really fun but the execution was a bit underwhelming
short and sweet
It absolutely can't be overstated how formative this game was to me as a kid. Bias aside, I can't think of many things it doesn't do well at. It's an experimental metroidvania, and while Dig 2 becomes a full-fledged one using the excellent foundations here, the core gameplay of Dig 1 is so solid that I almost prefer it at times. Only wish is that it was longer and maybe a little more replayable, but that's what Dig 2 is for. Get it now while it's on sale for a dirt cheap price :)
I just replayed this wonderful game again, because I want to play with the sequel. What can I say? This is my third time playing it, and I still find it utterly addicting.
The gameplay loop is very simple: Gear up, mine resources, come back and repeat. It is such a charming game, with an amazing atmosphere and smooth animations.
If you want to play something casual, yet challenging, do not miss this one out!
The gameplay loop is very simple: Gear up, mine resources, come back and repeat. It is such a charming game, with an amazing atmosphere and smooth animations.
If you want to play something casual, yet challenging, do not miss this one out!
Start of a nice 2D metroidvania mining game. Combination of pretty chill genres and I finished it again after so many years and recently finishing the 2nd game. Finished in one sitting, literally one sitting, my ass hurts as I am typing this.
Long before I decided to become a reviewer, I used to jot down brief thoughts on the games I was playing in order to capture my feelings at the moment of completion for personal archival purposes. Since then, I’ve of course evolved my craft into full-fledged write-ups, but I do think there is enough merit to some of these earlier critiques to warrant their publication, especially for titles I do not intend on replaying (in the near future at least). I’ve thrown in some updates, but this is one of them.
STORY
-Premise is basic - father died and left behind a mine to his son Rusty, which you have to go through to discover what secrets he was creating/hiding. Nothing else narrative-heavy happens that I can recall. The ending does try to be semi-emotional, but fails because of the lack of real development between Rusty and the townsfolk.
-Would've liked to have seen the lore of the game expanded upon. It's cool seeing all these creatures, but you don't get to know much about them outside of brief mentions from the townsfolk (i.e. Shiners being partially responsible for the creation of steambots).
-Some satirical writing, but surprisingly light on spoofing western tropes despite the homages (the tagline is literally called "A Fistful of Dirt").
GRAPHICS
-Graphics are great, looking akin to those flash animations you’d seen on Newgrounds with bold outlines combined with steampunk and weird western aesthetics. Some really beautifully colored interiors, particularly as you get deeper into the Earth.
SOUND
-No voice acting, just hit-or-miss vocalized noises like in Skyward Sword (the fat salesman's tone, in particular, being REALLY annoying).
-All the items sound good. Explosions, whether you're using dynamite or hitting a TNT barrel or dodging a suicidal robot, have the same stock noise though regardless of quantity. Same with enemies dying.
GAMEPLAY
-Game initially feels like a lovechild between Minecraft and the Snowmuncher minigame from Neopets, albeit with a surprising amount of platforming and RPG mechanics. Unfortunately, the game is too short to really capitalize on either of those elements.
-Some Metroidvania aspects since you can discover secret areas and have to revisit previous levels. However, regarding the latter, that part only happens at the end and there's a quest arrow to help you, which I liked but others probably won't.
-At $10.00 it gives you about 4-5 hours of gameplay, so it just barely passes my rule for a buy. However, be warned that the pacing is all over the place - the first couple of hours feel like forever, while the ending is rushed.
-Then again, that does make sense given that the more upgrades you have, the faster you dig. However, all the upgrade options end up being pointless since you don't need the lion’s share of them to advance further. You may ask "what about strategy?" And I suppose there is some of that, but really you'll be fine so long as you adopt an “all-around” strategy in terms of getting a decent amount of armor, decent amount of water tanks, and so forth.
-.Also upgrades for your pickaxe are as worthless as the melee upgrades in the first Deus Ex since the vast majority of players will just utilize the faster drill for navigating. The only thing the pickaxe ends-up being good for in the long-run is getting through crates (of which there are very few) and hitting one of the bosses (which you can either way do, albeit longer, with the drill).
-I like how the underworld stays the same as when you leave it. There's a bit of a Minecraft element to it in that regard. Transitions are extremely smooth from place-to-place.
-One thing I was mixed on were the respawning enemies and minerals: repeat enemies were annoying to deal with while the minerals made the game significantly easier since you could theoretically just exit and reenter a place to farm the same minerals ad nauseam.
-Inventory management makes no sense- I could never tell if I was close to being full since there's no indication as far as I could tell. Also, the game goes out of its way to separate the minerals, which, while a cool touch, ultimately remains pointless since I doubt anyone will go out of their way to discard and replace minerals they find.
-Didn't like that you could only lay one teleporter to return to the surface. Should've been able to create several throughout the world as it’s a pain to backtrack, especially towards the endgame.
-Cannot use ladders or lanterns inside the levels. Can use dynamite though. Dying inside them luckily restarts from within so you don't have to go back to them from the surface.
-Experience (i.e., money) expands the town with new shops, but is again underutilized.
-All the upgrades are cool. I liked how water was the source for most of them.
-You get something called a "mineral detector," but I honestly have no idea what it did, if anything.
VERDICT
-Despite my negatives, I cannot deny that Steamworld Dig is addicting. I loved excavating further and further into the underground to discover new areas and secrets (especially since it wasn't procedurally-generated). It feels a bit grindy at first until you get the drill (about 1-2 hours in), but outside of that the game does a good job making you feel like you're progressing forward.
STORY
-Premise is basic - father died and left behind a mine to his son Rusty, which you have to go through to discover what secrets he was creating/hiding. Nothing else narrative-heavy happens that I can recall. The ending does try to be semi-emotional, but fails because of the lack of real development between Rusty and the townsfolk.
-Would've liked to have seen the lore of the game expanded upon. It's cool seeing all these creatures, but you don't get to know much about them outside of brief mentions from the townsfolk (i.e. Shiners being partially responsible for the creation of steambots).
-Some satirical writing, but surprisingly light on spoofing western tropes despite the homages (the tagline is literally called "A Fistful of Dirt").
GRAPHICS
-Graphics are great, looking akin to those flash animations you’d seen on Newgrounds with bold outlines combined with steampunk and weird western aesthetics. Some really beautifully colored interiors, particularly as you get deeper into the Earth.
SOUND
-No voice acting, just hit-or-miss vocalized noises like in Skyward Sword (the fat salesman's tone, in particular, being REALLY annoying).
-All the items sound good. Explosions, whether you're using dynamite or hitting a TNT barrel or dodging a suicidal robot, have the same stock noise though regardless of quantity. Same with enemies dying.
GAMEPLAY
-Game initially feels like a lovechild between Minecraft and the Snowmuncher minigame from Neopets, albeit with a surprising amount of platforming and RPG mechanics. Unfortunately, the game is too short to really capitalize on either of those elements.
-Some Metroidvania aspects since you can discover secret areas and have to revisit previous levels. However, regarding the latter, that part only happens at the end and there's a quest arrow to help you, which I liked but others probably won't.
-At $10.00 it gives you about 4-5 hours of gameplay, so it just barely passes my rule for a buy. However, be warned that the pacing is all over the place - the first couple of hours feel like forever, while the ending is rushed.
-Then again, that does make sense given that the more upgrades you have, the faster you dig. However, all the upgrade options end up being pointless since you don't need the lion’s share of them to advance further. You may ask "what about strategy?" And I suppose there is some of that, but really you'll be fine so long as you adopt an “all-around” strategy in terms of getting a decent amount of armor, decent amount of water tanks, and so forth.
-.Also upgrades for your pickaxe are as worthless as the melee upgrades in the first Deus Ex since the vast majority of players will just utilize the faster drill for navigating. The only thing the pickaxe ends-up being good for in the long-run is getting through crates (of which there are very few) and hitting one of the bosses (which you can either way do, albeit longer, with the drill).
-I like how the underworld stays the same as when you leave it. There's a bit of a Minecraft element to it in that regard. Transitions are extremely smooth from place-to-place.
-One thing I was mixed on were the respawning enemies and minerals: repeat enemies were annoying to deal with while the minerals made the game significantly easier since you could theoretically just exit and reenter a place to farm the same minerals ad nauseam.
-Inventory management makes no sense- I could never tell if I was close to being full since there's no indication as far as I could tell. Also, the game goes out of its way to separate the minerals, which, while a cool touch, ultimately remains pointless since I doubt anyone will go out of their way to discard and replace minerals they find.
-Didn't like that you could only lay one teleporter to return to the surface. Should've been able to create several throughout the world as it’s a pain to backtrack, especially towards the endgame.
-Cannot use ladders or lanterns inside the levels. Can use dynamite though. Dying inside them luckily restarts from within so you don't have to go back to them from the surface.
-Experience (i.e., money) expands the town with new shops, but is again underutilized.
-All the upgrades are cool. I liked how water was the source for most of them.
-You get something called a "mineral detector," but I honestly have no idea what it did, if anything.
VERDICT
-Despite my negatives, I cannot deny that Steamworld Dig is addicting. I loved excavating further and further into the underground to discover new areas and secrets (especially since it wasn't procedurally-generated). It feels a bit grindy at first until you get the drill (about 1-2 hours in), but outside of that the game does a good job making you feel like you're progressing forward.
Sights & Sounds
- The characters and environments are crafted in a cartoonish style that's used effectively
- The Western veneer added some nice flavor. For a mining game about robots, it wasn't necessary, but I appreciated it
- The music follows the western visuals; lots of old-timey sounding western songs full of harmonized whistling, ricochet sounds, and whip cracks
Story & Vibes
- The game is very light on story, but it adds to the mystery of the gigantic caves you'll be tunneling through. All you really get told at the beginning is that your uncle has died and left you the deed to his mining operation
- This gives the game an opportunity to try the "show, don't tell" approach to backstory. Unfortunately, I feel like a few more breadcrumbs could have been shown to the player. I still don't really know what's going on
- This give the game very mysterious vibes, but I haven't had a whole lot of success digging into that mystery
Playability & Replayability
- Played this game on the Steam Deck, and the default controls were pretty good. They felt tight and responsive
- As you might expect, the central gameplay mechanic is digging through a series of gigantic mines to find ability-granting upgrades that help you go deeper into the mines as well as resources that can be used to buy things like extra health, a larger water reservoir for your tools, more storage capacity, equipment enhancements, and more
- Dying has very little impact on the game. You just restart in town and try to recover your findings from the bag that marks the location of your death
- Compared to other so-called "metroidvanias", neither the combat nor the platforming are very hard
- I've beaten the final boss, but I might revisit in an attempt to find some other secrets and pick up a few more achievements
Overall Impressions & Performance
- The game ran perfectly on the Steam Deck
- I tend to enjoy games like this where the central story line is fairly easy to finish (I did it in less than 5 hours), but there's plenty of other secrets and hidden areas to dig into. This helps exploration feel rewarding and worthwhile
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10 For a tenner, this game is absolutely worth the money for fans of platformers with a heavy emphasis on exploration
- The characters and environments are crafted in a cartoonish style that's used effectively
- The Western veneer added some nice flavor. For a mining game about robots, it wasn't necessary, but I appreciated it
- The music follows the western visuals; lots of old-timey sounding western songs full of harmonized whistling, ricochet sounds, and whip cracks
Story & Vibes
- The game is very light on story, but it adds to the mystery of the gigantic caves you'll be tunneling through. All you really get told at the beginning is that your uncle has died and left you the deed to his mining operation
- This gives the game an opportunity to try the "show, don't tell" approach to backstory. Unfortunately, I feel like a few more breadcrumbs could have been shown to the player. I still don't really know what's going on
- This give the game very mysterious vibes, but I haven't had a whole lot of success digging into that mystery
Playability & Replayability
- Played this game on the Steam Deck, and the default controls were pretty good. They felt tight and responsive
- As you might expect, the central gameplay mechanic is digging through a series of gigantic mines to find ability-granting upgrades that help you go deeper into the mines as well as resources that can be used to buy things like extra health, a larger water reservoir for your tools, more storage capacity, equipment enhancements, and more
- Dying has very little impact on the game. You just restart in town and try to recover your findings from the bag that marks the location of your death
- Compared to other so-called "metroidvanias", neither the combat nor the platforming are very hard
- I've beaten the final boss, but I might revisit in an attempt to find some other secrets and pick up a few more achievements
Overall Impressions & Performance
- The game ran perfectly on the Steam Deck
- I tend to enjoy games like this where the central story line is fairly easy to finish (I did it in less than 5 hours), but there's plenty of other secrets and hidden areas to dig into. This helps exploration feel rewarding and worthwhile
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10 For a tenner, this game is absolutely worth the money for fans of platformers with a heavy emphasis on exploration
Meu que jogo bom, recomendo muito, esse jogo diverte qualquer um que jogar, é prazeroso explodir e fazer uma cratera na terra, deformando toda a area, tem boss fights legais e otimas mecanicas, fora que a estetica steampunk com velho oeste casou muito bem
Steamworld Dig is a hybrid game in a few ways. Steamworld itself is a steampunk western, but everyone is robots. The digging meanwhile is the classic dig for gems, head up to the surface to upgrade your gear, and then return to mine deeper loop. Only, there's also a fair bit of combat. And platforming. Oh, and it's kind of a metroidvania.
I don't think it all gels, but there's no denying how compelling this world and these characters are, nor how satisfying and tactile the mining is. And that core loop of mine - > upgrade -> explore and then mine some more is very compelling.
I find controls a bit too clunky for either the platforming or action, which frustrates from time to time and takes this down a few notches. But all of the ideas thrown in here are good, just not integrated in a way that always works. Thankfully, the sequel addressed all these issues and then some. Still, this is a fun one and it's neat to see how the sequel carries on the story started here.
I don't think it all gels, but there's no denying how compelling this world and these characters are, nor how satisfying and tactile the mining is. And that core loop of mine - > upgrade -> explore and then mine some more is very compelling.
I find controls a bit too clunky for either the platforming or action, which frustrates from time to time and takes this down a few notches. But all of the ideas thrown in here are good, just not integrated in a way that always works. Thankfully, the sequel addressed all these issues and then some. Still, this is a fun one and it's neat to see how the sequel carries on the story started here.
I JUST WANNA BE A LITTLE WESTERN ROBOT I YEARN FOR THE MINES PLEASE
The main loop of SteamWorld Dig is very fun. Explore, mine, return and sell. Manage your inventory to not waste ores. Manage your health or you will die very quickly (before you get later upgrades at least). Predetermined caves to explore are placed around the randomly-generated world to change up the loop a little bit and avoid the game getting stale.
I mostly enjoyed the game, but there are a few things that hold it back for me. First off, the combat is extremely limited and not very fun to engage in. You have only a few tools to deal with enemies and enemy variety is almost non-existent. You're better off simply ignoring enemies unless combat is absolutely necessary.
I also found the movement very awkward to start with. Rusty slides around a lot and the walljump took some time to learn to use effectively. The cramped environment doesn't really help either. I got into the groove of it by the end of the game, but I wouldn't call SteamWorld Dig's movement good.
I mostly enjoyed the game, but there are a few things that hold it back for me. First off, the combat is extremely limited and not very fun to engage in. You have only a few tools to deal with enemies and enemy variety is almost non-existent. You're better off simply ignoring enemies unless combat is absolutely necessary.
I also found the movement very awkward to start with. Rusty slides around a lot and the walljump took some time to learn to use effectively. The cramped environment doesn't really help either. I got into the groove of it by the end of the game, but I wouldn't call SteamWorld Dig's movement good.
A good game plagued by glitchy mechanics on second playthroughs.
Yet another game I really liked. There isn't much to say about it though. Story is okay. It's slightly janky. But has a fun gameplay loop. It's a good game still worth going through, just understand it not a masterpiece.
The game has good music. But it isn't that special. The game essentially is dig, gather materials, go up and sell to buy upgrades. Repeat. On occassion you find a new power up or challenges in the mines.
The biggest issue in this is that you can def softlock and the only way out is death. If you are smart about your tunnels this mostly isn't a problem. But on occasion things happen that are out of your control and death is your only option.
Although it didn't happen to me, I could see how if you are terrible and die enough you can lose enough materials to be hardlocked. But I imagine most people that will not be an issue.
Controls are a bit jank but work fine enough. The game has odd difficulty spikes. At times the gameplay loop can be a bit tedious. It's a light metroidvania.
In general, it's a very chill experience. A brain off game. Nothing special, but still really fun. If you enjoy it, I highly suggest play the sequel as it's vastly superior. It improves and expands on the concept. You will need the story in this game to understand the sequel. Or better said, to appreciate the story in the sequel.
The game has good music. But it isn't that special. The game essentially is dig, gather materials, go up and sell to buy upgrades. Repeat. On occassion you find a new power up or challenges in the mines.
The biggest issue in this is that you can def softlock and the only way out is death. If you are smart about your tunnels this mostly isn't a problem. But on occasion things happen that are out of your control and death is your only option.
Although it didn't happen to me, I could see how if you are terrible and die enough you can lose enough materials to be hardlocked. But I imagine most people that will not be an issue.
Controls are a bit jank but work fine enough. The game has odd difficulty spikes. At times the gameplay loop can be a bit tedious. It's a light metroidvania.
In general, it's a very chill experience. A brain off game. Nothing special, but still really fun. If you enjoy it, I highly suggest play the sequel as it's vastly superior. It improves and expands on the concept. You will need the story in this game to understand the sequel. Or better said, to appreciate the story in the sequel.
Muito bom pra passar o tempo!! Acho que a conquista mais difícil que tem é de SpeedRun mas sabendo um pouco do game se torna fácil!! Muito bom
This game is very short but very memorable. I love collecting the ore and unlocking the equipment. I 100% it in the 4 and a half hours of playing the movement feels great and the power up were all good. The three main location were a little to similar but had enough differences to keep me going.
i swear ive played like 5 flash games with the same gameplay
something something little guys yearn for the mines
Simple game but is a lot of fun with the perfect length
When John Steamworld said "I am Steamworld and I must dig." I clapped and tears rolled down my eyes