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
-SteamWorld Dig 2 is a direct sequel to SteamWorld Dig, It follows Dorothy/Dot as she tries to find Rusty following his disappearance at the end of the first game.

-Fen is annoying, and his decision at the end (like with most of the game's emotional beats) comes off as contrived (much like how the ending of the first SWD wasn't sad).


GRAPHICS
-Graphically, it looks the same as the original but with more detailing and texturing. Not a huge difference, but it is noticeable and gives the game greater flare.


GAMEPLAY
-The transport system has been heavily streamlined. There are no more ladders and torches, and you now have access to multiple transport tubes which have to be discovered throughout the area, compared to the first game where you only had 1 and had to buy extras if you wanted to replace the preexisting one.

-Resources are more diverse, and I actually noticed a difference this time around compared to the first game where they all felt jumbled together.

-There are a lot more upgrades this time around. In fact, there are so many that you won't have enough money to buy them all, adding a little bit of strategy to the game. That said, I didn't like that mining was your only method of making money. For a game that puts a lot of effort towards building-up the town of El Machino, the buildings serve no purpose and it consequently would've been cool to have a renovation or task system for the different city inhabitants in order to procure cash beyond excavating.

-There are also cogs you can find (or buy, limited amount) throughout the world, which is far larger than the first Steamworld Dig’s. Cogs are usually found in caves (which serve as "side missions") and can be used to either give bonuses to your machines or Dot herself, such as increasing elemental orbs generated by killed enemies or making your weapons stronger.

-I was mixed on the cave aspect. They have secrets in them, but these secrets are usually discovered through uncovering a hidden pathway rather than solving puzzles (a good puzzle one being the mine cart button one), which wouldn’t be a bad thing were it not for those hidden pathways often having nonsensical locations.

-Completed caves have a green checkmark on them. However, you can only see that when you exit them, meaning you could end up restarting it despite not getting everything.

-The world at times feels too big for its own good. Things get grindy pretty soon, compared to the first where, because it was shorter, it didn't wear out its welcome. I also didn't like how you were forced to start off with the pickax again as it was annoying having to reupgrade Dot. The developers should've done something like Assassin’s Creed Rogue where, even though you had to reupgrade The Morrigan, you began with the charge ram and machine gun from the get-go. Here, Steamworld Dig 2 could've had you start off with the drill to alleviate extraneous farming.

-That's another thing, the drill (my favorite tool from the first game) is replaced with a jackhammer that just isn't as good or cool-looking as its forebearer.

-It was also dumb how, no matter how much you upgraded your armor, you still couldn't survive a falling boulder. Got really annoying, especially when you lose a cut of the game's already limited ores.

--Respawning enemies are tiring, especially those birds that make the irate noise.

-On the plus side, pools this time around last forever, meaning you don't have to worry about draining a source compared to the first game. This might be seen as a bad thing by some players, but it's not like SWD is an inherently strategic series (at least not until the third one).


VERDICT
-Took me about 6-7 hours to beat the story, and while there is a lot of extra stuff via the caves, they, as I said above, lack genuine puzzle elements. There's also no post-game playing, meaning you have to beat everything before doing the final boss, otherwise you'll have to rebeat them at the end.

-However, I didn't end up 100% the game because it just got tiring having to look for every secret. I wish there was a map or tracker you could unlock, because the game really doesn't have good exploratory incentives compared to true Metroidvania titles.

-I did end up putting in a total of 12-13 hours, meaning SteamWorld Dig 2 falls under my cost:gametime ratio formula. That said, because of the grinding, I ultimately had less fun with it than its predecessor, despite the tube and upgrade system improvements.

Un excelente metroidvania. Tiene un gameplay muy sencillo y adictivo. En un mundo donde los protagonistas son los robots, Dot una experta cavadora, escarba el subsuelo para encontrar a su amigo perdido.

Para eso tienes que cavar más profundo, mejorar tu equipo, acceder a nuevas zonas, derrotar a todo tipo de criaturas con nuevas armas y descubrir el submundo entero.

Es adictivo, corto y una muy buena entrada para aquellos que quieren entrar al género de los metroidvanias.
(No necesitas jugar el primero para entenderle a este).

Maru has said for a while that this is a really good game, and since it was on Game Pass and I'm still on a Metroidvania kick, I decided to give it a go last weekend. That turned out to be a pretty dang good decision, as it's certainly the best Metroidvania I've played so far this year ^w^. It took me just over 9 hours to do everything in the game and collect all the things (as well as do the "sequence break" achievement) on normal difficulty.

Steamworld Dig 2 is the sequel to the far simpler Steamworld Dig, a game I played a year or two ago on my 3DS and also liked quite a bit. This sequel expands on the original as a sequel really should. It improves the good and builds on top of it. The core concept of the game is a Metroidvania mixed with resource farming, I guess. It's almost like if Spelunky was slower-paced and also a more linear Metroidvania XD

You have a main mine underneath the main town, and you dig down there as well as fight enemies to find minerals to sell back in town. You can spend this cash you get on upgrades to your base stats and equipment, and you also find new equipment periodically as you progress through the story (like a grappling hook or a bomb launcher). There's a main mine that you dig in more or less to earn money, and then there are side dungeons as well as main dungeons you navigate through for bonus collectibles, (which also are required for the best ending), upgrade cogs (you can use them to toggle on and off upgrade abilities), extra cash, and even optional new powers and equipment.

After a few hours the game becomes a lot less linear, and you can start exploring around everywhere and engage in quite a lot of sequence breaking to get to areas you technically aren't supposed to be in yet. I really enjoyed how much the game embraces just letting you go where you want at your own pace like that. There are even upgrades you can get that make seeing secret areas easier. This is the first Metroidvania I've played in quite a while where I got EVERYTHING without once needing to look online where something was, and I like a game with secrets that intuitive (or at least a game that lets you eventually see the secret spots a lot easier XP).

The exploration and platforming is really where it's at with this game, and the combat is largely secondary. The ranged weapon you eventually get has VERY limited ammo, your melee attack has a short range that never really gets any longer, and you're often fighting in very compact spaces where maneuvering is difficult. That said, combat is a very secondary feature of the game overall, and the overall design of the world and the challenges you face within it are designed around your limited ability to fight things.

The story and world building are interesting, but ultimately kinda have a crap payoff. The character that is there among all the townsfolk as well as for the main character and her sidekick are charming and fun, and I honestly kinda wish there was more of it. But the final resolution to the story is sorta defying expectations by defying the normal expectations, which leaves the end result with kind of a strange message of "no wait, that prejudice was entirely justified after all". The narrative is certainly not the main event here, though. I'd put it solidly below the exploration, resource gathering, and action mechanics.

While I did play the original on a 3DS and this one on an Xbone, the art design and presentation of this game is MUCH stronger. It's a very pretty game that is often quite atmospheric. The music isn't anything super stand-out (at least for me), and I listened to podcasts most of the time I played this, but I didn't always have a podcast on. Especially one area that has a much more tense atmosphere where they take away your mini-map: that area is VERY well done and genuinely creepy.

Verdict: Highly recommended. This is definitely one of the stand-out better Metroidvanias to come out in the past few years. It's fairly challenging (sometimes a bit too hard, tbh) on normal difficulty, but it has the difficulty options to mitigate that. It looks nice, plays well, and doesn't outstay its welcome. The twist it puts on the Metroidvania formula is a gimmick, sure, but it's a strong one and provides a good change of pace between resource gathering in the main mine and platforming challenges in the optional side areas. If you like 2D exploration games and/or Metroidvanias, this is definitely a game to not let pass you by~

Minecraft wishes

The world of this game is well stablished and I enjoyed exploring the new ares. It being a metroidvania also helpped with that. The story while simple, it's interessting. The problem I had initially was that digging was really slow at the start and that actually takes a lot of points, it's like my main complaint. But once you get the hookshot it's a 10/10.

8/10

A fairly simple story, but in fact, a high-quality continuation of the first part. A very interesting sandbox with upgrades for the main character and the search for things that help you move forward. Of course, there is a small grind of resources for sale, but it is harmoniously integrated into the progression through the plot. A pleasant Metroid in which it is interesting to find out how it all ends, fortunately the game does not drag out the ending.

Достаточно простая история, но на деле, качественное продолжение первой части. Очень интересная песочница с апгрейдами главного героя и поиском вещей, которые помогают продвигаться дальше. Конечно, присутствует небольшой гринд ресурсов для продажи, но он гармонично встроен в продвижении по сюжету. Приятный метройд, в котором интересно узнать, чем все закончится, благо игра не затягивает с концовкой.

started this while Tekken 8 was installing and ended up playing the whole thing over a couple of days

really easygoing and charming journey

fun wee loop of dig, upgrade, dig better, repeat

meaningful upgrades make traversing previous areas a blast

loads of clever level design

a lovely wee time was had

Great game. It's interesting to compare this to the first game, because they are quite different gameplay experiences. You do the same things, but the structure is completely different. The first game is a straight dig down with some caves once in a while, this game has a whole world to explore with several seperate digsites. It does a lot more of the whole metroidvania backtracking thing, tho the fasttravel doesn't really let that become an issue. Same as the first game, the way your powerlevel increases is very satisfying, though there is a lot more "move that makes previous abilities obsolete" in here. It also doesn't really let you get in the zone of digging and cashing out as much, which could be interpreted as a positive or a negative depending on your stance on if the first game gets boring at times, but for me I would have liked some more time just digging and making my cave in the early game. However what replaces that are some pretty fun puzzle caves all over the place. There were a couple in the first game, but they really stretched out with them in this game. They dont really get crazy, you could compare them to zelda BOTW shrines in complexity, but they're nice as some variety in the game.

Not a fan of the little floating guy next to you trope that this game relies on for conversations, but eh whatever. In a worldbuilding sense its a fun connecting piece between the previous two steamworld games.

Had a lot of fun with this one.

Wie würde ich nun also den zweiten Teil einranken nachdem der erste mir nur so semi gefallen hat? Die Wertung gibt es zwar nicht wirklich her, aber deutlich besser tatsächlich.
Es ist auf allen Ebenen ein deutlich ambitionierteres Spiel als noch der Erste Teil und vieles ist einfach besser durchdacht und spielt sich auch um längen besser.
Die Regionen sind nicht nur interessanter sondern werden auch mithilfe von Sammelobjekten wie Zahnrädern deutlich "voller". Eben diese Zahnräder werden dann ebenfalls noch zum Verbessern von Waffen verwendet mit "Mods" welche dem gesamten Spiel zusätzlich noch mal mehr Tiefe geben.
Eine Schwäche teilt sich dieses Spiel allerdings mit dem ersten Teil: Ein eher träger Beginn welcher hier aber nicht nur zeitlich kürzer, sondern auch vom Volumen des Spiels deutlich weniger ist.
Dazu kommt dann noch das die Achievements dieses Mal deutlich angenehmer sind, wenn auch das Spiel ohne Tod durchzuspielen extrem viel schwerer als im ersten Teil ist und "Die ultimative Prüfung" ziemlich gut von dem Achievement Namen eingefangen wurde, "Zur Hölle und zurück".

Alles in allem ein sehr solider Titel welcher Fans des Metroidvania Genres sicherlich interessieren könnte.
7/10

A simple and wholesome experience all round, there’s not really anything strictly bad about this game, I enjoyed my time with it, its just a basic fun time where you dig to reach objectives, make money by mining ore which can upgrade your tools and rinse and repeat. Its a satisfying loop despite the fact that it gets a little repetitive since I had to go back to el machino constantly to trade, but as you progress it does become less frequent.

This game has lovely presentation, a charming cartoony artstyle with a goofy steampunk aesthetic and a really quality soundtrack too, some of the beats hit kinda hard. I was expecting something with procedural generation or randomness not unlike spelunky or minecraft or some kind of roguelike, but its actually a very intentionally crafted metroidvania with thoughtfulness in its placement of enemies, ore, tools, objectives etc. There’s clear barriers for progression until you get new tools and said tools feel excellent to use, especially the grappling hook and jet pack which make traversal so much more fluid and fun. This is also a game with very little focus on combat, every ‘boss fight’ is crafted around your movement and digging, just as you’ve been practicing throughout the game (though ‘combat’ exists to an extent), which was the right decision, but still, none of the boss or enemy encounters are particularly interesting or enjoyable, they’re more of an obstacle and an inconvenience than something I actively want to encounter.

In general though, the game is fairly basic but quite effective and I really enjoy being given a far away objective that I have to find my own path to get to, all the while exploring caves (which offer some great platforming & puzzle challenges), gathering upgrades and becoming more efficient at the core gameplay loop, simple but well executed stuff. The economy and upgrade system is also very well implemented and balanced, allowing me to upgrade at a good pace but still feel restricted enough as to feel like I had to prioritise and choose my upgrades meaningfully. The cog system letting you take out and re-use cogs like a ‘slot’ mechanic rather than a currency mechanic was a great choice. There’s also tons of secrets to be found, a charming and generally jovial tone and the game is just the right length for what it sets out to do I think, an all round good, albeit easy and inoffensive time.

This game is vastly superior to the first.

There is much more meat to the story. I enjoyed it. It looks absolutely beautiful. The much is soooooooooo good! It's a much bigger game. Feels more like a metroidvania than the first game did. The first game you most dig down. This game you have several paths the interconnect. It still is mostly digging down, but much more variety. There are also so many secrets. You are rewarded for exploring.

Above ground is even more fleshed out. There is more than just a town. You have more above ground exploration to the left and right of town.

Gameplay loop is the same, dig, get resources, upgrade. Repeat. But now there are way more challenge rooms and secrets to find. More upgrades are found in the mines too. Traversal is much less jank. Harder to screw yourself over to where you have to die. It really is just a better game in every single way.

The final boss is a bit frustrating though. It still can get tedious. It didn't happen to me, but yet again, I can see if you are bad enough, you might screw yourself out of resources in a way to hardlock. Some of the late game challenges are frankly insane. Demands a mastery of things that to be fair are not fun to do.

It's a chill brain off game mostly. Think before you dig, you will enjoy this game. I was absolutely shocked by how much of an improvement this was over the first and how much I enjoyed it. The first game is a resource gathering game with light metroidvania elements. This game is a fully fledged out metroidvania. I highly recommend it. But you need to know the basic story from the first game to appreciate the story in the sequel.