This review contains spoilers
SteamWorld Dig 2 is a very solid Metroidvania experience. After having played the first SteamWorld Dig to completion (not 100%) about three years ago and finding it good, it was cool to see how this sequel reiterates and improves upon everything established in that game. The core is still pretty much the same, but it is expanded through great additions. This game took me three days of constant play to beat.
Upgrading your character (this time its Dorothy McCrank instead of Rusty) feels more satisfying than ever, it has that classic Metroidvania quality of feeling underwhelming and simple at first but really blossoming later on. I was surprised by just how many upgrades and new equipment you get throughout the game; sure, some of them return from the first game, but there are some that are completely new. My only real complaint about the progression in SteamWorld Dig 2 is that the whole leveling system felt rather pointless to me. Everything you can upgrade is already walled off through the money you get from selling the ore you collect on your journey, which felt like quite a natural path of progression to me, so I see no need for blocking things further through the level system. Whenever I had enough in-game cash to buy the upgrades I wanted, I was high enough level for it anyway. Also, I never felt any stronger or more efficient from leveling; the game would tell me my stats improved or something, but I couldn't tell the difference.
The level design of SteamWorld Dig 2 is wonderfully cohesive. I have a bad tendency of getting lost and frustrated with not knowing where to go or how to solve a puzzle in games, but that didn't happen to me a single time here. I don't know how to explain it in better terms, its just that the design of the game made it to where finding secrets and figuring out puzzles felt very intuitive, yet still complex enough to make me think about how to do it. I managed to find more than half of the Artifacts in the game, which made me feel quite accomplished since typically I'm not good at hunting down secret collectibles.
SteamWorld Dig 2 feels nice to play, as well. The controls are solid. Dorothy gets upgrades later on - a jetpack and a grappling hook - that made movement a lot of fun for me. I don't have a lot to say about that, but I figured I'd make a short paragraph praising this since "game feel" is a very important aspect of making a game enjoyable.
I will say, the story was not very gripping to me. It has a strange way of seeming like its trying to be more engaging than it actually is, there's some narrative but it didn't really hit for me. At the end, some cool plot-points were being built up and hinted at, but just ended up not being true for what only felt like it happened for the sake of a plot twist. One thing I like is that we learn that the Shiners (zombie people basically) from the last game are actually sentient and Dorothy befriends them. That was pretty cool, but I feel this should have been a little more developed considering Rusty was killing these guys in the last game. This is a big reason why the twist ending, where the leader of the Shiners that has been helping you was actually the villain using you for their master plan all along, falls flat for me. Why even pretend like they were good folk in the first place when the last game didn't do that? I did not see any signs that the Shiner leader was evil, though its possible I just missed some. Also, the game often hints that Rusty was the villain, since there's even an entire cult that worships him, yet Rusty isn't evil at all and he only shows up at the very end when its revealed he's just being used as a living battery for the real villain's big mech. I don't know, the plot twists just fell flat for me. That's not too big a deal since I don't expect some sweeping narrative from these games, but I do find it a little disappointing since this game tried to put more emphasis on story.
The visuals and soundtrack of SteamWorld Dig 2 are great. Although the music isn't something I would listen to outside of the game, in the game it works well to establish atmosphere. This game's art style looks REALLY nice, I don't know how to describe it. It sort of looks like watercolor paintings to me, if I had to compare it to anything. The visual flair of SteamWorld Dig 2 is a huge improvement over the first game in my opinion.
Overall, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a great game. It has flaws (what game doesn't?) but the positives far outweigh them. SteamWorld Dig 2 gets a solid 4 stars from me.
Upgrading your character (this time its Dorothy McCrank instead of Rusty) feels more satisfying than ever, it has that classic Metroidvania quality of feeling underwhelming and simple at first but really blossoming later on. I was surprised by just how many upgrades and new equipment you get throughout the game; sure, some of them return from the first game, but there are some that are completely new. My only real complaint about the progression in SteamWorld Dig 2 is that the whole leveling system felt rather pointless to me. Everything you can upgrade is already walled off through the money you get from selling the ore you collect on your journey, which felt like quite a natural path of progression to me, so I see no need for blocking things further through the level system. Whenever I had enough in-game cash to buy the upgrades I wanted, I was high enough level for it anyway. Also, I never felt any stronger or more efficient from leveling; the game would tell me my stats improved or something, but I couldn't tell the difference.
The level design of SteamWorld Dig 2 is wonderfully cohesive. I have a bad tendency of getting lost and frustrated with not knowing where to go or how to solve a puzzle in games, but that didn't happen to me a single time here. I don't know how to explain it in better terms, its just that the design of the game made it to where finding secrets and figuring out puzzles felt very intuitive, yet still complex enough to make me think about how to do it. I managed to find more than half of the Artifacts in the game, which made me feel quite accomplished since typically I'm not good at hunting down secret collectibles.
SteamWorld Dig 2 feels nice to play, as well. The controls are solid. Dorothy gets upgrades later on - a jetpack and a grappling hook - that made movement a lot of fun for me. I don't have a lot to say about that, but I figured I'd make a short paragraph praising this since "game feel" is a very important aspect of making a game enjoyable.
I will say, the story was not very gripping to me. It has a strange way of seeming like its trying to be more engaging than it actually is, there's some narrative but it didn't really hit for me. At the end, some cool plot-points were being built up and hinted at, but just ended up not being true for what only felt like it happened for the sake of a plot twist. One thing I like is that we learn that the Shiners (zombie people basically) from the last game are actually sentient and Dorothy befriends them. That was pretty cool, but I feel this should have been a little more developed considering Rusty was killing these guys in the last game. This is a big reason why the twist ending, where the leader of the Shiners that has been helping you was actually the villain using you for their master plan all along, falls flat for me. Why even pretend like they were good folk in the first place when the last game didn't do that? I did not see any signs that the Shiner leader was evil, though its possible I just missed some. Also, the game often hints that Rusty was the villain, since there's even an entire cult that worships him, yet Rusty isn't evil at all and he only shows up at the very end when its revealed he's just being used as a living battery for the real villain's big mech. I don't know, the plot twists just fell flat for me. That's not too big a deal since I don't expect some sweeping narrative from these games, but I do find it a little disappointing since this game tried to put more emphasis on story.
The visuals and soundtrack of SteamWorld Dig 2 are great. Although the music isn't something I would listen to outside of the game, in the game it works well to establish atmosphere. This game's art style looks REALLY nice, I don't know how to describe it. It sort of looks like watercolor paintings to me, if I had to compare it to anything. The visual flair of SteamWorld Dig 2 is a huge improvement over the first game in my opinion.
Overall, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a great game. It has flaws (what game doesn't?) but the positives far outweigh them. SteamWorld Dig 2 gets a solid 4 stars from me.