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.