A fantastic Metroidvania that emphasizes exploration over combat, sometimes to its detriment.
Most Metroidvanias have a pretty set path for how you have to go about exploring, and while the map in SteamWorld Dig 2 is set, how you explore and get where you need to go is partially up to you as you dig your own routes around the world. The problem with that, is if you get a little overzealous with your digging, you might accidentally dig yourself into a difficult spot to jump out of.
The loop of digging deeper, mining ore, returning to town to sell your ore, and upgrading your character is a fun loop. My only complaint is that the loop is painfully short at the beginning of the game. Rather than have to return to the surface because your bag is full, 80% of the time my limiting factor was my lantern going dark so I'd have to climb all the way back to town to refill it. Jumping, climbing walls, and running back and forth from town to the bottom of the mine is pretty dang tedious early in the game. Thankfully, as you progress and upgrade your character, you unlock a lot of fantastic mobility options and player upgrades that make your trips far less frequent and much quicker when they do happen. Your main resources for upgrading your character are gems to purchase better versions of your tools, and cogs to unlock specific skills or abilities for said tools. It's an extremely rewarding system that does a good job of making every upgrade feel worthwhile.
Combat isn't really a thing in the game. There are a handful of enemies scattered around the world, but those mainly exist as obstacles for your mining. The problem with that, is because combat has been so deemphasized, that the combat itself is pretty weak. You've got your pickaxe with extremely limited range or a small amount of bombs; and neither of those options feel particularly good or fun.
Overall, after playing a lot of Metroidvanias that are so combat-focused, I really enjoyed just exploring, digging, and solving puzzles, as I worked toward upgrading my character to becoming a mining power-house.
+ Fantastic exploration-focused gameplay loop
+ Rewarding upgrade system
+ Great mid-to-late game traversal options
+ Excellent puzzles and platforming challenges
- Early game exploration limitations can be annoying
- Combat is not fun
Most Metroidvanias have a pretty set path for how you have to go about exploring, and while the map in SteamWorld Dig 2 is set, how you explore and get where you need to go is partially up to you as you dig your own routes around the world. The problem with that, is if you get a little overzealous with your digging, you might accidentally dig yourself into a difficult spot to jump out of.
The loop of digging deeper, mining ore, returning to town to sell your ore, and upgrading your character is a fun loop. My only complaint is that the loop is painfully short at the beginning of the game. Rather than have to return to the surface because your bag is full, 80% of the time my limiting factor was my lantern going dark so I'd have to climb all the way back to town to refill it. Jumping, climbing walls, and running back and forth from town to the bottom of the mine is pretty dang tedious early in the game. Thankfully, as you progress and upgrade your character, you unlock a lot of fantastic mobility options and player upgrades that make your trips far less frequent and much quicker when they do happen. Your main resources for upgrading your character are gems to purchase better versions of your tools, and cogs to unlock specific skills or abilities for said tools. It's an extremely rewarding system that does a good job of making every upgrade feel worthwhile.
Combat isn't really a thing in the game. There are a handful of enemies scattered around the world, but those mainly exist as obstacles for your mining. The problem with that, is because combat has been so deemphasized, that the combat itself is pretty weak. You've got your pickaxe with extremely limited range or a small amount of bombs; and neither of those options feel particularly good or fun.
Overall, after playing a lot of Metroidvanias that are so combat-focused, I really enjoyed just exploring, digging, and solving puzzles, as I worked toward upgrading my character to becoming a mining power-house.
+ Fantastic exploration-focused gameplay loop
+ Rewarding upgrade system
+ Great mid-to-late game traversal options
+ Excellent puzzles and platforming challenges
- Early game exploration limitations can be annoying
- Combat is not fun
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.
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.
Feels like I played this game a hundred times over on various different Flash games websites in my mid-teens, though SteamWorld Dig 2 is obviously broadly a much more polished and fleshed out experience. The story and characters didn't connect with me at all, and the movement doesn't really feel suited to some of the more precise platforming challenges, but I wanted something with a satisfying gameplay loop to keep me distracted and engaged for a few hours and the game very ably delivered in that regard.
Very tightly designed gameplay loops, but I felt what was at the core felt a little dry. Mainly this comes from the core of the combat feeling a bit stiff/simple - the first bug enemy type was fun to learn, but the 2nd jumping bird feels really unmanageable given how tight corridors are, your stiff jump, low ammo, giant hitboxes. I got the sense that the main push of the design is to just stick to the mine-for-money/do puzzle caves/upgrade loop, which felt repetitive.
É incrível a evolução do primeiro jogo pra esse, a impressão é que o outro é até uma tech demo aumentada, dada a qualidade de SteamWorld Dig 2.
A mobilidade, a exploração, os níveis, a história, o visual, tudo faz do jogo uma experiência muito gostosa de apreciar. Ele tem um loop muito bom, que funciona tanto pra partidas curtas quanto mais longas.
Além disso, eu AMO o foco em exploração independente de maestria que ele dá: as vezes é mais importante olhar cada cantinho do que realmente saber pular rápido ou algo. Junta isso com meu prazer em ticar listinhas de coletáveis e taí um jogo que fiz 100%.
A mobilidade, a exploração, os níveis, a história, o visual, tudo faz do jogo uma experiência muito gostosa de apreciar. Ele tem um loop muito bom, que funciona tanto pra partidas curtas quanto mais longas.
Além disso, eu AMO o foco em exploração independente de maestria que ele dá: as vezes é mais importante olhar cada cantinho do que realmente saber pular rápido ou algo. Junta isso com meu prazer em ticar listinhas de coletáveis e taí um jogo que fiz 100%.
A manutenção das mecânicas do primeiro jogo através dos sistemas de upgrades na loja e adição de novos poderes obtidos ao explorar as minas fazem desse jogo ainda mais viciante!
Faz um bom uso dos conceitos que formam o gênero "metroidvania" pra criar uma das coisas mais originais que saíram nos últimos tempos nessa indústria. Queria que fosse mais apreciado para termos mais chance de ter uma sequência direta (mas quem sabe, né?)
Faz um bom uso dos conceitos que formam o gênero "metroidvania" pra criar uma das coisas mais originais que saíram nos últimos tempos nessa indústria. Queria que fosse mais apreciado para termos mais chance de ter uma sequência direta (mas quem sabe, né?)
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 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 is the first and only time you will ever hear me say a game was too short.
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.
Breezy, not too difficult, and fun to jump around in. It has a brainscratch-y gameplay loop and a satisfying progression of upgrades, though I'm baffled by why the ability to shoot bombs in midair is optional. The combat is pretty bad, but there isn't enough of it for me to care all that much. If I have one real complaint, it's that the game world felt a little too small; there are really only three major areas and I started to get tired of the mechanics for each one by the end. Still, I had a lot of fun with it.
É uma evolução em relação ao primeiro, mas não o suficiente para eu adorar, ainda acho o gameplay entediante, e a estética não me agrada. As habilidades são melhores e o level design também, mas não consegui ficar engajado enquanto jogava.
Strong game. Wasn't a fan of the original but the sequel improves on the game dramatically, where the metroidvania and digging elements marry together to create this pretty relaxing, wanderous experience where delving into the mines and poking its crevices was...nice. And in addition to that, the game also packs itself with neat upgrades and equipment, including!, a really good grappling hook. Dorothy's loadout is pretty powerful and fun to use, they did a good job of just making moving around and punching dirt to be as good as it could be. The challenge rooms littered throughout also helps you make the most out of them, especially the end game hell dungeon. Also, shoutout to the OST for this game and having probably the best town theme I've ever heard.
Overall, it's ROCK solid. Some easy slouch day entertainment with an even amount of challenge to keep you arching your back every now and again.
Overall, it's ROCK solid. Some easy slouch day entertainment with an even amount of challenge to keep you arching your back every now and again.
I really like this game and it's world, and that's saying something since I really hate steampunk aesthetic in general
Completed with 100% of secrets/items collected (post-game trials excluded). SteamWorld Dig 2 is another hit from Image & Form, building on the success of the first game in pretty much every way. The game sees players taking control of Dorothy, a companion to the first game's protagonist, Rusty, as she seeks to discover what has happened to Rusty, and develops into a full-blown 'Metroidvania'-style exploration game while retaining the mining and wealth accumulation from the original SteamWorld Dig.
While it's easy to drop in and out of the game for brief stints of gameplay, it's very easy to lose yourself in the game's core mechanics, which make for a very relaxing, engrossing and ultimately satisfying experience, as you gradually expand and improve Dorothy's abilities. New to this over the original game are a range of additional bonus abilities that can be selected (and swapped out at will) - the range of these expanding as more core upgrades are obtained/purchased - which themselves also encourage further exploration to gather more of the upgrade 'cogs' that each bonus ability costs to enable.
Dotted throughout as you dig deeper through each of the the game's key areas are a number of secondary cave areas, the majority of which present a challenge or puzzle or some kind. There's an impressive range of different scenarios offered by these, each of which is very enjoyable to solve, rewarding upgrade cogs and other materials. For those who want to challenge themselves, there's good potential for replaying the game with a speedrunning approach, or limiting the abilities that you allow yourself access to, but even without this the game has a good length.
This is all presented with some attractive graphics and animation, making for an excellent overall package - highly recommended.
While it's easy to drop in and out of the game for brief stints of gameplay, it's very easy to lose yourself in the game's core mechanics, which make for a very relaxing, engrossing and ultimately satisfying experience, as you gradually expand and improve Dorothy's abilities. New to this over the original game are a range of additional bonus abilities that can be selected (and swapped out at will) - the range of these expanding as more core upgrades are obtained/purchased - which themselves also encourage further exploration to gather more of the upgrade 'cogs' that each bonus ability costs to enable.
Dotted throughout as you dig deeper through each of the the game's key areas are a number of secondary cave areas, the majority of which present a challenge or puzzle or some kind. There's an impressive range of different scenarios offered by these, each of which is very enjoyable to solve, rewarding upgrade cogs and other materials. For those who want to challenge themselves, there's good potential for replaying the game with a speedrunning approach, or limiting the abilities that you allow yourself access to, but even without this the game has a good length.
This is all presented with some attractive graphics and animation, making for an excellent overall package - highly recommended.
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
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
I owe this game an apology as for the longest time I thought it was just some grindy rougelike. No it's an actually designed Metroidvania, and a solid one at that.
What gave me the impression of it being a rougelike is the footage I saw of the main character mining through samey block after samey block. This made me think the world was randomly generated, as it'd be easier to do that with such assets. But no, there's little randomness from what I can tell. Everything feels consistent and intentionally placed, which makes mining through it all the more funny in retrospect. It gives the player a lot of options on how they want to descend down the mines.
The core loop is delving downwards, finding treasure and caves containing upgrades, then returning to base before your lamp oil runs out of fuel. It's pretty slow to start as you're lamp runs dry fast, but because the mines don't regenerate its terrain, it means you're always making progress no matter what. Slowly etching your way towards the next goal at all times. It's simple but very effective. The challenge caves are all a nice... challenge, and give valuable rewards that makes mining and survivability much more comfortable. Yet soon enough you'll earn some incredibly fun moment abilities that makes traversal a blast. The hookshot is snappy and endlessly useful as you can cancel out of the pull-in while retaining momentum. After getting that I'd sometimes forget I had a wall jump since I was just hookshoting at every turn, it was really addictive.
There's a nice variety of stuff to spend your money and upgrades on. Money allows you to enhance your tools while providing access to perks limited by the amounts of cogs (cause your a robot) you have on hand. Glad it's not a skill tree system. You unlock perks linearly, but are free to have whatever perks you want. Simple and clean.
The bosses aren't ideal for a Metroidvania though. They follow patterns of invincibility as you dodge their patterns before finally getting a chance to attack back, only for your damage output to be capped so that you have to go through every phase of their fight. The final boss was cool in concept, yet it felt pretty haphazard in execution. It was too busy without enough grace. There aren't a lot of bosses to be fair, but I feel a Metroidvania having very rigid boss designs defeats a lot of the purpose of getting stronger and improving your character. This would be a bigger issue if Steamworld Dig 2 was about fighting and high action, but no its more about planning, problem solving, and exploration. Combat is low on the priority list, which for the kind of game this wanted to be is probably for the better.
This is an easy recommendation. It offers a nice balance for players who want a chill time digging, and those who want to be challenged in optimizing their paths to beat the game as quickly as possible.
I got killed by falling rocks more then I care to admit...
What gave me the impression of it being a rougelike is the footage I saw of the main character mining through samey block after samey block. This made me think the world was randomly generated, as it'd be easier to do that with such assets. But no, there's little randomness from what I can tell. Everything feels consistent and intentionally placed, which makes mining through it all the more funny in retrospect. It gives the player a lot of options on how they want to descend down the mines.
The core loop is delving downwards, finding treasure and caves containing upgrades, then returning to base before your lamp oil runs out of fuel. It's pretty slow to start as you're lamp runs dry fast, but because the mines don't regenerate its terrain, it means you're always making progress no matter what. Slowly etching your way towards the next goal at all times. It's simple but very effective. The challenge caves are all a nice... challenge, and give valuable rewards that makes mining and survivability much more comfortable. Yet soon enough you'll earn some incredibly fun moment abilities that makes traversal a blast. The hookshot is snappy and endlessly useful as you can cancel out of the pull-in while retaining momentum. After getting that I'd sometimes forget I had a wall jump since I was just hookshoting at every turn, it was really addictive.
There's a nice variety of stuff to spend your money and upgrades on. Money allows you to enhance your tools while providing access to perks limited by the amounts of cogs (cause your a robot) you have on hand. Glad it's not a skill tree system. You unlock perks linearly, but are free to have whatever perks you want. Simple and clean.
The bosses aren't ideal for a Metroidvania though. They follow patterns of invincibility as you dodge their patterns before finally getting a chance to attack back, only for your damage output to be capped so that you have to go through every phase of their fight. The final boss was cool in concept, yet it felt pretty haphazard in execution. It was too busy without enough grace. There aren't a lot of bosses to be fair, but I feel a Metroidvania having very rigid boss designs defeats a lot of the purpose of getting stronger and improving your character. This would be a bigger issue if Steamworld Dig 2 was about fighting and high action, but no its more about planning, problem solving, and exploration. Combat is low on the priority list, which for the kind of game this wanted to be is probably for the better.
This is an easy recommendation. It offers a nice balance for players who want a chill time digging, and those who want to be challenged in optimizing their paths to beat the game as quickly as possible.
I got killed by falling rocks more then I care to admit...
A great follow-up to Steamworld Dig. It expands on the previous game and refines mechanics in ways that really enhance the experience. Some of the hardware upgrades you'll acquire feel like a godsend. My only criticism is that the optional final challenges (which you can access for 100%-ing the rest of the game) are INSANELY difficult. Until then, the game's difficulty level seemed perfect. Even watching people make it through the final challenges on YouTube, I couldn't manage some of them, as the controls must be very exact and precise.
But that's not that big of a deal, as they're completely optional. If you ever enjoyed the first game or the old Flash game Motherload, you should buy this game.
But that's not that big of a deal, as they're completely optional. If you ever enjoyed the first game or the old Flash game Motherload, you should buy this game.
Steamworld Dig 2, perhaps more than any other game in history, is the shining example of what a sequel can and should be. Every single aspect of this game is improved up on from its predecessor. Gameplay mechanics, upgrade systems, characters, dialogue, economy, music, art, substance, emotional impact. This game is a perfect sequel. SD2 does directly follow the events of Steamworld Dig, but no knowledge of the previous game is required to understand the story or engage with the world. I do highly recommend that you play the first game though, I’d absolutely list it in my indie must-plays.
In SD2, you take control of Dot, a robot visiting the charming sci-fi western town of El Machino. The inhabitants of the the town are friendly, colorful, and memorable. The music is calming and yet exciting. The plot begins! You are searching for your uncle, Rusty, your voiceless protagoist from the first game, who disappeared at the end of Steamworld Dig. You team up with Fen, fire spirit/best boy, and together set off to the underground to dig, dig, dig.
In this metroidvania, you’ll dig down into the earth to find caverns, enemies, puzzles, challenges, and some pretty crazy boss fights as you progress towards the bottom. The great part about the game is that each tool you acquire and each skill you gain (by spending money back in town) serves a very specific purpose: to help you keep digging. Whether its an upgrade for more water (water is basically mana and makes all your gadgets work), a mobility tool like the hookshot, or an upgrade like the drill to bore through rock faster, each of these tools makes you just good enough, just fast enough to make it to the next checkpoint and unlock its mysteries.
Like many metroidvanias, there’s a hub world (the town) with a pipe that lets you fast travel to any of the checkpoints you’ve unlocked. You have a limited amount of light every time you travel to the underground, and must find places to recharge it for extended stays or else be lost in the darkness. Trips to the surface become less frequent as you progress farther underground and gain powerups and tools that help you keep the lights on longer. There’s plenty of collectibles too! Find all the cogs if you can. You’ll collect gems to sell for cash and use the cash to buy upgrades so you can dig for more gems. Feedback loop!
There aren’t a huge variety of enemies, but the fact is they’re not really there for you to fight, they’re mostly there to try and impede you from digging. Dig around them, fight them, whatever. Bossfights can get tough, I got stuck on the Prophet for a good while. It never gets overly challenging though, you can easily play on your switch while watching TV.
This game may not look like it has very much of a story, and it doesn’t, but what is there hits very hard. Dot and Fen have a great relationship, and the characters you meet around town and elsewhere all have something interesting going on. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the last scene of the game hit me so hard I teared up. You need to finish it.
Steamworld Dig 2 takes every aspect of the previous game and doubles, if not triples, its quality. The upgrade system is perfectly balanced so I was never over or under powered. The characters are fun, goofy, and memorable. The gameplay is smooth and satisfying, and use of mobility tools like the grappling hook feels like a natural addition to the formula. This is a perfect game to escape to while watching TV or listening to a podcast. Make sure you’re paying attention at the end tho — the last scene is well worth working to reach.
In SD2, you take control of Dot, a robot visiting the charming sci-fi western town of El Machino. The inhabitants of the the town are friendly, colorful, and memorable. The music is calming and yet exciting. The plot begins! You are searching for your uncle, Rusty, your voiceless protagoist from the first game, who disappeared at the end of Steamworld Dig. You team up with Fen, fire spirit/best boy, and together set off to the underground to dig, dig, dig.
In this metroidvania, you’ll dig down into the earth to find caverns, enemies, puzzles, challenges, and some pretty crazy boss fights as you progress towards the bottom. The great part about the game is that each tool you acquire and each skill you gain (by spending money back in town) serves a very specific purpose: to help you keep digging. Whether its an upgrade for more water (water is basically mana and makes all your gadgets work), a mobility tool like the hookshot, or an upgrade like the drill to bore through rock faster, each of these tools makes you just good enough, just fast enough to make it to the next checkpoint and unlock its mysteries.
Like many metroidvanias, there’s a hub world (the town) with a pipe that lets you fast travel to any of the checkpoints you’ve unlocked. You have a limited amount of light every time you travel to the underground, and must find places to recharge it for extended stays or else be lost in the darkness. Trips to the surface become less frequent as you progress farther underground and gain powerups and tools that help you keep the lights on longer. There’s plenty of collectibles too! Find all the cogs if you can. You’ll collect gems to sell for cash and use the cash to buy upgrades so you can dig for more gems. Feedback loop!
There aren’t a huge variety of enemies, but the fact is they’re not really there for you to fight, they’re mostly there to try and impede you from digging. Dig around them, fight them, whatever. Bossfights can get tough, I got stuck on the Prophet for a good while. It never gets overly challenging though, you can easily play on your switch while watching TV.
This game may not look like it has very much of a story, and it doesn’t, but what is there hits very hard. Dot and Fen have a great relationship, and the characters you meet around town and elsewhere all have something interesting going on. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the last scene of the game hit me so hard I teared up. You need to finish it.
Steamworld Dig 2 takes every aspect of the previous game and doubles, if not triples, its quality. The upgrade system is perfectly balanced so I was never over or under powered. The characters are fun, goofy, and memorable. The gameplay is smooth and satisfying, and use of mobility tools like the grappling hook feels like a natural addition to the formula. This is a perfect game to escape to while watching TV or listening to a podcast. Make sure you’re paying attention at the end tho — the last scene is well worth working to reach.
Takes the basic structure of the first one and improves basically everything. Mobility is improved, mining is faster, the story and characters are more interesting, and there are more exciting upgrades and better combat elements.
Que jogo absolutamente perfeito. Fodasi
This game is the byproduct of Samus, Mr. Driller, and Dig Dug getting together for a hoedown. The original Steamworld Dig didn't really blow me away; just a lot of digging down in randomly generated tunnels until I had to resurface and buy upgrades, rinse/repeat until credits roll. This one is a full-blown search-action title though, even if it's still in service of very similar (but refined) concepts from the previous game.
The biggest addition to the gameplay is probably the cog mods, which are honestly excellent. As you upgrade your tools in exchange for cash, you gain access to various mods that you can equip, as long as you have enough cogs. These cogs are frequently your reward for exploring, and the more you have, the more passive buffs you can equip. There's even ones that actively make the game harder in exchange for higher rewards.
There are a couple of minor issues that remain from the first game, like not being able to use your pickaxe in midair, or the process of digging blocks one at a time getting somewhat tedious. I will still gladly give this game's chrome finish a rating of "purty good, partner." Truly a diamond in the rough.
The biggest addition to the gameplay is probably the cog mods, which are honestly excellent. As you upgrade your tools in exchange for cash, you gain access to various mods that you can equip, as long as you have enough cogs. These cogs are frequently your reward for exploring, and the more you have, the more passive buffs you can equip. There's even ones that actively make the game harder in exchange for higher rewards.
There are a couple of minor issues that remain from the first game, like not being able to use your pickaxe in midair, or the process of digging blocks one at a time getting somewhat tedious. I will still gladly give this game's chrome finish a rating of "purty good, partner." Truly a diamond in the rough.
Although it's an improvement over the original in a number of ways (and the hookshot is glorious fun), exploration largely being tied to just a vertical downward path with some minor branches now and then keeps it from ever really feeling like my kind of Metroidvania.
It's fun enough, it's short (and definitely skimps on the boss fights), and the City Theme is some of the most chill music ever and I could just have it on for hours if I wanted to just lay back and relax.
It's 20 bucks, and I can't really justify recommending it at that price, but the good news is that there's sales fairly often for it (Steam's Winter Sale has it at 75% off right now, or 5 bucks). For 5-10 bucks, it's a fun time, especially just for the minor sequence breaking you can do if you get creative, and if you're a completionist that really wants to do all the challenge caves just to take on the Ultimate Trial (I didn't enjoy the game THAT MUCH).
It's fun enough, it's short (and definitely skimps on the boss fights), and the City Theme is some of the most chill music ever and I could just have it on for hours if I wanted to just lay back and relax.
It's 20 bucks, and I can't really justify recommending it at that price, but the good news is that there's sales fairly often for it (Steam's Winter Sale has it at 75% off right now, or 5 bucks). For 5-10 bucks, it's a fun time, especially just for the minor sequence breaking you can do if you get creative, and if you're a completionist that really wants to do all the challenge caves just to take on the Ultimate Trial (I didn't enjoy the game THAT MUCH).
SteamWorld Dig 2 is basically just a bigger SteamWorld Dig 1. I didn't feel that any of the differences between the two were monumental. This one has a much bigger focus on the story, which kind of makes sense because the ending of 1 was a little weird from what I remember. The music is good, but nothing crazy. The gameplay and visuals remain mostly identical to the first game. The map is much larger, but it felt as if they wanted it bigger just to say it was bigger. Not much purpose to that for the most part, I thought. Still, SteamWorld Dig 1 was a good game so 2 being mostly identical isn't even a bad thing. Good job.
As good or better than Steamworld Dig 1, but the game's structure is really unfocused and doesn't feel like it makes the best possible use of its own gameplay. Weird pacing where the game kinda rushes to get you all the major upgrades out the gate, throws you two totally-disparate dungeons, and then ends. Still an addicting little timekiller in the space occupying it but the best possible version of this would be more traditionally metroidvania i think.
Such an amazing sequel!
Expanded on so many things.
We have several zones and more fun abilities to get.
The story gets right after the events of 1, which is cool to see.
They've put more effort on the metroidvania aspect, game is pretty chill and not that long. The final boss fight was really fun. I definitely recommend
Expanded on so many things.
We have several zones and more fun abilities to get.
The story gets right after the events of 1, which is cool to see.
They've put more effort on the metroidvania aspect, game is pretty chill and not that long. The final boss fight was really fun. I definitely recommend
I just want to dig hole, find rock, and buy upgrade. That's all I want. But this game keeps wanting me to do platforming challenges (despite the movement not feeling very good) and combat (which also does not feel very good) and there's also some story happening that seems to be very charming or whatever but I'm sorry I just simply do not care because all I want to do is dig hole, find rock, and buy upgrade.
As a wise man once said, "These games are just smooth like butter."
It's incredibly impressive how much of an improvement this is from the first. Light upgrade customization provides meaningful progression at a steady pace. Improved movement and tools create excellent flow state like movement. And characters are expanded upon making even the most simple of concepts from the original feel rich with personality.
It's a title I couldn't put down and highly recommend. You don't have to dig very deep to find out why this game shines.
It's a title I couldn't put down and highly recommend. You don't have to dig very deep to find out why this game shines.
A charming, colorful, and satisfying gameplay loop that builds upon the predecessor in every way possible. One of my favorite indies to date.
Actually underrated game