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.
Steamworld Dig 2 is safe, it’s predictable, it’s comfy. Don’t expect to get your mind blown by any of its content or systems. You dig up shiny stones, you sell the shiny stones, you buy upgrades with your earnings, repeat. It definitely earns some brownie points for the cute robot characters and how gorgeous the world can look at times. But aside from one pretty neat scripted section near the middle, Steamworld Dig 2 isn’t here to reinvent the wheel or even have any really spectacular wheels. That’s not to say Steamworld Dig 2 is bad or anything. It’s quite polished, well paced, and absolutely worth your time if the mining loop sounds fun to you. It’s like a grilled cheese prepared by Gordon Ramsey, ultimately plain but you can tell there’s some super talented folks behind it.
short but good metroidvania
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.
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.
This sequel improves upon the original in leaps and bounds; the controls feel less stiff, the main digging mechanic is more fleshed out + more mobility options and fun gameplay additions. The moment to moment gameplay is super addicting, and the map is huge.
My one big gripe in the last game with it having linear progression has been fixed here with a well-realised menu where the options do really affect your actual gameplay and allow you to play the game in more ways than one.
I think it does such a great job of accommodating players who are both new to this genre as well as veterans.
The presentation is simply gorgeous, too. The last game was by no means ugly, but the art style here bounds off the screen and brings the environment characters to life with vibrant colours and meticulous polygonal cel-shading.
The soundtrack by El Huervo completes the picture with atmospheric, meandering melodies, reminiscent of the sprawling labyrinths you create underground.
The story is nothing amazing imo, but it does continue where the first game left off and has a satisfactory ending.
The only part where I think Steamworld Dig 2 really undermines (ha) itself is with the final boss, and that is something that the former game also had trouble with. It's mostly underwhelming, that's all.
Anyways, apart from that, Steamworld Dig 2 is an amazing game, and great example of the metroidvania genre.
Like one of the other reviewers here said, I'm genuinely impressed by just how much the developers were able to improve upon their game's formula and make something genuinely fun and exciting.
Really hope they make a Steamworld Dig 3 someday.
My one big gripe in the last game with it having linear progression has been fixed here with a well-realised menu where the options do really affect your actual gameplay and allow you to play the game in more ways than one.
I think it does such a great job of accommodating players who are both new to this genre as well as veterans.
The presentation is simply gorgeous, too. The last game was by no means ugly, but the art style here bounds off the screen and brings the environment characters to life with vibrant colours and meticulous polygonal cel-shading.
The soundtrack by El Huervo completes the picture with atmospheric, meandering melodies, reminiscent of the sprawling labyrinths you create underground.
The story is nothing amazing imo, but it does continue where the first game left off and has a satisfactory ending.
The only part where I think Steamworld Dig 2 really undermines (ha) itself is with the final boss, and that is something that the former game also had trouble with. It's mostly underwhelming, that's all.
Anyways, apart from that, Steamworld Dig 2 is an amazing game, and great example of the metroidvania genre.
Like one of the other reviewers here said, I'm genuinely impressed by just how much the developers were able to improve upon their game's formula and make something genuinely fun and exciting.
Really hope they make a Steamworld Dig 3 someday.
this expands on everything that made the first steamworld dig great while also giving us context and a backstory for fen in steamworld heist. can't recommend it enough if you want a metroidvania-like game with gameplay thats both solid and unique!