Pros:
+ One of the most unique and interesting metroidvanias you'll ever play
+ Combines Terraria and Minecraft with Metroid and a hint of Castlevania
+ Really fun characters and a charming atmosphere in general (though it can get really dark, too)
+ Not exactly a hard game, but it can feel tough
+ The Upgrade Cog system is great fun to customize and play around with
+ The gameplay loop of mining deeper in different mines and quarries while finding better and better minerals and other collectibles is extremely satisfying
+ Sound design is really good
+ Great addition to the SteamWorld lore, being the second-to-newest game in timeline order
+ Lots of fun to replay through again
Cons:
- The game's money system hasn't been completely thought through because if a player dies repeatedly at the beginning and loses all their minerals that they would sell for money that they would use for upgrades, you might get stuck in the game (granted, there are so many minerals and such generally affordable upgrades that the problem will probably not arise for you)
- Music is atmospheric, but not very memorable for the most part (SteamWorld Heist has phenomenal music by SPG, though!)
- Some weird pacing after the midpoint as you start finding new caves and get uncertain as to whether or not you should get certain upgrades or not, depending on much more there is to explore and play
- The game's hard mode modifiers should not require Cogs to be used
- Suffers a bit from Super Metroid Invisible Door Syndrome (SMIDS), the case in which walls may look completely normal to the player but can actually be passed through. This is made slightly worse as the game doesn't have any projectile attacks at the beginning, but improved by the fact that they may still be somewhat predictable by reading the surrounding terrain for cues
+ One of the most unique and interesting metroidvanias you'll ever play
+ Combines Terraria and Minecraft with Metroid and a hint of Castlevania
+ Really fun characters and a charming atmosphere in general (though it can get really dark, too)
+ Not exactly a hard game, but it can feel tough
+ The Upgrade Cog system is great fun to customize and play around with
+ The gameplay loop of mining deeper in different mines and quarries while finding better and better minerals and other collectibles is extremely satisfying
+ Sound design is really good
+ Great addition to the SteamWorld lore, being the second-to-newest game in timeline order
+ Lots of fun to replay through again
Cons:
- The game's money system hasn't been completely thought through because if a player dies repeatedly at the beginning and loses all their minerals that they would sell for money that they would use for upgrades, you might get stuck in the game (granted, there are so many minerals and such generally affordable upgrades that the problem will probably not arise for you)
- Music is atmospheric, but not very memorable for the most part (SteamWorld Heist has phenomenal music by SPG, though!)
- Some weird pacing after the midpoint as you start finding new caves and get uncertain as to whether or not you should get certain upgrades or not, depending on much more there is to explore and play
- The game's hard mode modifiers should not require Cogs to be used
- Suffers a bit from Super Metroid Invisible Door Syndrome (SMIDS), the case in which walls may look completely normal to the player but can actually be passed through. This is made slightly worse as the game doesn't have any projectile attacks at the beginning, but improved by the fact that they may still be somewhat predictable by reading the surrounding terrain for cues