Game Review: Steamworld Dig is back with a sequel

The Swedish Image & Form has created its own unique universe, launched in 2010 with the modest Steamworld Tower Defense, a RTS defense tower with many characters playing in an alternate reality where, after industrial revolution steam robots, climbed to the top and people turned into foolish, deformed creatures called "Shiners". The developers had announced that the Steamworld franchise would have been different games and so the Steamworld Dig released in 2013 belongs to the category platform, getting the most positive feedback and winning the title "Best handheld game 2013". In 2016, the Swedish company released Steamworld Heist, a fun strategy based on a series that gave the most positive reviews. This September, Image & Form turned back to the platform and shows the sequel to Steamworld Dig.

Plot

Steamworld Dig 2 takes place a few months after the end of the first Steamworld Dig, whose protagonist Rusty is still MIA. You take on the role of Dorothy, Tumbleton's female robot merchant who decides to wander through Rusty's footsteps to solve the mystery of his disappearance and bring him back. Dorothy's new adventure base is El Machino, a Far West aesthetic city built over a mine. Along the way, you will come across Fen, a little blue flame that speaks, and who, though initially appeased to sow the disaster, then becomes Dorothy's faithful companion. The story binds Steamworld Dig and Steamworld Heist in a simple and beautiful way. Do not expect some amazing plot twist, the script is simple and fun and the characters are well written and personified.

Gameplay

In the game you go down to the mines and caves by digging, go up in the city as soon as your inventory is filled, sell the ores you picked up and reload. It sounds like a tedious process, but you will be pleasantly surprised if you have this impression, since you will discover many transport tubes that take you directly to any other pipe you've discovered, including one in El Machino.

There are 3 resources you should look care for. The first is your health, which decreases when you fall from a high altitude or when you come in contact with acid, lava or enemy attacks. If you die, you lose a small part of the ores you have picked up and you are reassembled in El Machino. The second resource is the fuel of your lamp which decreases gradually when you are below the earth and if it goes out completely you will not be able to see well beyond a very short distance. The third resource you should take care of is the water you collect from underground ponds and serves as fuel for your jackhammer and pressure bomb launcher. Below the land you will find scattered power-ups that fill you with one of these three resources and also you can collect from defeated enemies. Every time you go to El Machino, you fill all three resources in full, so if you are in need of one, an immediate solution is to get into the nearest transport tube and climb to the surface.

Controling is very simple, without complicated features, and although developers suggest using a gamepad, the keyboard will not be difficult for you at all. At first, Dorothy's capabilities will seem very limited to you, but early on you will begin to collect and incorporate new items into your equipment by enriching your strategic choices. Kill enemies by collecting XP, with which you are climbing levels that raise the price of ores you sell and allow you to upgrade your items. There are 2 types of upgrades. With dollars you upgrade a piece of your equipment directly, e.g your lantern lasts more each time you upgrade it, your inventory's capacity increases every time you upgrade your bags, etc. The cost ratio relative to your level is very good and not too expensive, something that saves you from grinding. Upgrading your equipment with dollars, unlocks and upgrades that you can apply to your items using cogs.

Cogs are a rare type of power-up, and to get them, you usually have to solve a puzzle or search a lot. Upgrades with cogs do not just upgrade the use of your items, but also give them extra features, such as the armor that damages any enemy you touch. Additional upgrades can be unlocked by finding and delivering artifacts, very rare items that are well hidden and harder to reach than cogs.

Along with your equipment, the difficulty is evolving in the same harmonious way. Steamworld Dig 2 seems to be designed to give you some time to harmonize with a new object or upgrade, gradually reducing water sources and introducing the lava, as well as gradually upgrading the intelligence of the enemies who are chasing you all the time more strenuous as you go, and so a smooth adjustment to the fluctuation of difficulty is achieved. The duration of a playthrough is satisfactory, with up and down 10 hours needed to complete the story from scratch, and if you want to find out all the secret places and unlock the extra secret level, you'll spend another 5 hours.

Pricing & Availability

Steamworld Dig 2 is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Windows/Mac on Steam for $20.

Graphics & Sounds

The world of Steamworld has its own distinctive aesthetics. The post-apocalyptic / steampunk / western city of El Masino, the surrounding and above all underground mines, forgotten caves and ancient temples are very well designed, bringing to mind a modernized and well-balanced version of 16-bit platform games.

The music that accompanies Dorothy's adventures is discreet but well-written with ambient / chillout pieces. The voice acting of the robots is delightful, funny and are in line with Steamworld Dig 2's general cartoon and comic atmosphere.

Conclusion

Steamworld Dig 2 seems to be the way for Image & Form to showcase a platform worth continuing the series name, improving the negative elements of its predecessor without resting on prize laurels and positive reviews. Easter eggs will definitely bring a smile on the lips of those of you who find and understand them, while the funny quotes (especially from Fen) are hilarious and show a beautiful mood that has been passed by the developers in the gameplay of Steamworld Dig 2. In conclusion, you will spend beautiful time with plenty of fun and puzzles.

Download Steamworld Dig 2 on Steam here.

Steamworld Dig 2 screenshots (above) and trailer (below)