Written by James Nicolay
Title: SteamWorld Dig 2
Developer: Image and Form International AB
Publisher: Image and Form International AB
Genre: Action Aventure, Platformer, Metroidvania
Price: $19.99
Also Available On: PSV, Steam, PS4
SteamWorld Dig 2 is a confident, polished sequel to the critically-acclaimed game that originally came out on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. While I was not really able to go beyond the first hour of the first game, there’s something about the first hour of this sequel that mesmerized me: the visuals look first-rate, the overall game design is masterful, and the gameplay feels amazing.
I think the struggle I had with the first one was I couldn’t quite connect with Rusty, the robot character—in this sequel, you play as Dorothy, who looks charming and badass at the same time. While the narrative is average—Dorothy is on a quest to save Rusty—it’s the quality of the gaming experience that makes this possibly one of the five best indie games right now on the Nintendo Switch.
The art direction and visuals look crispy and colorful when played docked with the Nintendo Switch. For some reason, I wanted to play the game on the big screen because one of the complaints I have with the original is that the overworld could feel a bit claustrophobic with a small screen. Thus, with SteamWorld Dig 2, I resolved to play it with my 55” screen—and, man, it is an absolute joy to play this game on big screen.
Though the entire world of SteamWorld Dig 2 is confined in one map, it a HUGE, vaaaast map. My favorite experience in the game is actually discovering secret areas and secret items littered all over the map—the developers make this experience crucial to enjoying more from the game. You literally dig through the entire world in search of treasures! By then, you will slowly upgrade your equipment until the digging becomes less of a task and more of an adventure.
Initially, Dorothy is given a simple pickaxe, and in the first thirty minutes, you undergo a mini-tutorial stage where you learn how to jump, cling to walls, dig, etc. Thereon, you reach the main hub where you are taught where to go to sell your ores, jewels, and other mining goodies; and where to upgrade your weapons and armor. The hub is actually very simple. I wish, though, that the hub could contain a few more surprises that can make the gameplay a bit more varied—like little side quests or mini-games would’ve made this a complete package. But then, for its price and because it is made by indie developers, I guess it’s just fine because the core game is solid.
Metroidvania genre fans will know what to expect—you go through the world, confront enemies, collect some items, use them to upgrade your stuff, and continue with the adventure, as the overworld gets huger, more accessible, and definitely more fun to explore. The only problem that usually confounds gamers who are not experts of this genre (like me) is that there are really some areas in Metroidvania games where people could get stuck—because an obstacle can only be removed by a certain power-up or weapon. And I feel this is where SteamWorld Dig 2 shines—I never felt the need to google or read up on how to get out of a certain area because of the masterful design of the overworld. Chances are, when one feels almost stuck, nearby, one would find the cave where he will find the power-up that could get him out of that area. And best of all, the new power-ups or upgrades will make the gamer want to re-visit previous areas and rediscover a hidden cog (for upgrades) or artifact (for further customization of the game).
The two potential problems of SteamWorld Dig 2 are its repetitive nature at the start and the difficulty level.
In the first two hours, it can feel a bit of a grind to go dig deeper and deeper into the world, and when the light meter goes out, you literally have to scramble up, back to the hub in order to reset your light, heart, and water gauge meter. For some strange reason, some of your digging equipment relies a lot also on a water gauge, and this is something that you have to replenish as well. But after discovering the teleportation spots, three solid updates to the digging equipment, water gauge, and light meter, then these repetitive tasks would not seem tedious—and a lot of times, going back to the hub feels like a well-timed breather for you to sell the minerals and jewels you dig, as well as to upgrade your equipment and armor.
While I did play on Easy Mode and there are some user configurations that I could turn on and off for extra challenge, I think it would be nice to have more bosses to fight. I actually fought the last boss and thought that it was just a mid-level boss—so I was surprised when the credits rolled after I defeated that boss—and I didn’t die even once. Haha. I guess I’m fine with that. The credits told me that I finished the game at 7 hours and 11 minutes, with 42% completion. Not bad. And I could definitely see myself revisiting the game and explore some areas I haven’t discovered yet.
There are some assets of the game that I feel could have been utilized better—some NPCs, while they have interesting dialogue, would’ve been better if they were a bit more purposeful. As I stated previously, some fetch quest or mini-games would’ve been nice. But then again, maybe the game could enjoy some DLC or amiibo support in the future.
Overall, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a joyful, masterful game that will astound you with its beautiful visuals, tight gameplay, and amazing over world design. Let’s do cross our fingers that the game developers would expand this masterpiece further by adding DLC or amiibo support. The moment they do this, I will not hesitate to revisit and have some amazing digging adventure with Dorothy once again.
Rating: 4.75/5
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