SteamWorld Dig

I love this title. It's a very nice mixed of exploration, action and an unfolding of an interesting story. I have not finished it, but until now it's been very fun. Reminds me of the mining part of Minecraft. One of the bonuses is that you are able to play it for small periods of time (for example, if you have 15 minutes before needing to go out or while waiting for your washing machine to finish XD ).

If you haven’t played SteamWorld Dig 2 yet, then you should play that one first. If you have played the sequel before and still have appetite for more, SteamWorld Dig might not feed that hunger. This game is simpler and more linear than the sequel and the latter is better in almost every way. Overall, this game lacks the charme and surprises of the sequel. It rarely seems to present something unexpected or something you haven’t seen before. There are almost no puzzles or challenges to overcome and there is just one boss to fight. The world looks less exciting and varied, you will only dig continuously downwards, aside from a handful of mini caves. The music is inconspicuous and unmemorable. There are no perks you can unlock, you just buy better items (bigger bags, more powerful tools). There are few fast-travel points, requiring frequent backtracking, unless you spend money on portable teleporters and risk running out of money before you were able to buy everything (there is a finite amount of money in the game and its not that plentiful). If you die, you will lose half of the money you have at that moment (which can be a lot). You can actually get stuck if you forget to dig a path that you can climb back (self-destruct or teleport, if you have one, is the only option then). Looking back and knowing how the sequel is, I would not have played this game.

- short, but to the point - starts slower then I like, but gets good fast after <spoiler> - good story, music and art - never overwhelms - little replay value

I have to say, with all of these "retro-inspired" indie games as of late, it's VERY hard to pick and choose what you're going to spend your hard earned money on. Though I'm an avid supporter of GOG, I had to pick it up for my Wii U (it's on sale right now, couldn't pass it up) And I will say, I didn't expect to like Steamworld Dig as much as I do! I won't get into the specifics of the story line (as there isn't too much of that going on, though, it's just enough to make it worth while, and have likely been covered in the other reviews) What I will say is this: it's not a particularly long, or difficult game. but I don't mean that in a bad way. One could easily play through this game in about five hours (maybe quicker if you're really good) and while the game isn't overly difficult, that's not to say that it doesn't have it's moments of challenge. Finding all of this games secrets is really what makes this game fun. For example. You see a stone deposit seemingly out of your reach. You think to yourself.. "what route do I have to take to get to it?" or "what power-up or item would work best here?" That's why I loved this game. I give this game a 4/5 only because I want more from it. By that I mean, I wish this game were longer, and more to offer in terms of story. It's not a knock against the gameplay, it's mechanics, or anything like that. Just that... It left me just slightly unsatisfied when I finished it. In closing, I will say this: It's worth it. Buy it. It's a fun game!

I got this game in an Indie Piñata, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. the best way to describe it would be a metroidvania with some Terraria elements thrown in for good measure. Once you get the hang of the of the way it handles mining (digging down is infinitely easier than digging up) it is a relaxing activity. Combat is a little wonky, you never have a one-hit weapon. Even when back tracking through the starting area your are still swinging away with your pickaxe. But combat is fairly minor to wonderful platforming that this game has to offer. I did beat it in about six hours, your mileage may vary, Very enjoyable.