SteamWorld Dig 2

First of all, I'd like to point out the fantastic new travelling system. No more using resources for teleporters and having to worry about running out of them for upgrades. I also really enjoyed the new methods of moving throughout the world and the incredibly regular stream of upgrades one gets. As well as the number of challenges, secrets and generally quite big map. It took me almost 13 hours to finish at 100%. With the first Dig, it was almost 6 hours. Usually, I have a lot to say about games but here, I can only say that almost everything just feels right. The only downsides for me were that there are still not enough meaningful boss encounters. The only one stuck in my mind is the very first one. A funny cut scene and pretty decent mechanics. After that, until the final boss, there really aren't any encounters that feel as significant. And the last boss is very easy once again. Beat it on the first attempt, just like in Dig. Overall, I loved every minute of it and already can't wait to see what these bots are up to next!

SteamWorld Dig 2 is an improvement upon the original in every way that matters. The art is a little more polished. The upgrade system is more flexible without being confusing. The world expands in a less linear fashion, with reasons to backtrack into previous areas after getting new upgrades. And the story does a better job of making you care about the protagonist and the characters she meets along the way. SteamWorld Dig 2 strikes an excellent balance between platforming, exploration, and resource collection/management. It does a good job of improving your mobility gradually. It gives you enough upgrade cogs to feel like you can do lots of cool things, but not quite enough to make you feel like you can do everything. Combat is limited, which is good, because you can't attack while in the air, and your pickaxe is very short ranged. (Later in the game the pressure cannon becomes a much better weapon, but you have to unlock many upgrades before you have enough steam to really lean on it as your go-to weapon.) Image and Form do a good job of taking a genre and turning it into good gameplay, but they seem to put less emphasis on content length. The SteamWorld Dig series are their attempts at the Metroidvania genre with an old-west/steampunk theme. The first entry clocks in at 5 to 7 hours for a first time playthrough, the second title (this one) clocks in around 8 to 10 hours. It's a very compelling and fun 8 to 10 hours, and it's hard to argue that 8 hours of high-quality entertainment isn't worth $20; after all, I spend more than that just taking my partner to see a movie. It does, however, leave me wishing there were more ruins beneath El Machino to explore.

Image & Form delivers again. Much more expansive than the predecessor, this game adds more "classical" metroidvania platforming challenges to the mix. That means less focus on the digging mechanic, which would be a criticism if the non-dig parts weren't as well done as they are. In the end, when you are a fully upgraded murder machine, the challenge tends to fall off though, especially on the mentioned non-dig parts. Those would be more interesting (at least for me) if they relied more on failing, learning curve and retrying than mindlessly running through with your armor tanking all the environmental hazards. Only a minor flaw though, since the game makes up for it with rich exploration, a beautiful artstyle and aesthetic, the charming steamworld universe, and an amazing soundtrack. And let's not forget the digging, which is still as compelling as ever. Overall, heartily recommended.

If you played the first one, this sequel is more of the same. What's different are the tools, added bosses and level design. The tools in the game make it easy to get around from the half to the later part of the game with the main character, Dot, using her hook-shot and jet-pack. Also the water doesn't deplete like the first on. There a few bosses added throughout the game which was lacking in the first one. It gives the player a break at digging and put their skills to use. The level design is different in that it branches out in different sections unlike the first one. But, each of the branching stages besides a few, don't have a very distinctive theme which makes the areas too similar. Because of this, I didn't get that feeling of "wow" like I would if I discovered a new part of the world in Metroid. To top it all off, the graphics, controls and music are great. I love the clean graphics that Image & Form creates with their ease of controlling the character good atmospheric music. The "digging mechanics" was as addicting as the first one. Collecting ore to trade in for cash and then buy new upgrades never got boring. It was twice as long as the last game (took me about 15+ hours), but the ending makes me wonder if there will be a DLC coming. Perhaps a DLC for 2-player mode with new areas? It would be awesome. Overall, it was a superb game at many points, but still made me want more...