The Dig®

The Dig deserves a place in any adventure gamer's collection. It features some of the most complete world building in the LucasArts library and is presented in a style which sets it apart. The interface is stripped back, which wasn't a popular move at the time but I think serves a purpose - The Dig is about exploring a truly alien world and so by the design helps the player to not become overwhelmed by the strangeness. A single click examines carvings, manipulates machinery and gives some impression of the world around. Unusually for LucasArts, there's not a lot of character interaction in The Dig. It's focused on the relationships between the three characters who set foot on this strange new world and I think that is one of the game's strengths. There's a couple of reasons why, two decades since its original release, it doesn't get the attention it deserves. Firstly there are elements of the visual design which still astound, but the main character sprites have aged badly. This was the pinnacle of 2D design in the mid nineties, but the recent adventure game renaissance has allowed some truly beautiful 2D designs to appear. Secondly, the commitment to presenting an alien world means that some of the puzzles seem quite esoteric with little guidance as to how they are solved. As a teenager, I puzzled through the game without hints based on my experiences with other adventure games so I don't think the game is quite as impenetrable as rumoured. This is where the simplified interface really helps matters - it's more difficult to get lost when there are fewer options on screen. Perhaps the game's perceived self importance was a problem, too. The Dig's links to Steven Spielberg were heavily touted, and it was accompanied by a novel and soundtrack CD (both of which are worth obtaining if you like the game - the novel comes with a GOG purchase) but look beyond the noise and you'll find a serious, well designed adventure which is well worth your time and effort.

The Dig is one of the finest adventure games I've played. Aesthetically, the game is gorgeous. Luscious environments, hauntingly beautiful music, and a perpetual sense of tense isolation create a deliciously immersive atmosphere. Between the good-quality voice acting, snappy dialogue (balancing seriousness with humor), fluid animations, and tight pacing of the scripted sequences, the whole game has a cinematic feel. It's easy to chalk this up to the game's high-profile contributors (Steven Spielberg, Orson Scott Card, Robert Patrick), but I'd be quick to recognize the entire team for making the game so good. With few exceptions, the puzzles are excellent. Clear goals, subtle hints, useful feedback, and reasonable solutions are hallmarks of the challenges, which constantly find fresh new ways to test the player's problem-solving skills. Gameplay includes the usual point-and-click fare (eg, exploration, item use, dialogue choices), but the scope and complexity of the challenges are impressive, requiring keen observation, proper sequencing, and piecing together solutions across multiple locations. The game is satisfyingly difficult and seldom frustrating; I was (just barely) able to finish without ever consulting a walkthrough. I appreciate the clean, intuitive interface as well as the optional time-waster minigame, which offers the player an on-demand brain break. There's no way to die or dead-end the game, though one late-game decision slightly affects the ending. I only have a few complaints. At least at first, the characters uphold some tired tropes (eg, the strong woman who needs to prove she's just as capable as the men). The cutscene art has a jarringly cartoony look that doesn't mesh with everything else. A couple moments are slightly gross, but one scene is remarkably gruesome (fortunately, it's not a surprise). The ending is a bit anticlimactic. Still, I highly recommend this to any sci-fi or adventure game fan looking for an immersive challenge.

The Dig is my favorite old school adventure game. From the story, the graphics (for the time), the puzzles and the soundtrack. The game is just great all around. The only negative thing I can say about this release is that they don't have a copy of the soundtrack as well. A real bummer but I managed to find my own copy, if you look around you can find it as well. To bad they never made the movie it might have spawned another Lucas/Spielberg team up franchise that we all could have enjoyed.

Lockdown is the opportunity for some of us to finally have the time to replay some games of our childhood or teenage years. I didn't remember much about the Dig, to be honest - apart from Maggie's "adventure" outside of the library, which must have made a strong impression on me back then if it's the only thing I could retrieve from my memory. I finished the game yesterday and I believe I enjoyed more than when I first played it, to the extent that, to me, it's one of the best Lucas Arts has made. Different? Yes. Frustrating at times? Yes, a little bit (ugh, those dialogue options that you keep repeating in hope something new comes up.... or not). Mind-blowing? Absolutely. My only regret was using a walkthrough here and there, and I wish I hadn't - in retrospect, there's only one puzzle I couldn't have figured out on my own (and it's not even the turtle one). So, contrary to what some people have said - resist. Don't use a walkthough. Sleep on it. Chances are you'll discover something you've missed the next day. Instead: sit back, explore, and point your cursor everywhere (of course). What makes this game so different, to me, is how it succeeds at making you *feel* a lot, as another rewiever has already said here. The music, combined to these beautiful pixel backgrounds, plays a big part in this, as it allows the player to feel that sense of eerie, calm yet unsettling feeling of loneliness that you're supposed to experience while exploring this strange, strange land. Maggie's character was a good surprise for me, as it was good to see a strong female character in that kind of game - I only wish we could actually play her. The only complaint I have is that there could have been more explicit clues at times and yes, some (many?) puzzles will be frustrating because of this. But the overall experience is one of the best I've had the chance to play, which is why I give it 5 stars.

The Dig is one of a series of graphical adventures that came out around the time that Windows 95 was released. Yes, the original series of graphical games from Lucasfilm that, at the time, were hailed as ground breaking and engrossing, and to be fair, there is plenty of meat on the bones of all the Lucasfilm releases from that period, however, be warned that if you played this back then, chances are your memories of this game are not going to live up to the reality of playing a 25 year old game in this day and age. Lucasfilm were THE premiere games studio of the time. every one of their releases were, in a word, stunning. The Dig is no exception with a story to die for. Graphically, this was pushing the abilities of interactive graphics and engrossing sound and gameplay back in the 90s, and while todays generation will look at it and laugh at its sentimental retro appeal, Boomers will remember the hours they spent with this game. and that neatly brings me on to the bad.. the hours you will spend trying to play this is frankly embarrassing. While backtracking in computer games, puzzle solving that lasted for days and the continuous loop of long speech that you cant escape listening to every time you get it wrong will have you giving up in frustration. talking of frustration, can I just say WHAT THE HELL WERE THE DEVS THINKING? SOME OF THESE PUZZLES MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE! looking past the flaws, this is a great reminder of the sort of game people like me grew up on, and without this sort of game, titles like the Witcher, Skyrim and Mass effect wouldn't have been as great as they were, but replaying them now will have you quitting more often than not as the frustrating specificity of some of the quests evoke dire memories. Nostalgia is a fickle mistress, and I'm glad I had a chance to replay this, but I wouldn't suggest you go out of your way to bother unless you're really that interested in reliving past gaming glories or dedicated to retro gaming.