The enemies are pretty much redundant during the start of the game, but in the later stages even a single enemy can drain out the majority of your health bar.
To make matters worse, the mine is populated with enemies in the form of worms, maybe a human or two, electric lines, TNT crates and puddles of acid. SteamWorld Dig succeeds in creating the illusion that you’re always under pressure due to its looping mechanics. Once your oil runs out, the only visible thing on the screen is you, and that makes going down or coming up even more challenging. Light is a requirement too, obviously the mines don’t house fitted bulbs, your lamp is your friend here. A drill runs on water though, and water is scarce. You eventually unlock a drill, which saves you the trouble of mashing the button repeatedly to swing your axe. To dig through harder metal you need a better tool. Your old rusty pickaxe is good only for the first twenty minutes of the game. Levelling up will unlock upgrades that allow for more inventory space. Inventory space is limited, so you can carry only a limited number of minerals. It involves taking decisions that will affect the way you play your game. The story is told to you in a very a straight forward way, by the robot-NPCs on Tumbletown’s surface and the environment itself.Īnd the journey up and down the mines is not a smooth one either. Yet, it is not the loot-mongering that drives you to go deeper and deeper, it is that constant sense of purpose which is excellently achieved by SteamWorld Dig’s environment. As you progressively give up the minerals you’ve collected, new equipment is unlocked that makes your mining experience a little less cumbersome. However, as you dig deep into the randomly generated caverns, you begin to find treasures and minerals, which you’re supposed to carry back up to the town and sell for money and levelling up. You start of with a basic rusty old pickaxe that can barely smash through rock. What lies deep below the earth’s surface is what allures you: precious metals, minerals, secrets, and clues to what eventually happened to your Uncle Joe.
It is your job to finish what your uncle started and dedicated his life to. You are Rusty, and old mining steambot who has been handed over a decaying mine in the decaying town of Tumbleton by your ‘late’ Uncle Joe, who supposedly was lost down and seized to make it back to ground level. The lore of “what lies below” is very much out there. Once you begin your adventure into the deep mines, it is rather difficult to pull yourself away as you’re constantly fiend-ing to dig deeper and deeper. I have heard and read a lot about SteamWorld Dig, but it only truly managed to get my attention was when it launched on the PlayStation Vita, just a couple of days back.įrom the name, SteamWorld Dig sounds like just another platformer sucking out your labour in the form of countless hours, but there is SO MUCH more to it than what it’s name is perceived like.
STEAMWORLD DIG PC CONTROLS PS4
Platform(s): Windows, Linux, OSX, Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita (reviewed), PS4