Four months after making its 3DS eShop debut, SteamWorld Dig managed to extricate itself from Nintendo's digital store front, and I couldn't be happier about Image & Form's decision to bring the criminally slept-on downloadable game over to Steam.
SteamWorld Dig, as you might have guessed, is a game about digging. Players assume the role of Rusty, a robot who's inherited an old mine from his uncle and moves to the tiny desert town of Tumbleton so as to devote himself to the exploration of his new windfall. Because, you know, that's the sort of thing you do when dead relatives leave you mines. I guess.
Shortly after relocating to Tumbleton, you'll meet Dorothy and her father Cranky. Both will make frequent appearances throughout your time with SteamWorld Dig, as Dorothy will be buying up all of the ore you extract and Cranky sells a number of upgrades for Rusty's gear. Over time, additional vendors will move to Tumbleton, offering players more gear and new incentive to do more digging than is necessary to complete the SteamWorld Dig campaign.
I definitely recommend doing a bit of extra digging as well. Outside of earning the achievement for completing SteamWorld Dig in 150 minutes (or less), there is little reason to rush through SteamWorld Dig. With the exception of the game's final boss, SteamWorld Dig doesn't try to match the frenetic action found in the wealth of shooters and action games available for every gaming platform in existence. instead Image & Form focused on enjoyable (but largely combat-free) mining and the near-constant pursuit of better equipment and supplies.
There are a handful of enemies that you'll meet along the way, but even those don't necessarily present any significant impediment to your progress. In many cases, you'll be able to kill the game's rare baddie before they're able to free themselves from their soil trappings. However, should an enemy manage to drain Rusty's health meter, the contents of your satchel will simply fall to the ground. From what I can tell, there's no timer on the fallen loot either, meaning players can take their time leading Rusty back down to the place where he last died.
Of course, plenty of people will complete SteamWorld Dig without ever dying, and the dev team even included an achievement for the relatively large number of people who are likely to accomplish the less-than-Herculean feat. In fact, were it not for a bit of carelessness during my last trek below the surface, I'd have completed the game without dying at all on my first play through.
Many critics have been quick to point out the game's "Metroidvania" influences as well, though they felt relatively subtle to me in the long run. Yes, you'll unlock a handful of upgrades which allow you to reach some previously unreachable loot but, but the game just doesn't have the same feel as either of the franchises that inspired the "Metroidvania" label.
SteamWorld Dig Review - Final Verdict
Without a doubt, SteamWorld Dig is one of the more enjoyable games to emerge during 2013, combining a calm, yet constantly reward-driven, mining focus with just enough elements of classic action/platform games to keep SteamWorld Dig from feeling stale. The game is also enjoyable enough to warrant more than one play through, and SteamWorld Dig even includes a handful of relatively-simply performance-based achievements for anyone who needs an extra reason/goal to revisit the game.
Truth be told, I'd say Image & Form have created a more worthwhile successor to Motherload than XGen Studios, with SteamWorld Dig far surpassing the relatively meager gameplay experience offered by Super Motherload. With more upgrade options, more polish, and controls that don't make movement feel quite so frantic, SteamWorld Dig currently sits atop the burgeoning collection of mining-focused games that have become popular in recent years.
If you've already played the game on the Nintendo 3DS, it's unlikely that you'll find anything in the game's PC port that would justify a second purchase of the game. Unless you're feeling particularly supportive of Image & Form, and/or you despised a particularly aspect of the game's user interface on the 3DS, save your cash and play your existing copy of SteamWorld Dig.
But if you've never played the game before, and enjoy the serenity of resource gathering in games like Terraria or Super Motherload absolutely recommend picking up a copy of SteamWorld Dig and diving into one of the most enjoyable downloadable titles to emerge during 2013.
Score - 4/5
Want to offer your two cents about SteamWorld Dig? Think Image & Form's debut project deserved a higher/lower score than the one we gave it? Hoping to see the modding community add a particular feature(s) to SteamWorld Dig now that the game is available on PC?
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