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dkirschner's SteamWorld Dig 2 (PC)

[March 4, 2022 08:06:36 AM]

This was a random freebie from Amazon Twitch Prime that didn't look interesting to me, but had great reviews. I did not expect to enjoy this so much and now I am curious about the rest of the SteamWorld IP. Another game, a card-based RPG, is on Amazon Twitch Prime right now. It's also well reviewed (but not a ton of reviews), and I had grabbed an earlier game for the same reasons, which is like a side-scrolling strategy game.

SteamWorld Dig 2 has a simple, engaging gameplay loop. You dig, down, down, down underground, exploring the depths and collecting gems. Once you fill your backpack with gems, return to town and sell them. Use the cash to upgrade your tools so that you can dig down, down, down...

This carried on for about 10 hours of gameplay, which was perfect. The digging is punctuated by fighting enemies, finding secrets, and exploring caves, which are separate puzzle areas that often feature a specific skill, enemy, or mechanic. Caves can be devious, such as some of the mine cart puzzles. Exploring is rewarding. In caves and in pursuing secrets, you will find cogs that you use to upgrade tools, as well as hidden relics, for which an NPC gives you blueprints to further unlock upgrades. For much of the game, I progressed slowly and methodically, but by the end, I was jetpacking around, hurling bombs left and right, smashing enemies into one another, and collecting and selling mountains of gems.

The visuals are charming and detailed, the characters are quirky, and the story is light-hearted and fun. There's not much to the story, and the way main quests function reminds me a lot of Breath of the Wild, which I am currently playing. You get the massive objectives, and most of the game happens on the way to those objectives. So yeah, this was a surprise and I am excited that I happen to own two more games from different genres in this world!