Product Info

Platform

Switch, Wii U, 3DS, PlayStation 4, Vita, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Image & Form

Developer

Image & Form

Series

SteamWorld

Genre

Action, Adventure, Platform

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

193 MB

Release Date (NA)

Aug 8, 2013

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in early August 2013, SteamWorld Dig saw great success and was ported over to video game consoles and PC. (Image & Form Games recently released a sequel and a spin-off because of how much the first installment has accomplished.) Now, the original game has dug its way to the Nintendo Switch.

It’s addictive when mining for minerals. However, character controls and repetitive backtracking become aggravating. Still, the first game in the series holds up well years later.

Pick Up and Dig

Meet Rusty, a steam-powered robot who arrives in a western-style town named Tumbleton to pick up his inheritance from his long-forgotten Uncle Joe. Now, as the owner of a mine underneath Tumbleton, he digs to find minerals and uncover his uncle’s steam-powered technology.

As you dig, Rusty will encounter enemies that are hibernating or wandering around in caves. Players can either avoid them or attack them with a pickaxe or steam-powered weapon. Rusty’s not a fighter and cannot duck, crawl, or defend, but he can look down or up. When your health gauge reaches zero bars, Rusty will fall apart and it’s game over.

At that point, the game will ask you to spend your money to be resurrected back at the surface. As for the loot you’ve collected, it’s left where you perished and can be found on the map, which is a sigh of relief as some minerals are tough to find, especially the orbs.

Never Too Much Minerals

While digging, you’ll find many types of minerals at your disposal. When starting the game, players are limited to three slots of mineral types. In each slot, you can hold three minerals per type, giving you nine total minerals. It’s a pain at first, but the inventory can be upgraded with additional slots.

One of the hardest minerals to find are the orbs. These blue-glowing spheres are typically found in random places and can easily be missed. Players are required to search for these if they are looking to upgrade their weapons, increase their inventory, and improve their armor. Upgrading is one the most pleasant tasks to do in the game as players will feel accomplished and be eager to go back to digging.

As you dig, you’ll notice various-sized boulders. If you decide to dig underneath them, prepare for them to fall. Being trapped underneath one is death; however, you can use them to your advantage to kill enemies. Killing them with boulders or before they wake up from hibernation will give you multiple replenishes for your life, fire, and water gauges — a generous gift from the developers.

When starting your adventure, you’ll find yourself backtracking constantly, mostly because of your limited storage. As explained earlier, you’ll need to upgrade your inventory slots if you wish to dig for minerals, which is a pain at first for new adventurers.

Controlling Rusty

The controls for Rusty are straightforward and simple. Attacking and jumping each have their own buttons, while L and R are used to switch weapons and items, respectively. Rusty can jump off walls to climb up but accomplishing a successful jump feels more like a task than a treat. Timing is the key for a successful wall jump, but it’s not as precise it could be. For example, when Rusty is in the water and you’re trying to jump from a wall to get out, it can take several seconds because it feels like more work is involved than necessary. Those who’ve played Mega Man X will know how defined Mega Man’s jump can truly be when jumping up and off walls.

When mining, Rusty is only allowed to dig when standing and can dig up, down, left, and right. You cannot jump and dig simultaneously. In order to get to hard-to-reach materials, you’ll be required to use your ladder from your inventory, climb the ladder, stand on top, and then dig.

Level Up Rusty

As you turn-in materials, not only does Rusty receive cash back, he also levels up. Leveling up is not like a typical role-playing game that involves stat increases. SteamWorld Dig’s leveling up unlocks weapons and items to be available in shops, which can help populate Tumbleton. Aside from inventory upgrades, leveling up Rusty feels like a real accomplishment and increases replay value for players.

Teleports are Necessary

As you continue to dig downwards in a large-scaled area to mine, you can easily become lost and find yourself constantly backtracking. Yes, there’s the map, which does help, but it takes a great deal of time to travel back to the surface. You’ll need teleporters. Luckily, these are available for players once you progress far enough in the story. Teleporters will make mining smoother and quicker, but keep in mind that when you teleport from the surface, you’ll be returned to the last teleporter you used. You cannot pick a designated teleporter.

While the game does provide shortcuts when you travel to new areas, teleportation devices come in handy when mining. However, you cannot pick them up, and you can easily destroy them if you break the ground they are planted on. You can build one but doing so involves three orbs and some cash. With how difficult it can be to find these orbs, be very careful how and when to use them.

Thanks, Uncle Joe!

When entering uncharted caves, Rusty must problem-solve if he wants to uncover his Uncle Joe’s steam-powered gear. Unlocking these gears gives Rusty advantages to continue digging down towards the core and take out enemies along the way.

Many upgrades are effective, such as the power jump and the drill. Drilling lets you break apart harder ground panels and the power jump lets you jump higher than before. All steam-powered upgrades require water. To replenish your water gauge, simply find a water-filled panel or area and jump in; the gauge automatically fills. Some areas won’t fill your gauge entirely but something is better than nothing. The deeper you dig, the more you’ll have to rely on your steam-powered upgrades. You’ll want to upgrade your water storage before going too deep.

Summary

SteamWorld Dig is an enjoyable platform game when it comes to digging. Players will enjoy getting upgrades and unlocking abilities, even though backtracking can be tedious and Rusty’s jumping can be cumbersome. The game is well worth your time to explore, especially on the go.

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by Image & Form Games for this review.