SteamWorld Dig Reviews
SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt may not be good as SteamWorld Dig 2, but it's still good. Getting to know the characters and even having different moves is enough to warrant playing it if you haven't already, but it's fun anyway. If this game is your introduction and you are into the metroidvania genre, you will also enjoy this. It has a pacing that never dulls and you're constantly being rewarded. It's about time you dig in.
For $9.99, SteamWorld Dig is well worth the cost of admission for such a fun spin on the genre that controls so well that it made my Top 10 list for 2013.
"The deeper you dig, the better it gets."
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Ultimately, even getting on in years a bit, Steamworld Dig still works very well and is almost immediately as addictive as it ever was once you get the ball rolling. The “just one more run” feeling doesn’t have quite as strong a drive as with its sequel, where there are far more things you’re hoping to unlock, but it is still a highly satisfying experience that is well-implemented. Ultimately priced as a budget title it offers a great time for a reasonable investment.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Steamworld Dig. It isn't the best indie game I have played and it certainly doesn't stand up to its successor. However, it is a fun little game which will appeal to fans of the old West genre, it's open-ended exploration makes it enjoyable to wander around in, and it's randomly generated levels will provide players who wish to play it multiple times a varied experience each play through. The game suffers through its flaws by having an uninspired combat system and from a slow and boring start, but it comes together well after you start unlocking Rusty's abilities and the fast travel pods. In the end, I will give it a respectable 7/10.
SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt is still a great game, but it is undoubtedly a more compact game than what’s come after this game’s original release. SteamWorld Dig offers little exploration for curiosity as it is usually out of necessity to gather as much ore as you can find to sell for cash to then buy upgrades to make Rusty more effective. If nothing else, SteamWorld Dig serves as a reminder at how much Image & Form learned from this game when making SteamWorld Dig 2 – but thankfully there’s so much more to this game to appreciate. Whether you’ve played this before or not, Image & Form make beautiful looking, sounding, and playing games that deserve to have a place in your library.
SteamWorld Dig’s biggest problem is that it follows in the footsteps of its bigger, better sequel – a game that has only been on the eShop for a few months now. Still, the core of what makes SteamWorld Dig so much fun as a series still shines bright enough in the original despite its scuffs and scratches.
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.
At just a day’s worth of entertainment, SteamWorld Dig feels light. Yet, that time will be spent in glee, as its spaced out gameplay elements drive the action down into the digging depths, searching and uncovering more and more, to play in more varied ways.
It's fantastic that some indie games hold up after years since their debut.
A phenomenal and fun 2D platformer, that keeps the player hooked from start to finish.
On the whole though, Steamworld Dig is a fascinating game and one that will bring plenty of joy. It is a game you can take your time with and enjoy. Taking some elements from other games in the genre and tailoring them to make a wonderful experience. It is just a shame about that Cross-Save
A little bit more variety in gameplay would have made it the perfect game, but SteamWorld Dig comes at a low price point, so there isn't any real point in complaining about what is ultimately a well-polished and entertaining title.
Despite its brevity, SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt is an enjoyable title. The premise may initially seem too simple, but the constant feed of tools and power-ups, coupled with speedy platforming, prevent the player from becoming bored. The mix of exploration and combat is blended well to the point where new additions don't feel out of place, and the only lament is how there's not much else to the game once you've finished it.
Already one of the best games to download for the Nintendo 3DS, SteamWorld Dig is now available to even more people through Steam, and they should not pass it up. Whilst the similarities are small to games like Metroid, Terraria and Spelunky, they are indeed there, and they form a short, but extremely fun, little game that demands multiple play-throughs due to its addictiveness and urge to beat it in quicker times than the last. On the other hand, the fact it doesn't last too long and that there wasn't anything added over the 3DS version lets it down slightly.
While it will only take you a few hours to beat SteamWorld Dig, it's a game that makes every moment count. There is no filler, only excellent content to be experienced. Whether it is a player's first or sixth time playing through SteamWorld Dig, they are in for an absolute treat. This is one platform game that should not be missed.
Adventuring through a mine sounds like a one note sort of deal. It could have been, but then I imagine Image & Form never would have attempted the project in the first place. They saw a potentially monotonous act and employed a variety of key mechanics to make it fun and truly satisfying from beginning to start. Somehow tightly linear while feeling open and unique to each and every player, a day in Rusty's metallic shoes is never the same as the last and always worth another trip down into the dark.
SteamWorld Dig is a highly recommended game for those who enjoy platformers with an interesting and unique experience.
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.
SteamWorld Dig is a game I have greatly enjoyed playing before in other consoles, and I was glad to get the chance to do it all over again on Nintendo Switch. If you've played the game before on other consoles then this is exactly the same game and it is just as addictive, but being able to play at home on the TV and take the adventure on the go in handheld and table top mode makes this the best version of the game.