Additional blueprints can also be obtained as rewards for collectibles.īlueprints can include gaining more experience points through your pickax, not losing collected minerals after death, and being immune to some projectiles. With the money earned by selling minerals, we can improve all of the tools individually to make them more efficient, increase stats like health, or to receive blueprints that we can activate with the required number of cogs. The underlying progression system not only relies on us finding new tools to reach new areas but also to find and master caves and secret areas to locate minerals to sell, cogs to upgrade tools, and collectibles to receive new blueprints for tool enhancements. By the end of the game, we have enough tools and experience to fluidly move in either direction, and that can be great fun.

Dorothy has a wall-jump in her repertoire, but even then, we have to ensure that we have an available exit route. In the beginning, we have to be very strategic in thinking about which blocks to remove in a mine, since we cannot replace blocks. There is a noticeable and satisfying development throughout the game in terms of character movement. We start with a basic pickax and lamp, and we soon wield a jackhammer, a jetpack and pressure bombs. Along the way, we continually learn new skills and collect additional tools that grant us access to previously inaccessible areas. Some of them are well designed and fun to complete, and the difficulty level is just right so players are motivated to continue, especially since they are filled with collectibles and parts to upgrade abilities and tools.Īs with other Metroidvania games, we spend most of the time exploring and trying to advance the story.

The caves and hidden areas are the most fun to search for and investigate, as they test our skills more than the main game does. Hidden areas frequently test our jumping skills, which are supplemented by accurate controls. The exploration of underground mines feels unrestricted and gives the player a feeling of freedom seldom found in other story-driven single-player experiences, but it manages to maintain a high level of quality throughout. The random generation kept things fresh, but the lack of curated and precisely created content was noticeable, so the story in the original title lacked signature moments. While the first SteamWorld Dig had a procedurally generated world, the sequel is much more refined. Digging and retrieving valuable resources isn't very engaging on its own, so the story marks prominent points on our map to investigate. On a 2-D grid, we dig as deep as we can and collect valuable metals to sell in the capital city for a pretty penny. Gameplay-wise, the basic principle is similar to the mining parts in Minecraft or Terraria.

Steamworld dig 2 map