Are you a fan of retro, colorful adventure games with exploring and mining elements? Then I am pretty sure you are going to love this game! The game is called SteamWorld Dig 2 and it surely is an exciting platform mining adventure game influenced by classic Metroidvania style. As you can tell, it is a sequel to the SteamWorld Dig series and 3rd game published by Image & Form on Steam. SteamWorld Dig 2 is situated in adventurous, western style where you will have to deal with mysterious secrets, traps, challenging riddles and terrifying creatures. Old in-game mechanics have been improved, yet the core and the well-working concept that we liked in first SteamWorld Dig remained the same. Weapons have been re-designed as well and plenty of useful and interesting tools were added. Personally, I must say that using mechanical grappling hook throughout the game was really enjoyable and fun experience. Even the map is completely different now! Every dungeon is now unique in many ways and always brings something new that will catch your attention!
As far as gameplay is concerned, the first major thing that has been changed is our main character. Instead of Rusty, you will be playing as a female robot, Dorothy. There is not much of her backstory known except the fact that she is a very agile character who likes treasures and money a lot. This part of the game could have been done better, but SteamWorld Dig has never been about the story in the first place, so it is understandable. One of the core mechanics is still upgrading. In order to survive in depths of steampunk underworld, you will need to spend a lot of time mining ores to get the money necessary for upgrades of all kind. The game itself offers many different upgrades that will make the gameplay even smoother. Not all upgrades will be required to finish the game but having a pickaxe with extended durability or backpack with more space, so you can spend more time in the underworld, might be handy from time to time. All these upgrades will help you on your journey to get even more money and more treasures than you could ever before. This system makes you feel like there is always some kind of progress and the process of resources grinding actually rewards you for your time and effort. This game is all about exploring, and the deeper you go the better rewards you get. When your adventure ends and you run out of light, you will have to go back on the surface to sell resources you've gathered but you never know what will jump out of the underground corners to snatch your loot. Each boss and monster you encounter has different mechanics and that is what makes SteamWorld Dig 2 even more fun than the previous title. You will have to find the monsters’ weaknesses while they are attacking you and learn how to counter their attacks. Be wise and careful because this is not an easy game and even a single bad move can kill you!
When it comes to music, the soundtrack fits the western steampunk world very well and was nice to hear even after 8 hours of gameplay. Also, graphics have been widely improved from the original SteamWorld Dig and even though it is a pure 2D world, you can notice very detailed particles, reflections, shadows and overall the graphics seem to be almost flawless and perfect.
If you are interested in an absorbing game based on mining and exploring with an exhaustively detailed world rich on puzzles and rewards, then this game is certainly worth a shot. The only downside that we found is not directly connected to any of the in-game mechanics, but the game as a whole. Unfortunately, SteamWorld Dig 2 can be completed in less than 8 hours, which might not seem enough for a lot of people, especially with a 20€ price tag. It can be called a small improvement in comparison with the original 5 hours of the first SteamWorld Dig but we expected a little bit more. Nonetheless, you will enjoy every moment spent in the game and you will definitely not regret it!
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