SteamWorld Dig 1 and 2

I had previously written up something on the other half of the SteamWorld games because I have become a huge fan of the franchise. I do not have a Nintendo DS so I cannot play their first game, SteamWorld Tower Defense. I want more and apparently, a sixth game is coming out eventually.

SteamWorld Dig

On its surface, this is a fairly simple game. It is currently the only SteamWorld game with a male main protagonist. You play as Rusty, a cowbot newly arrived in town to work the mine. You travel down into the mine to dig up precious metals and gems which are sold to the town (presumably to be sold farther afield). Earning more money allows you to unlock and purchase new gear to travel farther down. The gameplay feels a lot like an update of titles like Mr. Driller or DigDug. Eventually, you need to start gathering pieces of a mysterious foreign technology in order to continue updating your gear. You travel deeper than anybody had ever gone before and discover a strange place far more advanced than the world above. It is fascinating because we usually think of “aliens” appearing from the skies, not the depths of the planet.

Eventually, you find what appears to be a technological fortress of sorts which turns out to be a prison. In that prison is an advanced AI called Voltbot which is a lost part of the advanced hive mind known as Vectron. You have been collecting Vectron technology which has slowly corrupted your systems. In desperation, you must do battle with Voltbot to end the threat to the town and the world above. With just a little bit, the game does a really good job of creating a whole world in just a tiny microcosm of a game. Like most SteamWorld games, it is pretty short but infinitely replayable. The game has a lot of the dry humor of the other games in the series and Rusty is a likable protagonist.

SteamWorld Dig 2

This game picks up not long after the end of SteamWorld Dig but instead follows Dorothy, a young NPC from the first game. She alone seems to be worried about Rusty who has gone missing following the climactic battle at the end of the first game. Dorothy was the kind cowbot who bought gems and materials off of Rusty. She has since taken up the pickaxe in order to try to find Rusty. Meanwhile, mysterious earthquakes have started to rock the area. Dorothy moves on to a bigger town and agrees to mine for the town to get permission to go searching for Rusty deep underground. Like the first game, you collect precious materials to sell in town so you can get upgrades on your gear. The gameplay is similar but adds a lot of interesting platforming and puzzles.

This time, Dorothy is smart enough not to collect and use pieces of Vectron as news has spread of that particular danger. However, she instead has to deal with new threats. There is now a doomsday cult deep underground that prays to Vectron and would gladly resurrect the technology if they could. They are behind the earthquakes as part of their twisted devotion to the remnants of Vectron. You actually befriend a rogue piece of Vectron who acts as your guide (and appears in DLC for SteamWorld Heist). For the first time, you also have to deal with humans who have formed a small settlement underground. They are distrustful of all cowbots so dealing with them is an uphill battle. The game is a lot more fleshed out than the first game and the gameplay is a lot more fun.

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Tags: Dig, Dorothy, Metroidvania, Platformer, Rusty, SteamWorld, Vectron, Video Games