Our favorite steamworld hero Rusty has gone undercover and our new hero Dorothy decides to go on a quest to find him. There is no question that the Image & Form game studio knows that they have gotten a strong following and waste no effort this time around to explain their vast, creative universe.
Welcome to SteamWorld
*On our way to finding Rusty, our adventure takes off on the premises of gathering valuable resources and finding interesting secrets and we get to do it all in fantastic graphics and a well-designed world that feels amazing to explore. You will find unbreakable obstacles that seem to lead to golden treasures and shiny gems that you'll get to return to on later dates and discover using new tools and while the gameplay mechanics don't really bring anything new to the table the feeling of satisfaction is something Image & Form really has nailed.
The game does not produce random levels anymore, giving more well-designed levels.
You will get about 7 hours in the new SteamWorld if you ignore all the secrets, but there is a strong emphasis on exploration in the game so to ignore that aspect would be to miss out on the experience. For collectors this game is addictive and finding every secret in the game will give you a couple of more hours of enjoyment and believe me when I say that you are going to want to find everything.
To once again visit this steampunky and western-inspired gaming world feels like coming home to an old friend. The game takes you along with just the right pace and introduces new gameplay mechanics in a well-timed tempo without me feeling either lost or pushed to much. The game strikes a perfect balance between not holding your hand but still keeping you safe and teasing your curiosity with intriguing, inaccessible areas.
Harvest, Collect, Repeat
Minerals, minerals and more minerals. I need every god damn mineral I can get and I won't stop swinging my trusty pickax until I have every resource I need. With these minerals I can upgrades Dorothys gear or buy completely new stuff while at the same time leveling up my gathering skills. You don't want to find yourself wearing last years gear in SteamWorld as the dark, underground world is filled with monsters and bosses inside every cave.
SteamWorld Dig 2 gives almost double the gaming time than it's predecessor.
The puzzles are challenging and really forces you to think outside the box. The combat can also be done in different creative ways and the simple run-and-bash style gameplay is not always necessarily the best way to move forward. The game offers you to play the game after your own personal style so if you want go full out underground warrior or be a stealthy gatherer the choice is completely up to you. Creativity is the word that comes to mind when crafting your own personal playstyle tailored to this wonderful title.
Jetpack and grappling hook - navigation does not become more fun than this.
The Perks of Becoming Cocky
The underground world of SteamWorld is a world that old players will feel right at home in and the wonderful style that makes the series unique is still extremely prevalent throughout the entire game design. Some game mechanics have also been improved since the previous title and the otherwise boring task of navigation has been greatly simplified in this new title with an awesome jet-pack, a cool grappling hook and access to an entire system of pipes. The experience is wonderful and all of its characters and details almost already feel nostalgic as we get to meet old friend and forge new relationships in a world we have so missed.
Concluding
*After reading my review you probably see that I am very positive towards the game and would recommend it to all. If I would have any complaint it would be that in the old titles we got randomly-generated levels resulting in new solutions to puzzles every time. SteamWorld Dig 2 does not have the same function and I really appreciated being able to solve my own personally generated SteamWorld puzzle, but hey we can't have everything right? The positive about not having randomly generated levels is that this time around the experience feels much more well-designed and thought-trough so it does come with both ups and downs. If you want to make it harder for yourself you can also disable all sort of assistance in the game but that is something I would only recommend for the extreme gamers out there. One thing I also loved about the SteamWorld universe this time around is how each area has its own feel and is much more distinct in its design when compared to other areas.
The digging has become a bit less exciting with the random-aspect being taken away.
SteamWorld Dig 2 is a game I would happily recommend to everybody, no matter what format you own, but personally I feel that the Switch version might be a tad more polished then the others. The game just feels great to play with Joycons and you won't want to stop digging for more secrets and minerals once you start.
