SteamWorld Dig has an accessible and skill-rewarding blend of gameplay designs, but its experience is short.

User Rating: 7 | SteamWorld Dig PC

INTRO:

Sometimes, someone can have a great idea for a video game – at the same time as several other people. Whether they actually copied each other or not is not the crux here, but it is worth noting that such an occurrence means that this idea might just be quite viable.

Such is the case for games like Super Motherload, Full Bore and SteamWorld Dig – all of which debuted within a few months of each other. They share a similar idea, which is that the player’s goal is to dig deep into the crust of a planet for riches, adventure and a hell lot of trouble.

The spotlight of this article is on SteamWorld Dig, a product by indie developer Image & Form, which is no stranger to making games. Not only does SteamWorld Dig seem similar to those other games, it also seems to have elements from high-profile games like Spelunky and even Terraria.

The resulting game is more than just a knock-off of all those games, but it does not have much longevity to it.

PREMISE:

Considering the gameplay of SteamWorld Dig and its ilk, there are few ways to differentiate the protagonists of these games from each other. One of these ways is simply through their (story-related) nature.

In the case of SteamWorld Dig, it makes use of the settings from Image & Form’s earlier game on the Nintendo DS, SteamWorld Tower Defence.

However, instead of playing the role of a commander who is organizing defence against an onslaught of monsters (including troglodytic former humans), the player takes on the role of Rusty, an individual robot with an unclear past.

Rusty has just inherited a mine from an estranged uncle. A thirst for adventure, the worldly rewards which come with it and the need to achieve what his uncle could not drives Rusty to explore the mines, facing both its dangers and its riches.

Tumbleton has seen better days
Tumbleton has seen better days

PROCEDURAL GENERATION:

Whenever the player starts a new playthrough, the mines which Rusty explores will be created with procedural generation. The location of minerals, hazards and monsters will be randomized together with the locations for the cave levels, which will be described in their own section in this article later.

Any player’s experience with the game will still be similar to those of others though, due to certain constants like the progression of the player character’s capabilities. Nevertheless, the procedural generation of the mines do provide a challenge to the player’s mental faculties, because he/she would have to plan how to dig tunnels without getting Rusty trapped.

RUSTY’S LIGHT SOURCE:

The game starts off with a very brief lesson on illumination. This lesson is hardly hand-holding though; it appears to expect the player to make observations himself/herself. This might please players who do not like tutorials which are long in words.

Anyway, Rusty has a light source, presumably the furnace grill on his chest. With it, the player can see his surroundings up to several squares away. Anything further away is hidden in darkness, unless it is illuminated by something else, such as torches.

However, the light source has limited fuel. This is depicted with the meter on the top right of the screen. As the meter drains, the strength of the illumination ebbs; the player could no longer see Rusty’s surroundings as far as before. Once the meter has completely drained, the player cannot even see into the blocks underneath Rusty’s feet.

This means that continuing to dig while being unable to see what kind of block which is being dug is very risky.

Interestingly, background illumination is always available, so the player is still able to have Rusty re-tracing his steps back to a teleportation device or transport tube in order to return to town. (There will be more on teleportation devices and transport tubes later.)

Running into dead-ends is a common occurrence if the player does not keep an eye on the fuel meter.
Running into dead-ends is a common occurrence if the player does not keep an eye on the fuel meter.

PICKAXE:

Since this is a game about digging, the protagonist is typically equipped with a pickaxe.

This is the only digging tool which does not require fuel of any sort; Rusty can swing away indefinitely without exhausting himself either.

However, the pickaxe can only deal with blocks of packed dirt and soil. Eventually, the player will need some other tool to deal with rocky blocks, which the pickaxe cannot handle.

The pickaxe is also the player’s fall-back weapon for dealing with enemies. It is not very strong though; it takes several strikes to kill even the weakest enemies.

There are upgrades for the pickaxe, but the pickaxe remains a relatively weak digging tool and weapon when compared to the others. The only reason to use it is that it is still the most economical device which Rusty has.

Timing pickaxe swings on enemies is trickier than it looks.
Timing pickaxe swings on enemies is trickier than it looks.

JUMPS & WALL-JUMPS:

Being a robot has its perks: one of these is apparently the ability to grip walls and jump off them effortlessly.

In SteamWorld Dig, the protagonist can scale the mines through the mechanism of wall-jumping. He can climb up any vertical face made of any material, which is incredibly convenient.

It has to be noted here too that Rusty does not have to perform criss-cross jumping from one wall to another in order to ascend. He can jump off a vertical face and back onto the same surface.

In fact, systematic players would not need to use ladders if they can plan their digging.

If there is a problem with wall-jumping, it is that figuring out how to jump off a vertical face and onto another across the first is quite tricky. The timing of the control inputs needed for this is difficult to nail down, at least at first. (The player must enter the input for jumping and the desired direction simultaneously.)

Thankfully, the surfaces of walls are still visible even when the player has run out of light.
Thankfully, the surfaces of walls are still visible even when the player has run out of light.

FALLING:

As skilled as Rusty is at jumping and wall-jumping, he is still subject to gravity. Falling will damage him – an occurrence which happens to be accompanied by loud, jarring clanks.

However, observant players would notice that having Rusty touch a vertical face during a wall resets his fall distance. In other words, the player can still prevent fall damage by having Rusty slide on vertical walls, even for a moment.

Eventually though, there is one point in a playthrough where fall damage is inevitable; the player will not find any vertical face for Rusty to grab onto and slide off. Instead, the player must find a certain upgrade for Rusty which makes falling a non-hazard. (There will be more on upgrades later.)

THE TOWN:

As shown in one of the screenshots earlier, Rusty comes to Tumbleton, the town which will act as his base of operations (of sorts).

From the perspective of gameplay, the town will serve several functions. All of them are vital to any playthrough and they would seem all too familiar to players who have experienced the “town” mechanism of looting-heavy RPGs.

The town is also the only place where the player can find the story-related context for the presence of anything which is in the mines. Three particular characters, who are the original inhabitants of Tumbleton, will make remarks on what the player found in the mines, thus giving the player a picture of the narrative behind SteamWorld Dig.

Crank here has an opinion on just about anything which the player will find down in the mines.
Crank here has an opinion on just about anything which the player will find down in the mines.

Other than that, the town merely seems like a place where the player would return to refuel Rusty’s light source, restock on supplies and make progress on the grind towards increasing the “level” of the town.

“LEVELLING” UP:

Tumbleton is a near-forgotten place, overlooked if only because the previous owner of the mine does not seem to be interested in its considerable mineral wealth. (The story mainly concerns the reasons for this oddity.)

Rusty has no compunctions about wealth though. In fact, digging for minerals is going to be something which the player will do a lot, if only to obtain the wealth necessary to purchase upgrades and unlock further upgrades.

Similar to Super Motherload, the player must return to the surface with any mineral riches and other trinkets of wealth in order to sell them. There is no facility to sell off minerals while still underground.

There is a merchant who buys the minerals which Rusty has collected. Presumably, she uses the minerals to keep the town running and trade the rest away for other goods. This eventually allows her father to complete some inventions, which lead to more upgrades for Rusty to purchase. This also attracts the attention of outsiders, who bring their goods over and thus more upgrades to purchase.

The progress towards this occurrence is represented through a “level meter” which fills up as the player offloads minerals to the merchant. When a “level-up” occurs, an upgrade is unlocked.

In the case of a significant level-up milestone, a new vendor sets up shop in Tumbleton.
In the case of a significant level-up milestone, a new vendor sets up shop in Tumbleton.

This game mechanism could have been more interesting if it offered more gameplay elements than just new vendors. Of course, the game is made on a budget, but the linearity of the level-up system is still boring.

UPGRADE PROGRESSION:

Unfortunately, some of the upgrade options which the player would get also happen to have linear progression.

The upgrade options may have extravagant names and descriptions, such as the upgrades which alter the core of the pickaxe or its business end. However, their actual benefits are boringly straightforward; they increase the statistics of whatever is being upgraded. There are very few upgrades which do something else.

Furthermore, the player must purchase upgrades in sequence. For example, if the player has not purchased all of the upgrades for Rusty’s storage capacity from the previous vendor, the player will not be able to purchase upgrades for the same thing from the next vendor who comes to Tumbleton.

The game could have made it more convenient to purchase upgrades out of sequence.
The game could have made it more convenient to purchase upgrades out of sequence.

HEALTH & DYING:

As a robot, Rusty is not affected by diminishing health. There will not be any significant visual warning of low health either, other than the health bar being outlined red.

Being destroyed is not the end either. Somehow, someone at the town would recover Rusty’s remains and somehow revive him, without any lasting damage. Of course, he is charged with a reconstruction fee, so the damage is inflicted on his wallet instead.

Dying also inflicts an inconvenience: whatever minerals which Rusty has gathered is left where he kicked the bucket; whoever recovered his remains did not bother to retrieve the minerals. There is a risk that it can be destroyed, as will be elaborated later.

Of course, this gameplay mechanism is intended to encourage the player to be wise in how he/she digs tunnels in the mines and how he/she faces enemies. After all, health pick-ups are rare. It can also be easy for careless players to end up having Rusty digging deep into a hole and not come out, literally. (When this happens, the player must have Rusty self-destruct.)

EXTERNAL LIGHT SOURCES:

Throughout the mines, there are light sources such as torches and lamps which appear to have been placed by someone who is not a denizen of the mines; the denizens of the mines do not need light, by the way.

This may seem reminiscent of Terraria to some players. That is, the underground areas seem to have light sources just for the player’s convenience. However, the game has a better excuse than Terraria; the light sources have been placed there by someone known to the protagonist.

Rusty himself can also place light sources. Again, this may seem a bit like Terraria, but Rusty can only ever carry up to five of them. Therefore, the player would not be lighting up the mines willy-nilly like he/she can with the warrens in Terraria.

It is wise to preserve pre-existing lights as much as possible.
It is wise to preserve pre-existing lights as much as possible.

Light sources are counted as background objects, so they are, conveniently, not destroyed by direct attacks.

PICK-UPS:

When a monster is killed, it always leaves behind one pick-up item. This can be an item which refills one bar of the Rusty’s light source. Alternatively, this can be an item which heals Rusty for one health bar, or it can be an item which refills Rusty’s supply of water (more on this later). If the player is lucky, the item can be a hybrid of all three.

This can seem to be a matter of fickle luck though. For example, the player might be hurting for some healing, but all that the next several monsters drop are anything except healing pick-ups.

Interestingly, the player will never be able to obtain wealth or orbs (more on this later) from slain monsters. This may seem an odd limitation for players who are used to monsters and enemies dropping lovely loot when slain. Giving it more thought would reveal the reason though: this is intended to make minerals and orbs more precious.

Pick-up items which have been dropped by enemies will eventually disappear, however. Sometimes, there are pick-up items which are already in the level, but these permanently disappear when retrieved. This is ostensibly to prevent the player from farming them too easily.

(There are still ways to farm pick-up items of course – this will be elaborated later.)

LADDER:

One of the first deployable items which the player can use is the humble wooden ladder. Interestingly, they are considered as background objects, so they cannot be destroyed by direct attacks. They are not considered as fixed objects either, so they cannot be destroyed by destroying the blocks underneath them. Instead, when this happens, they simply fall (and they are not damaged by falls either).

Deployable items become more affordable as the playthrough progresses, due to the increasing wealth which the player would get from minerals found deeper in the mines.
Deployable items become more affordable as the playthrough progresses, due to the increasing wealth which the player would get from minerals found deeper in the mines.

It may be tempting to build a long ladder to help the player climb up and down the mines; Rusty can climb ladders incredibly quickly by the way. However, stingier players may opt to resort to wall-jumping to save on costs instead. Still, having some ladders for occasional use can be handy.

DYNAMITE:

Somehow, a game about mining would not be complete without some explosive means of removing rock. SteamWorld Dig follows such an amusing trope too, but not always for the better.

Sometime into the game, the players gets to have Rusty toss sticks of dynamite – and find out how pathetic the keyboard- and controller-based controls are at doing this.

Rusty can only chuck the dynamite stick for a short distance, and always to the left or right. In fact, if the dynamite sticks could reach some blocks and blow them up, it is more than likely that Rusty himself can reach them and dig them himself.

The only time when dynamite sticks are useful is when enemies are trapped in a pit; in this case, a dynamite stick in the pit is the most risk-free way to get rid of them. This is a rare occasion though.

REPAIRS:

Crank at Tumbleton can offer repairs for Rusty if he is damaged, but for a fee which is proportional to the damage which he has sustained.

However, wily players would eventually realize that this is a waste of money once he/she learns how to exploit cave levels.

Perhaps this feature could have been more useful if it can be provided for free.

WATER:

Eventually, the player will find bodies of water.

The robots seen in the game may be robots, but they also happen to somehow run on boilers and steam. Therefore, Rusty, as one of the “Steam-Bots” in SteamWorld canon, is going to need water for his mining work - not for drinking, of course.

Coincidentally (or not), the first pool of water which the player would come across can be found shortly after Rusty has gained his first steam-powered tool: the drill. This will be described later.

Interestingly, Rusty gathers water simply by dunking himself in the pool; the fact that his chest has an open grill to his furnace is not an issue. His body somehow absorbs the water to the sound effect of water being sucked up through a straw. If the pool does not have enough water, Rusty will eventually drain it to ankle-deep height.

Despite this convenience, there is an issue with the pools of water: Rusty cannot easily jump out of them. This can be rationalized as the dampening effect of water, but the pools of water do not always follow the laws of physics this strictly.

Rusty can’t jump out of ankle-deep water easily, for whatever reason.
Rusty can’t jump out of ankle-deep water easily, for whatever reason.

Water is also only ever used as a ‘recharge source’, in terms of gameplay function. They are only ever found if the player needs water to crack rocks or perform a platforming puzzle.

FALLING BLOCKS:

Not long into a playthrough, the player would come across indestructible blocks which are not tethered to the background. The first of these looks like square boulders, but there are others.

Falling blocks would have been described together with other hazards, if not for certain properties which they have and which set them apart from the rest.

Firstly, these blocks are subject to gravity and thus can fall. They will immediately crush and destroy anything underneath them if it is not an indestructible block itself. This is in contrast with other hazards, which generally do not kill anything exposed to them outright.

Falling blocks can also destroy certain objects which cannot be destroyed by other means, such as sentry laser blocks (which are encountered late into a playthrough).

Falling blocks can crush loot as well. As an illustrative example, if the player has broken a mineral block underneath a falling block and does not snag the minerals in time, the block will crush the minerals; they are gone forever.

Timing a falling block to crush a monster is satisfying.
Timing a falling block to crush a monster is satisfying.

Later in the game, there are falling blocks which would have boggled Isaac Newton.

These fall in directions as depicted by the diode arrays on their sprites; this is in addition to other visual hints such as where their spiky bottoms are pointing. An observant player would be able to figure these out – otherwise, learning about this the hard way is a lesson which is just as well.

MINING – OVERVIEW:

Digging is something which the player would be doing – a lot.

The first and foremost lesson about digging is that Rusty can only dig when he is standing upright. This is understandable, because he needs the leverage. This is not told to the player by the game, but a decent player should be able to understand this requirement, if not through knowledge about physics, then at least through observation.

Secondly, blocks which have been removed cannot be restored, unless it is a block which can rebuild itself. (There will be more on this later.)

Blocks which have been permanently removed obviously can no longer serve as a platform which Rusty can stand on. This encourages carefulness on the part of the player about where to tunnel. The player can very well prevent himself/herself from ever reaching a seam of ore because of careless digging.

Thirdly, not all of the underground is completely packed solid. There are gaps here and there, barely noticeable due to the gloom. A wise player would learn to tunnel into this to save time on digging.

After the player tunnels into a gap in the underground, the background illumination extends to the gap as well.
After the player tunnels into a gap in the underground, the background illumination extends to the gap as well.

There are other nuances – and issues (albeit minor) – about mining. These will be described soon.

DIGGING/ATTACKING DIRECTION:

Firstly, it has to be said here that the game does not support mouse or analog stick controls. Every movement input is performed through the direction keys, and Rusty’s digging/attacking direction is dictated by his facing.

It can seem restricting at first, especially if one considers that some enemies are not restricted by such limitations. However, a player who perseveres would realize that this impediment can be worked around with some careful planning of where to dig and make attacks from.

For example, a laser turret which was above Rusty and out of his reach can be attacked if the player can retrace Rusty’s steps and attack it from above.

RESPAWNING BLOCKS:

Part and parcel of learning how to position Rusty is learning how to exploit rebuilding blocks.

This is the first reference to Lode Runner in the game.
This is the first reference to Lode Runner in the game.

The first few of such blocks crumble easily, but additional scripts have them somehow rebuilding themselves. This can potentially trap Rusty, but preventing this is a responsibility of the player because he/she should be keeping in mind the locations of these blocks. After all, these blocks are visually distinct from the rest.

The later kinds of rebuilding blocks are sturdier; Rusty can stand or wall-slide off them without causing them to crumble. There are some puzzles in the game which utilize them; these puzzles require the player to figure out a path through them. Conveniently, they remain unbuilt as long as Rusty occupies their squares.

This is one of the more difficult puzzles involving rebuilding blocks – not pictured here are a couple of pesky laser turrets, which have been destroyed.
This is one of the more difficult puzzles involving rebuilding blocks – not pictured here are a couple of pesky laser turrets, which have been destroyed.

MINERALS:

Rusty has to dig for minerals in order to fund the purchase of upgrades and other goods. Minerals can be spotted amongst blocks via the colourful veins and seams which occur within the sprites for blocks.

The veins of minerals in the shallower levels of the mines do not have sprites which are so big as to obscure the textures of the sprites for their host blocks. However, the ones in the deeper levels have veins which are big enough to do so; this complicates the recognition of their grades of toughness, because the textures are the visual indicators for these.

This is just a minor annoyance, but still an annoyance nonetheless.

Gaudy blobs of colours indicate the presence of minerals in blocks.
Gaudy blobs of colours indicate the presence of minerals in blocks.

If the player is a veteran of Terraria and Minecraft, he/she would be quite disappointed at how SteamWorld Dig implements its system of minerals. To elaborate, the system is not as much a system as it is an after-thought.

The minerals in this game are little more than video game coins to be picked up. If there is any sophistication to be had from them, it is that they do not automatically go into a digital counter. Instead, they go into Rusty’s pouch, which has limited space. Veterans of Super Motherload would feel quite at home though.

Any one type of mineral immediately takes one slot in his pouch. Depending on the type of mineral, another piece of mineral of the same type may either stack into the same slot, or take up another slot. Particularly precious minerals often take up a slot for each piece.

This small bit of complexity is ultimately inconsequential. Any piece of mineral which Rusty cannot pick up due to insufficient space can be left where it is; it will not disappear, and as long as it is not under a falling block, it is not in any danger of being lost. The player can return to town to sell off minerals in Rusty’s pouch, and return later to retrieve these loose minerals. They will not disappear.

This also has the consequence of making the controls which remove things from his pouch unnecessary.

ABILITIES:

As the playthrough progresses, the player comes across moments in the story when Rusty gains additional abilities. These moments can be spotted through the presence of technology caches, one of which is shown in the following screenshot.

These are exciting moments in the first playthrough.
These are exciting moments in the first playthrough.

These abilities usually make Rusty even more capable at mining and platforming.

One of the mining abilities is the drill. It does not do as much damage per strike as the pick-axe, but it has an incredible rate of attack. Blocks which take many strikes from the pick-axe to be destroyed can be blown through quickly with the drill. It is also the first ability which consumes water.

Some of the additional abilities happen to be needed to advance further in the playthrough anyway. For example, just after the cave which holds the drill technology, there is a layer of blocks which can only be broken through with the drill. There is nothing else which the player has at the time to break through these blocks.

Usually, where and when these abilities are introduced, there are opportunities to learn about their nuances. The textboxes which appear in order to inform the player about these are sparse on details though; inattentive players can miss a lot.

When the game briefly mentions that the Steam Punch can be charged up, it is in the player’s interest to check it out.
When the game briefly mentions that the Steam Punch can be charged up, it is in the player’s interest to check it out.

Gaining an additional ability also means that places which had been out of reach earlier – usually nooks and crannies in the cave levels – are now within reach. The player has to backtrack of course, but this busywork is often rewarded handsomely.

However, there is one point late into any playthrough where the player must backtrack in order to find a way to progress. This can seem irritating to players who do not like to backtrack (despite the rewards).

The main appeal of these abilities is how much they improve Rusty’s mobility and ability to get anywhere. Skilful players can use them to evade monsters too, getting to where they cannot reach and knocking them out with a satisfying charged Steam Punch.

HAZARDS:

Mining in SteamWorld Dig is not exactly a safe activity.

There are many hazards to be encountered, usually found among the blocks which the player will dig. This makes illumination important, so keeping topped up on fuel for Rusty’s light source is important.

Some hazards have been described earlier, such as falling blocks. These are less pervasive, but no less dangerous ones.

One of the more interesting of these is the TNT barrel. Like typical video game explosive barrels, they explode when hit (but not immediately in this game). In addition though, they explode if either Rusty or a monster tarries next to it for too long; this is depicted through the increasingly distressing vibration of the barrel.

Without illumination, it can be quite easy to dig into a TNT barrel and suffer an explosive surprise.
Without illumination, it can be quite easy to dig into a TNT barrel and suffer an explosive surprise.

There are some hazards which are used to bar the player’s progress through the mines. One of these is the laser beam.

The laser beam obviously damages anything which bumps into it. Interestingly, if Rusty bumps into it, he is repulsed. This means that the player can get him away from a laser beam by making use of the repulsion. However, this also means that the laser beam effectively keeps Rusty out.

The emitters for the laser beams are invulnerable, if the player could even reach them at all. To turn the laser beams off, the player must locate their power sources.

There are some visual designs which are intended to help the player do this; there are blocks with obvious cables which link the emitters to something somewhere, if the power sources for the emitters are not already nearby. However, these cables are not always visible, due to the limitations of Rusty’s light source.

To overcome this, the game handily points the player to where he/she needs to go to solve this via visual indicators on the mini-map. These hints do lack narrative context though, feeling like a design made in afterthought.

It should not take long for players to figure out what to do with power sources when encountering them for the first time.
It should not take long for players to figure out what to do with power sources when encountering them for the first time.

CAVES:

The main regions of the mines are dense places, begging for Rusty to make gaps in them in order for their mineral riches and secrets to be liberated.

However, there are some caves which are connected to the mines. These are essentially separate levels, with gameplay objectives which are different from those of the mines.

These levels will test the player’s knowledge of the various things seen in the mines, such as the springy mushrooms which are seen in the damp depths of the mines, as well as the hazards which Rusty has survived.

These levels do not appear to be procedurally generated: a player is likely to get virtually the same level layouts as those which another player gets.

In fact, these levels appear to have been designed with platforming puzzles in mind instead of free-form mining. Furthermore, some rules which govern gameplay in the mines do not take effect in the cave levels; they are replaced by rules which are found in games like Full Bore instead.

The mandatory cave levels are marked with Roman numerals; they have technology caches which Rusty must get in order to progress.
The mandatory cave levels are marked with Roman numerals; they have technology caches which Rusty must get in order to progress.

CAVE RULES:

The game does not make it clear that the gameplay rules for caves are different though.

Firstly, death in a cave level does not result in Rusty returning to the town and having to pay a fee for reconstruction. The level is simply reset instead, and Rusty is returned to the start of the level with barely any health remaining.

Speaking of resets, exiting and re-entering the cave level will reset the level; Rusty’s status is retained. Sometimes, the player may get into a bind during a cave level, such as having too low health or water reserves to have Rusty survive the next stretch. Consequently, the player has to make a decision whether to forge ahead and risk failure or leave and thus lose progress.

However, this also means that the unscrupulous player can exploit cave levels to regain health, water or fuel. This is easier if there are weak monsters near the entrances.

The cave levels also prevent the use of most consumable items. This is understandable though, because placing ladders and teleportation nodes would have made cave levels too easy.

PUZZLES:

Unlike the mines, the cave levels are focused on puzzles. These puzzles involve working around obstacles which seemingly have been placed there by Rusty’s uncle; working around them requires the player to know how to utilize Rusty’s current capabilities to create paths and avoid hazards.

Having to switch one’s mindset from digging tunnels to solving puzzles can be a lot for a player who has not had diverse experience in playing games; one would probably need to have played Lode Runner and games which had been inspired by that classic game.

This looks precarious.
This looks precarious.

Nevertheless, the experience of having figured out a puzzle is rewarded with a new capability for Rusty or more minerals and orbs for the purchase of upgrades.

(Speaking of which, goodies which have been taken from cave levels do not return when they are reset.)

DIRECTIONALLY-WEAK BLOCKS:

For whatever reasons, cave levels have rocks which can only be destroyed when hit from a specific direction. They give away the presence of returning routes and secret areas, though they themselves are often not the entry points to these places.

SECRET BREAKABLE BLOCKS:

Another fixture of cave levels is the breakable block which does not occur in the main regions of the mines.

These blocks look subtly different from other blocks. After the player has learned which blocks are such blocks, spotting the entrances to secret areas becomes a lot easier.

This is the first hint that there are hidden breakable blocks in the deepest region of the mines.
This is the first hint that there are hidden breakable blocks in the deepest region of the mines.

ORBS:

Throughout the mines, the player may find blocks which contain spherical techno-arcane objects. These objects make the blocks especially tough.

Even when the player has managed to crack them, the player will have to contend with the explosion which these objects create. They do not damage Rusty, but they immediately destroy adjacent blocks, which can be undesirable if the player was hoping to use them as platforms.

Furthermore, the blue orbs which they release bounce all over the place. They can be difficult to retrieve, especially if there is not a platform below them to make jumps from.

For all the player’s effort though, these orbs merely act like a second currency which has to be paid for certain upgrades and consumable items. Such lack of sophistication in this regard can seem disappointing.

Orbs are usually the rewards for optional cave levels. These orbs are a bit easier to collect because of the tight level designs in caves.
Orbs are usually the rewards for optional cave levels. These orbs are a bit easier to collect because of the tight level designs in caves.

TELEPORTS AND TRANSPORT TUBES:

Climbing all the way back up to the town can be tedious and boring. Fortunately, the game does provide some conveniences to help shorten the trip, but not without some caveats to compensate for the easiness.

There are a handful of pre-existing teleportation nodes scattered throughout the mines, presumably placed by Rusty’s uncle. These allow the player to return to Tumbleton and do whatever the player needs before returning via a teleportation capsule which appears in town.

However, the pre-existing handful are not enough if the player wants to save time. The player may need to spend precious orbs on teleportation devices, which can be placed in the mines to create additional teleportation nodes. One of the worst experiences in the game is placing a node somewhere only to discover that there is a pre-existing one not so far down.

In addition to pre-existing nodes, there are transport tubes which Rusty can somehow use in order to get back up to the surface. These often occur at the start of any region of the mines.

Unlike teleportation devices, transport tubes are fixed edifices which are indestructible.
Unlike teleportation devices, transport tubes are fixed edifices which are indestructible.

AUTO-MAP:

To help the player figure out Rusty’s general location within the mines and caves, there is an auto-map feature which sits in the top right corner of the screen. However, It is rather rudimentary.

It presents the blocks which make up the mines and caves in just two colours: grey for the empty space which Rusty moves about in, and black for blocks. Blocks which do contain goodies are marked with magenta blips, but there is no visual scheme to differentiate between different types of blocks if they are devoid of riches.

The auto-map system does show the entrances to cave levels and other places, but the same icon is used for each of them.

Although Rusty’s location is marked on the auto-map, enemies are not marked.

If there are places which the player must go to, red arrows appear on the edges of the auto-map to show the general direction which the player must go to. There is no feature to show a “breadcrumb” trail which charts the shortest route to the destination.

The worst deficiency of the auto-map is that it cannot be expanded to give a bigger view of the layout of the mines and cave levels, or rather, there does not seem to be any documentation which mentions that this can be done.

If the auto-map starts to look like a dizzying warren of many paths, it usually means that the player should move on deeper to search for more caves and minerals.
If the auto-map starts to look like a dizzying warren of many paths, it usually means that the player should move on deeper to search for more caves and minerals.

MONSTERS:

The hazards in the mines are not the only sources of danger; there are also monsters to deal with. However, considering the danger which monsters pose, hazards would be more of a concern.

This is because the monsters are very stupid. In fact, to call the monsters “enemies” is an overstatement of their ability to be actively hostile towards the player.

Most of the monsters follow simple patrol routines, moving back and forth a horizontal stretch of the platform that they are on. Hitting them causes them to turn around, meaning that if the player wants to take them out with the pickaxe or drill, he/she has to have Rusty follow them to the other end of their patrol path. This is tedious.

Fortunately, after the player has obtained the Steam Punch and some of its upgrades, dealing with these idiotic monsters is rather trivial.

Still, there are some nuances with the monsters which are worth noting.

VULNERABILITIES:

Some monsters have notable vulnerabilities. They are not told to the player outright, but observant players might learn about these if they are curious enough to experiment with different approaches.

For example, there are enemies who are not particularly alert. They can be despatched with just one hit.

The regular shiner can be taken out if the player can hit him while he is sleeping.
The regular shiner can be taken out if the player can hit him while he is sleeping.

The other vulnerabilities which are seen in some hostiles can be discerned if the player applies knowledge of the gameplay designs about digging.

For example, there are laser turrets which are affixed to blocks which can be destroyed. Destroying these blocks eliminate them outright. Considering that the laser turrets have limited arcs of fire, the player can attempt to approach them in their blind spots and remove them.

FOSSILIZED MONSTERS:

Monsters which burst out of something are nothing new in video games. However, the ones in SteamWorld Dig do tell a tale of sorts.

These monsters are trapped in the blocks in the mines, suggesting that they are living fossils. They begin to stir when Rusty or a monster gets close, eventually breaking out – and then they go on dumb patrols.

Stupid as they are though, they do reveal some bits about the story behind SteamWorld Dig, namely the literally buried pasts of the world.

Fossilized enemies can be destroyed while they are still trapped inside their blocks.
Fossilized enemies can be destroyed while they are still trapped inside their blocks.

MONSTERS FIGHTING EACH OTHER:

Monsters which are native to one region in the mines will fight other monsters which come from other regions. For example, the Shiners (who are regressed humans) are hostile towards the prehistoric monsters which come from above them.

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of moments where such animosity between monsters is seen. There is not much the player can do to exploit them too. The most which the player would get from these is that he/she gets advance warning about the dangers which are ahead in cave levels.

This is the first time when the player would see that monsters fight each other, but there is not much that the player can do but watch.
This is the first time when the player would see that monsters fight each other, but there is not much that the player can do but watch.

SOUND DESIGNS:

The first aspect of the sound designs in SteamWorld Dig is its music. The music is composed by Mattias Hammarin and it fits the Wild West-like settings of the game quite well. It happens to be one more aesthetic camouflage for the fact that the game was made by Swedish developers.

None of the characters in the game has any legible voice-overs. Even though the robot characters in the game do obviously make use of human languages, they still speak in electronic gibberish. Each robot character does have a unique pitch to his/her voice at the least.

Most of the sound effects to be heard in the game are associated with the mining gameplay, which is good. For example, the tinkling noise heard when Rusty digs a block becomes clearer with a higher tempo with every subsequent hit, eventually ending with the satisfactory noise of the block crumbling. This helps the player know when a block is about to break, if the visual indicators are not enough.

The breaking of minerals is accompanied by increasingly more melodious sound effects.
The breaking of minerals is accompanied by increasingly more melodious sound effects.

VISUAL DESIGNS:

SteamWorld Dig has a pleasant blend of grim and bright art-styles. The grimness can be seen when the player goes down into the mines. The mines are dank, and at the verge of turning decrepit. However, objects in the mines have some bright elements in their visual designs, which in turn help the player figure out what is ahead.

This contrast is best appreciated when Rusty’s light source has gone out. When the first time this happens, the new player might have a slight onset of panic, since everything turns gloomier and more foreboding. However, there is still enough illumination on the edges of objects, so the player is not completely lost in the dark.

When the visual designs of the game are not used for atmospheric and gameplay purposes, they are used to tell the story wordlessly instead. The background does this quite well, in particular.

The background artwork suggests that the underground was not really the underground in the past.
The background artwork suggests that the underground was not really the underground in the past.

NOT MUCH ELSE AFTER THE FIRST TASTE:

After having experienced all that the game has to offer in the first playthrough, there is not more of anything left in the game which can entertain the player. There is no New Game Plus mode, there appears to be only a single difficulty setting and there are not a lot of secrets to be found.

This can seem disappointing to players who expected more from such an otherwise well-designed indie game.

CONCLUSION:

SteamWorld Dig has gameplay designs which reward observation and skill on the part of the player. However, the game does have some minor setbacks which detract from the gameplay, such as the deficient auto-map system which does not help exploration much and rather stupid enemies.

As an addition to the SteamWorld franchise and another entry in Image & Form’s portfolio, SteamWorld Dig is a competently designed game and a worthwhile story to tell. Yet, the experience which it offers is too little for it to be recommended as beyond the worth of a discounted purchase.