REVIEW - SteamWorld Dig 2 - 6ft Under and Counting

Name: SteamWorld Dig 2
Developer: Image and Form International AB
Publisher: Image and Form International AB
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (reviewed), PlayStation Vita, PC, Mac
Release: 21/09/17

Time to hit the open road, something something cowboy reference

As you may have guessed by this point, I'm a massive fan of 2D platform games. So you can guarantee that this review will be totally unbiased. (Wait, no, come back it will I promise) SteamWorld Dig 2 takes place after the events of SteamWorld Dig. (That may seem like a redundant statement but I have my reasons*) SWD2 maintains the Wild West/Steam Powered robot theme from the original. (And who doesn't love cowboy robots?) Unlike the first game, where you played as grizzled mining bot, Rusty, you are now in control of Dorothy McCrank, the merchant NPC from SWD. After the events of the first game, Rusty has gone missing after saving everyone and Dorothy has set out to look for him. You have your pickaxe (for digging) and that's about it. So far, so good.

Look, we're all missing Rusty but drawing his picture and looking
 forlornly at the sunrise isn't bringing him back any sooner

Story-wise, it's pretty basic: Friend is missing, find him. Early on you're partnered up with a glowing sprite called Fen. Despite his cute appearance, Fen is a sociopath. You first come across him zapping Doomsday cultists and giggling to himself. Needless to say, he quickly became my favourite character. Once you get to El Machino, which acts as the hub for your adventure, you are introduced to the majority of the steam-powered robots that will help you on your way. Here you can sell the vast amount of minerals you'll find while digging, using the money to buy upgrades for your gear. Upgrading is important. As you progress further downwards the ground becomes tougher and the enemies become deadlier. In addition to your standard upgrades, you also have mods. Equipping mods can do a whole array of things and each piece of equipment has their own. This can range from faster water tank filling (for your water-powered grenade launcher) to earning more money from your mineral hauls. To equip mods you need to find Cogs which can mostly be found at the end of challenge caves and secret areas. (There are loads of them so the mods you can have equipped at the endgame are pretty extensive)

I'd call this mayor a tool but I feel that discriminates against robots
 somehow

While the objective for most 2D adventure games is to head right until the day is saved/evil is thwarted, SWD2 takes you on a different path. Here, your challenge is how far down can you get until the game forces you to turn back and buy a few upgrades. (Or that's how I played it anyway) You're rarely met with a situation that can't be solved with a swing of your pickaxe, and when you do come across such an obstacle you are directed towards a nearby cave for a new piece of gear to play with. Your hand isn't held at any point in your adventure, you even have the option to turn off your waypoints so you can find your way yourself. (While I didn't choose that option, I ended up ignoring them anyway and doing my own exploring) More often than not, you'll be rewarded for exploring dangerous new locations (even if you technically don't have the gear to be there) leading to some new mods or a butt-load (technical jargon) of minerals and cogs. I found this to be SteamWorld Dig 2's strongest aspect. By the end of the game, which I reached in one 8 hour sitting, I felt such a distinct difference in the way I would be able to explore a cave in comparison to the start of the game.

Talk about a prickly situation

At times the platforming can seem a little "floaty".This can be a bit of an issue later on when some of the puzzles require a fair amount of precision jumping. If you can afford the wait, you get a piece of gear later on that make pretty much all of the tricky jumping puzzles obsolete. (I don't know why I'm being vague, it shows you in the game's trailer but I'll let you discover it for yourself) The map turns out to be pretty massive. The game, however, makes good use of a fast travel system in the form of pneumatic tubes. They can make cleaning up an area's secrets a lot easier when you pick up an upgrade without having to trudge all the back to the cave you were last stuck on.

Not the gear I was alluding to, but still pretty awesome

Would I recommend SteamWorld Dig 2 to you? I had a lot of fun with this game. So much fun, in fact, that I didn't realise the 8 hours passing. If you're after a fun few hours of Metroidvania-esque platforming with all the joy of being a steam-powered, robot cowgirl with a sense of humour and great aesthetic then this is the adventure for you. If you want to be a sad loser with no friends who smells bad and can't count without using your fingers, that's your choice but you can still play this excellent game regardless.

Ironically, my inflatable friend is a prick

Currently £15.99 on PlayStation Store, and £14.99 on Nintendo Switch and Steam. If you've got a Switch handy, might be worth looking into it as SteamWorld Dig 2 would make a great portable game.

(*Mind this from earlier? Basically, I have an issue with numbered sequels that turn out to be prequels narratively. I have no issues with prequels themselves, just when you expect the next chapter of a game and you get an origin story instead. Drives me round the fucking bend)