I dig deeper into the depths of an abandoned mine, my lamp is fading, lowering my visibility, running out of both health and water, I use my last possible breath to drill into the earth below in order to mine a great treasure. But now I’ve got it, I need to make my way all the way back up the 250 meter descent I’ve just made. SteamWorld Dig is a game of risk and reward, the more you mine, the more valuable treasures you will find, but alongside them comes dangerous hazards.

The game’s protagonist, Rusty, inherits a mine from his deceased uncle (as well as a pickaxe), where he then discovers the treasures and secrets of what his uncle discovered before him. The town of Tumbleton is home to only three residents when you first migrate there, but as you discover more treasures, the economy grows, and so does the population. You sell your found treasures in exchange for money, which you then use to level up and buy upgrades, such as more health, water, stronger tools and so on.

A sluggish start is expected, but after you receive the first upgrade, you’ll start to feel the game’s pace pick up, and you’ll gradually be sucked in to the depths of the mine. To begin with, your lamp doesn’t last long, which means you’ll only be able to see for a short period of time, and you’ll only be able to carry a few, not very valuable treasures. Rest assured, it all adds up and soon enough you’ll find yourself with more tools for Rusty to use, making his descent much easier and quicker. The drill, which is powered by water, allows you to grind through dirt like it’s nothing.

Occasionally you’ll come across rooms, which will contain valuable treasures or useful upgrades. However, depending on how you play, you might not need all these upgrades at all. Speedrunners will have a treat on their hands as each world is procedurally generated, meaning no two playthroughs will be the same. I personally took the “mine every bit of dirt possible” route, which is longer, but players can choose to dig straight down if they so wish, but it does come with an element of risk. As you go deeper, more hazards appear such as explosives, or acid, meaning you’ll have a tough time surviving if you didn’t upgrade your health.

Gameplay soon becomes rhythmic, and potentially hypnotic. Dig down, find some treasures, survive, make your way back up, sell treasures, upgrade and repeat. This isn’t a complaint though, you’ll become accustom to the clink of Rusty’s pickaxe on treasures, or the sound of him wall jumping his way up and down the mine. Soon enough, your brain just continually tells you “one more go”. The small risk and reward element really adds to this too, “maybe if I go a bit deeper, I can find a diamond”, I tell myself, and then, off I go.

Reviewed on the Wii U version, the game has several updates since its release on the 3DS over a year ago. It runs in 1080p at 60FPS, much the same on PS4 and PC. Animated character portraits have been added, alongside some extra polish. Your HUD has been moved to the GamePad, allowing players a full, clean view of the mine on the TV screen, as well as support for Off-TV play and the Wii U Pro controller.

All in all, the game won’t take many hours to complete, but which each playthrough being different from the last, players will certainly be coming back to try and get a faster time or better score. So whether it’s the hypnotic background music, the brilliant gameplay, gorgeous animations or the thrill of the adventure, SteamWorld Dig remains one of the best independent titles this year.

 

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