Digging Up Fun at $1.99

I received a notification today that eleven items on my Steam wishlist are currently on sale--you gotta love random sales!  I especially love them when they make a semi-cheap game into an outright steal.  I landed the GOTY edition of Middle Earth:  Shadow of Mordor for $4.99 last year.  For the same price as a fancy coffee I got the joy of repeatedly and violently stabbing orcs to death.  Suck it Frappucino...just sayin'....  This year I decided to take a gamble on a bundle that includes all the SteamWorld games.  The first game in the series, SteamWorld Dig, was offered for a whopping $1.99.  How good could a game be that costs less than a hamburger?  Pretty dang good it turns out.

Rusty, a mining robot.

In SteamWorld Dig you play as Rusty, a steampunk-esque robot, who sets out to visit his robot uncle in the tiny Western themed town of Tumbleton.  When Rusty rolls into town he finds out that his uncle is missing in action and a helpful local robot named Dorothy points him to a nearby cave.  Unfortunately for uncle robot he has met a sad and unexplained end.  After recovering his uncle's handy pickaxe, Rusty decides that searching his newly inherited mine for clues would be a good idea.

The bulk of SteamWorld dig involves using your tools to dig and locate special upgrades which allow you to go even further and find more clues about what happened to Rusty's uncle.  It's sort of like a highly upgraded version of the classic game DigDug...but so much better.  Part of the fun of digging is locating the mineral nodes and orbs that are hidden throughout the different levels.  Minerals can be cashed in on the surface at Tumbleton and used to buy items and upgrades.  Rusty's tools can be upgraded to mine harder rocks and do more damage to the enemies scattered across a level or Rusty himself can receive upgrades to health and water (which is used as fuel for special moves and for certain tools).  You can also opt to buy helpful items like ladders, dynamite, or transporters--some of them cost cash while others cost the rarer orbs which are primarily used for upgrades.  Part of the challenge is to figure out how to spend your limited resources--there are only so many orbs and so many minerals sprinkled around each zone.

Tumbleton--Home of Robots.

As you dig deeper into each level you will find doors which contain puzzle-like challenges.  Figuring out how to solve these challenges will usually net you a bunch of minerals or some orbs.  There are also specific numbered doors which contain upgrades which will allow you to reach the next part of the story.  As Rusty is upgraded and advances the town of Tunbleton grows and more merchants pop up to sell improved items.

Like DigDug there are enemies sprinkled throughout each zone.  The decision to fight or avoid them might be based on your current health or resource level.  Defeating enemies means that they drop health, water, or oil.  One of the more clever mechanics involves Rusty's lamp and oil level.  As long as Rusty has oil for his lamp the area around him is illuminated and you can easily see any minerals or enemies that might be located underground.  If Rusty's lamp runs out of oil the area grows dark and it is almost impossible to see where those objects might be located.  Players must frequently return to the surface where the game is saved, your lamp oil is refilled, and you can sell any minerals that you might currently be carrying.

Moving deeper underground means that the number of enemies increases and that there are more dangers.  These dangers can be enemies, but they can also be self-created.  Certain heavy stone blocks will fall directly down if the dirt below them is destroyed.  One careless mistake means that Rusty gets crushed and must be revived on the surface.  Not only will you feel really dumb for not paying attention, but you'll also have to cough up 50% of your current gold to pay for this service.  If you're able to plan accordingly stone blocks can be a handy way to crush nearby enemies.

I played through the entirety of SteamWorld Dig in 7 hours and think that I got a great deal for this cute little game.  If you're in the market for something that's fun and relaxing, I would recommend picking up SteamWorld Dig.  Have fun digging and pay attention to those stinkin' stone blocks!