SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt

Game Info

What is there to say that other reviews have not said about this game on other platforms.  This game is amazing, fun, addicting and with the Wii U gamepad it makes it even more of a gem for the Nintendo Wii U.  First off, you are a steambot named Rusty who just found out that his uncles mine was just left to him.  Rusty will head to the old mining town of Tumbleton, which is in lots of financial need, to dig through the earth to gain riches and uncover the primeval threats down under.

At first when playing the game, I was a little skeptic being that I have not played this on any console whatsoever.  I saw the game graphics and thought its nice, smooth, runs flawless and does the 2D world of gaming a huge favor.  That feel of playing Metroid or Castlevania is definitely there as well.  The cut scenes had the characters babbling in robotalk while the story was in writing below.  Now, I know I say this a lot but I do hate reading my games and feel they should be able to do voice overs on all games but with how fun this game is I am glad they didn’t ruin it with horrible voice actors.  The soundtrack feels right at home with environment and never seems repetitive.

SteamWorld Dig begins with you mining the underground and finding various treasures and running into underground creepy crawlers.  There are additional mines below as well that will help you in your digging expedition as you get further down to the bottom.  There is also plenty of goodies to be dug up or drilled out and turned in to receive money to help you buy upgrades throughout the game.  While moving along you will also come along orbs that will also help you gain upgrades to your equipment.  These upgrades also include leveling up your pick axe, armor which is health, the pouch that you can hold all your loot in and a few more necessary upgrades to move on.

The best part of the game is that you do NOT have to go in a certain direction to beat the game.  There are multiple ways to go about it and that makes it feel more open.  You can go down as far as you can go til your axe won’t cut through the earth and need an upgrade.  You can go side to side and collect all the treasures possible and defeat all the underground lurkers that stand in your way.  There is also the use of teleporters that can be bought with collected orbs and tossed down.  So now you won’t have to climb all the way back up, you can just teleport up and teleport to where you left off last and not have to relocate where you were.

The Nintendo Wii U version brings a few more things to the table that make it a lot more fun and give you a little more of an advantage as a player.  The Wii pad can be used for off screen play, so if your television is off or in use than you can still get your fix on playing this addicting game.  Also, you can use the Wii pad as a map to see where you have been or haven’t been and after so far into the game, you can unlock an upgrade that will show you where the hidden treasures are located.  The sound, graphics and gameplay are just as good on the Wii pad as it is on the big screen.  The game is also supported on the Wii U pro controller.

The Recommendation

If you have read reviews of SteamWorld on other systems then I hope you have already gotten this game.  If you didn’t because you only have the Wii U, then do not wait any longer and go download this fantastic game.  If you love Metroidvanian games then this a game that will want because it does more than justice for the great classics.  The only negative is that I feel they could have added a harder difficulty after beating the game.  The positive out of the replay though is that it is procedurally generated so NO 2 playthroughs will be the same.  I am done raving about the game so get off gamegravy.com and go download this and play it already.