SteamWorld Dig
By Jeff Haynes,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun drilling adventure with mild violence ends too quickly.
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SteamWorld Dig
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What’s It About?
STEAMWORLD DIG is the story of Rusty, a young mining robot, who receives a message one day from his uncle leaving him in sole possession of a lucrative mining opportunity in Tumbleton, a ghost town that has clearly seen better days. Seeking to find his fortune (as well as what happened to his uncle), Rusty sets off below the ground looking for treasure. He'll acquire gems of varying shapes and colors that can be traded to improve his gear and power, which will attract more people to the town to sell their wares. Rusty also will discover altars that will give him special powers and find that the mines hold hidden secrets that could threaten the safety of everyone on the surface. It's up to Rusty to brave the depths, save the world, and become a very rich bot.
Is It Any Good?
This quirky platforming adventure game strikes a great balance between fun and challenging, but it's over too quickly to let you fully enjoy the experience. SteamWorld Dig follows many of the same gameplay mechanics such as those in the Metroid or Castlevania franchises, where you start out with a basic set of skills and weapons. By the end of a stage or two, you've unlocked new abilities that allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas, which further drives you to explore, and on and on. Unlike those games, you have a certain amount of flexibility when it comes to exploring some sections of the mine; you can attempt to avoid creatures entirely in favor of mining, or you can attempt to clear every threat to you and your town. That does come with a bit of danger, because if you wind up dying, you lose half your hard-earned cash; since there's a limited amount of gems found on a level, you'll have to weigh whether it's actually worth it to destroy that creature in front of you or better to run until you have stronger weapons and more health.
What's also an interesting twist to the standard platforming formula is you're constantly forced to return to the surface to trade in gems and restore your energy stores. Initially it seems repetitive and possibly boring, but it strangely manages to provide some additional strategy: Do you create shafts to get up and down to unexplored areas as quickly as possible before your light runs out, or do you try to collect everything? Do you focus only on bringing up the pricey gems at first to ensure you get the most for your money during trade? Do you know which upgrade to spend your cash on? It adds an extra level of complexity that can be a bit challenging to scale, even with new abilities you eventually acquire. But the largest issue with SteamWorld Dig is the fact that it's over way too quickly. It's possible to fly through this game in about 10 hours even with a couple of mistakes, so just as you're starting to feel very powerful, you hit the final boss and the game ends. SteamWorld Dig is a fun and enjoyable platformer, which would be better if it were longer.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in games such as SteamWorld Dig. Is the violence OK because it's so cartoonish? Does the fact that you can avoid fighting lessen the impact of the violence? Should you even have to fight something at all?
Talk about fulfilling wishes and requests. Should you always try to do what's asked of you? What if those requests potentially put you in harm's way?
Game Details
- Platforms: Mac, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox One
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Image & Form
- Release date: June 5, 2015
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Robots
- ESRB rating: E10+ for Fantasy Violence
- Last updated: August 24, 2016
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