{"id":11860,"date":"2018-02-01T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/steamworld_dig"},"modified":"2018-02-01T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T15:00:00","slug":"review-steamworld-dig-switch-eshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/02\/01\/review-steamworld-dig-switch-eshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: SteamWorld Dig (Switch eShop)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87576\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87576\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"NSwitch DS Steam World Dig 06\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p><a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/steamworld_dig\"><strong>SteamWorld Dig<\/strong><\/a> hardly needs any introduction; Image &amp; Form\u2019s 2013 Metroidvania-platformer has cemented itself as part of a much beloved series of games that brightly shine with polish and pedigree. With <a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/steamworld_dig_2\"><strong>SteamWorld Dig 2<\/strong><\/a> recently strutting its stuff on Switch, it makes a lot of sense that the developer has decided to bring the original title to the console too, allowing anyone who may have missed the adventure the first time around to experience where Rusty\u2019s platforming endeavours began.<\/p>\n<p>This is the exact game we\u2019ve already come to know and love; no extra modes, features, or the like have been added to the game since we last saw it a few years back. The game sets the scene immediately, thrusting you (as Rusty) into the charming town of Tumbleton to claim your uncle\u2019s old goldmine. After finding your uncle\u2019s body, nonchalantly stealing his pickaxe, and then forgetting about the ordeal with about as much empathy as a lion tearing into a defenceless gazelle, you\u2019ll head off to explore the mine for the very first time.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87573\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87573\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"NSwitch DS Steam World Dig 03\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Gameplay revolves around a constant loop; you\u2019ll head down into the mine, dig as deep as you can go, collect as many minerals and metals as you can, and then head back up to the surface to sell your goods, purchase essential upgrades and, hopefully, level up. The mining aspect puts a heavy emphasis on exploration and progression over anything else, although you will need to deal with enemies in basic combat, too. These enemies get progressively more tough to deal with as the game goes on, but the upgrades you\u2019ll unlock will help you to shrug off even the nastiest of them without <em>too<\/em> much bother.<\/p>\n<p>It is actually the exploration that stands out as the toughest challenge here. If this is your first time exploring the SteamWorld universe, you\u2019ll inevitably fall into the same rookie mistakes as everyone else. Making your way deeper and deeper into the depths of the mine seems easy at first, but you\u2019ll need to ensure you have a route back up to the surface; if you can\u2019t jump back up thanks to some foolish carving in the scenery, or even steam jump (which uses up your water supply to propel you further), you\u2019ll be forced to self-destruct, losing half of your accumulated moolah in the process.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87575\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87575\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"NSwitch DS Steam World Dig 05\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>With time, though, you\u2019ll start to learn what you\u2019re doing wrong and what things cause you to get stuck, eventually reaching a point where you\u2019ll be exploring with almost dangerous levels of confidence. The better you become at carving perfect paths through the mine\u2019s labyrinth of enemies and gold, the more enjoyment you\u2019ll find yourself having; realising that you\u2019re improving, and ultimately moving around with impeccable grace, is an incredibly satisfying feeling.<\/p>\n<p>Your ever-growing efficiency is also helped by the upgrades that are discoverable within the mine. The story\u2019s plot points will guide you towards small caves that house puzzle-like sections, eventually rewarding you with some new equipment if you can reach the end. You\u2019ll stumble across various improvements to your digging and movement skills, such as a drill and a double jump technique, that compliment the health and water improvements available from the merchants on the surface. When you\u2019re fully equipped you\u2019ll have turned into a <em>quite literally<\/em> well-oiled machine.<\/p>\n<p>The best thing about all of this, though, is how perfectly everything just \u2018clicks\u2019. Upgrades that act like new gameplay mechanics are introduced at just the right time, as are changes to your scenery. The controls feel perfectly responsive and you\u2019ll find that map indicators always tell you which direction you need to head in so that you won\u2019t get too lost. These pointers only suggest that you \u2018should\u2019 go in that direction, however; you are still free to explore wherever you want to go and the balance between freedom and story progression feels pretty spot on.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87574\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87574\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"NSwitch DS Steam World Dig 01\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Aesthetically, this is as strong as the original Dig has ever looked, too. Just like the Wii U version, this game, of course, consists of beautiful HD graphics and the Switch\u2019s screen makes playing in portable just as pretty. The steampunk\/western vibe looks and sounds great; character animations, and especially larger character models when they are shown, look exquisite and the colour schemes within the mine itself really shine.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, by being the exact same release as on 3DS and Wii U, the same (admittedly very slight) niggles we had with the game before are still present here. Mostly, this just concerns the amount of time you\u2019ll get from the game; the campaign can be comfortably completed in little over five hours, by which point most players will be done and ready to move on to something else. You can keep exploring new areas after completion if you like, but there is little incentive without the plotline keeping you going. We\u2019d love for there to be a little more reason to stay within the game\u2019s gorgeous world.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>SteamWorld Dig can proudly sit amongst those top-tier eShop titles that can describe themselves as a \u2018must-play\u2019. There is a small desert\u2019s worth of charm packed into this game, with a beautifully high level of polish and sheen just oozing from its very core. We\u2019d love to have more reasons to play the game after its relatively short campaign and, considering this game is a short few years old now, having a UK launch price higher than when it released on previous Nintendo systems seems slightly off, but the gameplay alone will show you that this one is a real winner.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to delve into the SteamWorld universe for the first time, this would be a great place to start.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SteamWorld Dig hardly needs any introduction; Image &amp; Form\u2019s 2013 Metroidvania-platformer has cemented itself as part of a much beloved series of games that brightly shine with polish and pedigree. With SteamWorld Dig 2 recently strutting its stuff on Switch, it makes a lot of sense that the developer has decided to bring the original [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11860\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}