SteamWorld Dig and Heist both have excellent soundtracks, and Dig 2 doesn’t disappoint. I even delayed beating the game to keep searching for more secrets.Īnd while I don’t think I’ll have the time to get a 100 percent-finished score in SteamWorld Dig 2, I’m considering it. Dozens of secret nooks are hiding underground in Dig 2, and I never got sick of looking for them. That variety helps to keep it exciting to explore every corner. And they also all have gorgeous, detailed backgrounds that feature various flora and fauna. But even within each one of these larger areas, the look and feel can shift and change as the backgrounds and lighting change.
They are all brimming with unique lighting, like glowing-green acid swamps. You have the molten lava temple to the east or the dingy underground caverns to the west. It has character and style, and its environments best exemplify that. SteamWorld Dig 2 isn’t just a cycle of strong mechanics. That also keeps things fresh through the encounter with the final boss. Instead, most of the upgrades you find underground will change the way you explore the map. And those typically aren’t about improving your combat abilities. Image & Form keeps up the pace by littering the world with power-ups. You always feel like the next brick of dirt you break could unveil your next major powerup, and that makes it hard to put down.īut it’s not just a feeling. That loop is so refined that you’ll find yourself saying “just one more time” over and over about heading back into the mines. You can then use that gold to buy upgrades to your tools and weapons. Once your bag is full, you need to try to get back to the main town to sell them for gold. Each trip underground, however, doesn’t last forever, because you can only carry a limited number of precious stones. So you always have this key motivation to head back underground to look for the next big improvement to your loadout. But as soon as you uncover the lamp and the speed dash, you kinda won’t stop finding upgrades until you’re near the end. You start out with a pick ax and not much else when it comes to gear and abilities, but that’s enough to get you down into the first set of mines. Three top investment pros open up about what it takes to get your video game funded.ĭig 2 excels at keeping you hooked - especially through its early hours.