Also On: PS4, PS Vita, 3DS, Wii U, PC
Publisher: Image & Form
Developer: Image & Form
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+
At this point, there’s not a lot left to say about Steamworld Dig that hasn’t already been said. It was very good when it debuted on the 3DS a few years ago. It showed it worked just as well on consoles as it did on handhelds when it arrived on PS4 and PC (along with the Vita) last year. And now it’s on the Xbox One, and, unsurprisingly, it’s still very good.
Don’t mistake my lack of enthusiasm for a dislike of the game itself. Indeed, everything I wrote a year ago still stands. Steamworld Dig still features a core mechanic — digging — that’s easy to pick up but difficult to master. And it still exists in a richly-imagined steampunk-influenced robot world, in which a western-style ghost town exists over a vast underground that hides all kinds of secrets.
Of course, this means that the few criticisms of the original game still apply, too. Steamworld Dig can get a little repetitive, if you’re not into the whole endless digging thing. And there’s still not much of a story, if that’s the sort of thing you’re after.
Not that you should be, at least as far as I’m concerned. Steamworld Dig is all about exploring the great underground unknown, and all about the promise of something cool and mysterious waiting for you if you’ll just dig a little deeper. The Xbox One version of the game may not bring anything new to the table, but that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile if you haven’t already played it. And if you have, just think of this as a reminder that the sooner Steamworld Heist comes out, the better.
