REVIEW: SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt

Cranky, owner of Cranky’s Upgrade lives up to his name! If you click to purchase something that you already own he responds with, “That’s enough of that, now.” When you leave he informs you that if “Ye break it, ye bought it.” Lola can be found in front of the Saloon, and is reminiscent of the type of character you would see at an old time saloon. Her hair is pulled back, makeup adorns her robot face and her dress sits just a little low on her chest. She offers advice from time to time, should you be in need.

Things look a bit different underground. Here, you see different types of dirt and rocks. Among the dirt are pools of water, enemies to fight and treasures to uncover. If your light meter is full, you can see quite a bit. As the meter drops your light won’t shine as far until eventually you can’t see even a foot from you. As you dig deeper and deeper, the later depths offer more steampunk themes. Things are a bit more mechanical-looking and keep you from tiring of looking at the normal earth sections when you first start digging.

The background music starts off in something like a heavy metal Western-type theme. As the levels become more mechanical-looking, the music changes to become more futuristic-sounding. The clinks and clanks of your pickaxe and drill are rather amusing. If you swing at nothing, Rusty will swing his pickaxe and you’ll hear a whiff of air. If you make contact, you can hear clanking against rock or the quick swish of the pickaxe as it breaks through softer ground. Each of the steambots has a robotic-styled voice when you talk to them. They don’t speak in any language you can understand, but the robotic voices are fun to listen to. I always imagine Cranky is cussing at me for needing to fill my health up again!

The game is a cross-buy and supports remote play. I’ve played on both the PlayStation 4 and the Vita, and the game is enjoyable on either system. Those who purchase the PS4 and Vita versions get both through cross-buy for $9.99. I’m terrible at keeping up with the amount of time I spend playing, but my best guess would be 30-40 hours. Your time may vary depending on how much you enjoy mining the land. Keep swinging that pickaxe, bust through the earth and see what treasures you can uncover!