SteamWorld Dig 2 sends mining bot Dorothy across the hand-crafted West Desert and frontier town of El Machino in search of the first game’s hero, Rusty. The loop of digging ore, selling it and buying upgrades keeps the world compelling across a campaign triple the original’s length.
The tool progression is the game’s backbone, with sprint hydraulics, pressure bombs, the jackhammer, hook shot and jet engine opening new routes through the same spaces. The hook shot and jetpack transform traversal so thoroughly that the jetpack was the best upgrade in the game.
The cog-mod system lets players swap upgrades freely, from reduced fall damage to refundable cogs, so experimentation costs nothing. The torch mod, removing the fear of running out of light, and the health recovery near water were favourites.
The story lands a solid reveal, with friendly shiner leader Rosie exposed as the villain using Rusty as a battery in her mech suit. The writing is consistently witty, and the pun-packed artifact flavour text was called very well written and a joy to produce.
The final boss fight is the worst part of the run, where the inability to attack in mid-air, enemies spawning on top of the player and platforms shifting into acid conspire against fairness. The tenacious trolley puzzle with its inconsistent timing and the recurring mine-cart sections add frustration.
The Vectron section has no map, making navigation feel aimless, and the challenge trials were skipped as more frustrating than fun. Nine deaths across the run, several in those trials, did not stop full 100% completion.
Overall, the satisfying tool progression, the huge hand-crafted world and the consistently funny writing carried a ten-hour run to full completion. The messy final boss and a few infuriating puzzles are the only stains on a very good Metroidvania.