Back To Gaming!!
2026 is the year where I aimed to get back more into Gaming as ultimately the best experiences in media for me have been there as nothing beats a great game in term of enjoyment. I bought myself a heavily discounted Steamdeck during Black Friday (Link) and I have mostly been configuring it getting some Retro Games on there while making a Steam Game wishlist watching out for big Discounted deals to grab.
I'm still kind of stuck though playing Balatro (Link Review) on my ipad trying to gold level every deck and I'm almost there. I also take the 'I'm done with a game' as a timestamp to make a review on them and the firts one this year has been Steamworld Digg 2 which I wanted to try for quite some years as it gets ok reviews and seemed easy to get into.
Steamworld Dig 2 (6.5/10)
This was one of the games that I figured might be perfectly suited for my Steamdeck so I had it on my wishlist and when the price was at 1.19€, it felt like good value to pick it up and give it a try. The very affordable prices of games on steam if you are willing to wait are one of the great things about the entire ecosystem. While I'm someone who if possible always tries to get things for free, I'm very much ok spending these tiny amounts for some hours of entertainment.
The game itself didn't hook me instantly but after a couple initial tries, it did get me going and enjoying the experience. The concept of the game is pretty straightforward where you get to dig yourself down into a mine where you pick up certain minerals and other stuff which on the surface you can sell or trade and upgrade your gear, stats and abilities so you are able to go further down and overcome certain obstacles.
The visuals are quite ok but I honesly never really was captured by the characters, the story or the lore of the game. The setting is one in the desert wild west with robots and it all feels more like a gimmick. A bit similar how a game like Guacamelee! also kind of felt like a gimmick. In that regard I liked a game like Rogue Legacy and Stardew Valley way more as those felt more in place if you know what I mean without trying to force uniqueness onto them.
The games runs super smooth and the controls also are very inuitive and natural. Unlike many other of these kinds of games, the word is made by the devs and not randomly generated and I feel like they could have done a bit more with it at least for the 3 Hours and 34 Minutes that I played it. It never really felt like a smooth challenge, but more like either straightforward progress without much dopamine by overcoming things or sections where the 'puzzle' was not really that fun. The upgrading is a classic mechanic and it's nice to sell stuff to get better abilities but at the same time it also was a bit underwhelming.
Each time after 20-30 minutes of playing, I felt like it's enough and I also never really had a massive urge to get back into it. That's also the reason why I called the game quits eventually as it left me relatively satisfied with the time that I have had with it but with no drive whatsoever to put more time into it or let alone finish it. This is not because it's a bad game, but mostly because my time is limited and there are more fun things to do.
Conclusion
Steamworld Dig 2 is not a bad game especially for the 1.19€ price tag and I enjoyed the time I had with it while I have no drive to finish it even though this can be done in 10 hours or so. If I was in prison and only had this available, I would have the time of my life there for sure. However, I'm mostly looking for unigue gaming experiences, or for things I totally get addicted to. Steamworld Dig 2 is a great game which still fell short as it needs to compete with much better games in a world where time is limited. So an ok 6.5/10 score for me.
Next Up
I'm currently trying to finish Balatro with just 1 gold stake along with the last deck to go before having completed them all. Once done, I will write a love letter about how insanely fun that game is and move on to the next game which I'm not sure what it will be yet.
| # | 2026 Played Games | Platform | Price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 | Steamworld Dig 2 | Steam Deck | 1.19€ | 6.5/10 |