SteamWorld Dig 2 – Going Deeper

It’s been 89 days since Rusty went missing. From the small desert town of Tumbleton I’ve found myself in a brand new mining town, El Machino. This place is huge. It’s quite high up on a hill, full of houses, buildings and machines, has a population in the triple digits (so the sign says), and there’s even a rocket! The people here are quite simple minded and they are all trying to make a living, but still they are quite welcoming. Everyone wants to do business and The Mayor is happy to stand around and brag. The overall feeling is that there’s a lot more going on here than Tumbleton. Even the music is on a new level with a very funky baseline and more elements than I’ve heard before. Wait, what music? Must be in my head. I’ve come a long way to get here.

Day 95
Just digging under the town for now. The last I heard is that Rusty was last seen in this very mine, under the city. All I’ve found so far are fistfuls of dirt and the occasional ore. They are useless to me but I can sell them in town next time I surface for light. Barnacle Jones will buy anything. Some of these walls are too thick to hack through and I’m worried I will hit a dead end soon.

Day 99
Things are looking up a bit, I’ve found a new water drill to get through these new walls. No clue where this will take me but I need to explore this mine fully. It’s quite satisfying to use, I can’t wait to show Rusty. This feels a lot safer and more efficient than his old jackhammer.

Day 109
Things have really gone off the map now. Like literally I am losing my bearings. I’ve gone down the city mine, then back out to the eastern desert, then down again and west back in the direction of the mine area and now it feels like I’m going back to where I started. Still no sign of Rusty and I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever find him.

Day 110
Booyah! I managed to get this sweet hookshot upgrade that allows me to grab walls. So now even if I find myself going around in circles I can get where I want quickly. All the terrible paths I made in the city mine are trivial to navigate now. The regular old wall-jump is a bit less important now, but still the only way to go straight up a single wall. The hookshot now allows me to go along a roof. I have to drop and keep firing it up as I fall. It’s a bit scary but I must say, I’m having fun. I hope Rusty is having fun somewhere.

Day 112

Nope. Not moving. Ever again. This is fine. I found a brand new place to live, yay! Just enjoying this roof, don’t mind me. It’s quite smooth with a pleasant texture. The fire on the wall is keeping me warm. What more could you need. Heck, I could probably fall asleep like this it’s so comfortable. Just let me tape this hookshot button down, yep perfect. Good night.

Day 116
I’m too overwhelmed. Despite upgrading my bag several times I’ve found myself full again. It’s not just the ore but now I have so many cogs, abilities and everything’s getting heavy. I feel like I’m as well-equipped as ever to find Rusty but still without a clue. I’ve found so many useless artifacts on the way too. One of them was just a disgusting banana. I think the shiner’s used to eat these. The first upgrade I’m getting when I get back to town is a bigger backpack.

Day 120
Met someone who calls themselves the Great Prophet. He called Rusty “The Great Destroyer”, what could that possibly mean? What did they do to him? I turned the Great Prophet into a great profit with a good old whack from my pickaxe and continued on my way.

Day 142
I keep getting new upgrades and movement options and I’m continually impressed with the new parts of the mine I can access. I thought the hookshot was the best movement upgrade I could get but there’s more, much more. It’s almost like these were designed by explorers who wanted to go to these parts specifically. But why does it also feel like nobody has been here but me?

Day 196
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Day 213
I’ve finally got a strong lead. This might be my last journal entry because things are getting dangerous. The earthquakes are getting stronger. I’ve searched everywhere I can possibly find on this dusty old map, destroyed the doomsday devices and made every deal I could possibly make in town. Now I may not even find Rusty, but I will find answers. It’s been such a long time and I’m fully aware that the chances get lower with each day. Even if I have lost my friend, I have found myself. Rusty would be proud of what I’ve gone through. My adventure went beyond expectations and delivered previously unheard of experiences in the digging genre without the need for randomly generated environments. All of this was a lot more purposeful and structured than the events in Tumbleton. Some of the places I’ve visited were too wonderful or dangerous for me to even write about. There has to be some surprises for people coming down here, right? I can only describe these extra places as colourful, with some surprising lifeforms and flora. This is more than just a mining area. Now if anyone is reading this, I desperately plead; please come and find me and Rusty. The last thing I saw was *@48%@*@!18———- *torn illegible*