Dig Dog Reviews

Very simple game but still manages to instil the "just one more run" feeling that a good rogue like has. Even if calling it one is a bit of a stretch.

I saw this game in my Steam exploration queue, and thought it was going to be a cross between Dig Dug and Spelunky. Turns out it's more Dig Dug than Spelunky, but that's alright because it is still fun. Noise-sensitive bomb bats and spiky hazards give this game a little bit of a strategic touch. Worth the $2.69 I bought the game for.

I'm all for games inspired by arcade classics. It's always great to see a twist on something I got to enjoy as a kid, even when it's not perfect. However, sometimes it seems developers try to evoke a mental image of a classic game just to draw you in to something that seems fundamentally different, so after buying Dig Dog with hopes of seeing a twist on Dig Dug, I'm a bit disappointed. [h1] Dogs are cool [/h1] I do enjoy the idea of a game centering around a dog digging for a bone, but it feels like the premise and the gameplay split from the beginning. Sure your blocky pixel dog can dig side to side and downward, but the best way to move in any direction is to mash the jump button. Either to go straight down at a seemingly ridiculous speed or to use the special move that has the dog changing color and blasting through the ground and enemies alike. It feels like a strange set of moves for a dog, which is fine in general, but why even have a dog if you're going to make it tilt sideways and fly? [h1]Frustrations as Gameplay [/h1] The overriding goal is to get the dog to the bone in every level. That's what progresses you to the next level. Each level and zone has progressively more obstacles in your way in the form of various enemies, damaging blocks of ground, and insta-killing spikes. So you'd assume the goal is to progress avoiding these obstacles as much as you can. Yet, the score at the end rewards you for having more coins, coins collected for defeating enemies, and at the same time you can use these coins to upgrade your canine to be generally stronger in a number of different ways. Thus, you're stuck either playing to progress or playing to collect, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me as they seem to be mutually exclusive types of gameplay. On top of this issue, it's very easy to die in the game. This isn't anything abnormal as it's built in to a lot of games, particularly roguelites to keep things dynamic. The procedural level generation (or just a ton of maps?) seems to reinforce the fact that it's fully intended. However, the sheer monotony of the game makes me want to move with a lot of urgency, yet doing so is almost a certain way to die. This had me slogging along just slowly digging my way toward the goal, trying not to move too quickly in such a way that I'd fly off the level and be forced to restart. It felt like those moments in some of the less-than-stellar Sonic games where you're forced to be slow and methodical when you think you're supposed to be going fast. [h1]Can I just play Dig Dug?[/h1] Dig Dog does have some good things going for it. It has a solid musical collection that fits the theme. It has a decent variety of enemies that function in unique ways. It even has a catchy name. But it just doesn't have that 'fun factor' that makes me want to keep playing it. When I first started, it had some issue that forced it to run at 10-15 FPS which was a nightmare, but I thought when it started working properly that I might be able to have fun with it. However, that just didn't happen. Sure it's a cheap game and getting it on sale certainly helped, but I don't really want to play it anymore and I don't know who I would recommend this for. [quote] If you'd like to see more of my reviews, check out my curator page here: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28346672-Endyo-Gaming/ [/quote]

It's a really simple arcade game that doesn't work for me. The controls don't work how I expect them to and it makes it very difficult to dig down. The new mechanics that are introduced for the enemies don't really change much either. The shop doesn't really change how to play or improve the game in a meaningful way. It can be skipped entirely. I can say the levels do get generated well and the eye color on the enemies to show what they drop is cute. Dig Dog is a well made game that doesn't go far enough to keep it interesting. For some reason I always feel frustration when playing.

[b][i]Dig Dog[/i] is what happens when you strip down [i]Spelunky[/i] to it's core elements and make it a pizza parlor arcade game.[/b] This title has that one-more-run addictiveness, and is another game that is easy to learn, yet hard to master. There is more content than meets the eye, but yes, it is an arcade game at it's heart (in other words, when you strip down [i]Spelunky[/i] you also take out some of the complexity and depth). [i]Essentially, you can dig, jump, rapid dig, and dash dig.[/i] The goal is to get the bone at the bottom of the level. You can collect gold pieces as you descend, and spend it for additional abilities in shops. It is fun to play the game very fast. And finally, also in the spirit of [i]Spelunky[/i], you gain warp tunnels once you reach new areas. [b]Pros:[/b] +Super addicting +Easy to learn and hard to master +Price point is too low +Fun from the couch [b]Cons:[/b] -This is best played in short sessions, which wasn't quite the case for me with [i]Spelunky[/i]; I suspect the arcade nature of this title is what shifts this [b]If you like the one-more-run games with rogue-ish elements, get this as soon as possible.[/b]

True to the modern “I-understood-that-reference-pun-premise” trope, Dig Dog is still fun and competent while at it. Just like with most rogue-lites out there it has its share of balancing issues, making descents raggier than desired: the 2-hit-death base stats coupled with meager invincibility frames rendering good runs prone to be smashed into pieces under some fickle RNG-god’s (dog’s?) paws, for instance; or getting a favorable “supply x demand” seed (meaning a) finding shops with b) good items while c) having enough money to afford ‘em) being rarer than digging random gold down the way; or procedural level design being cruelly nasty at times; and so on. None of those are game breaking though; but one structural design decision hurts the experience on a… deeper level. Unfortunately mapping all main actions (jumping, digging, dashing) to the same button makes the controls feel clumsy instead of elegant as intended, and may pile a couple extra frustrating deaths to the ever-growing counter. Despite all that, a player will most likely jump back right away without batting an eye--a testament to the game’s compelling and accessible “one more try” factor.

It's a nice little dogue-like game. Not overly mechnically complex (for the most, you dig, dash, or both at once) but still with tricks to learn. Play sessions are short and intense (usually 1..15 minutes), which makes for less sorrow about any premature demise. Game consists of 4 "worlds" (4 levels per world), each with their own level generation rules and enemies. Upon completing the last level the game goes back to 1-1 while adding a certain difficulty element. There's also an unlockable shortcut system for starting on a specific world (and misisng out on items that could be bought in shops on the way there), somewhat akin to that of Spelunky. The game is accompanied by a fitting soundtrack. To note here, speedrunning the game is also an interesting process, as you can go [i]really[/i] fast (many levels can be completed in less than 10 seconds).

Best $3 I've spent in a long time. It's cute, it's engaging, but also relaxing. My kids love watching me play, and it's not a game that they will find hard to play on their own. This is a short tight gaming experience, and for the price is a good buy.

[h1]Simple, yet Satisfying[/h1] Dig Dog is an arcade rogue-like developed by Rusty Moyher and Matt Grimm. Initially I wasn’t too keen on the game but one of my friends persuaded me to give it a shot and I’m really glad I did. What we’ve got here is a simple but satisfying game (not to mention addictive) in a small package. Dig Dog doesn’t do a huge amount, but I wouldn’t expect it to for $2 and what it does, it does well. I bought this last night right before I was heading to bed and ended up playing it for almost two hours. It exceeded my expectations. [h1]Positives:[/h1] [list][*]The core gameplay is easy to pick up but hard to master. All of your controls are on the arrow keys (or WASD) and the keyboard (though you can also move your mouth with Z, not sure if that does anything) and most of the time you’re just digging down or to the side to reach the bone. As well as this you can tap the space bar button to quickly dig down and pressing the jump button mid-air lets you do a dash that kills enemies. The dash is really the hardest thing to master, but it’s worth it. Using the dash effectively makes enemies easier to deal with and it’s also necessary for getting the bone when it’s in an awkward spot. [*]Dig Dog can really be as fast-paced or as slow as you like. There are no time constraints here and nothing chasing you or anything. Sometimes it’s just really fun to blow through a level as quickly as possible, but it’s not necessarily the best strategy (especially if you want coins). I’ve seen one type of enemy that can move through the ground, but most can’t, so you’re pretty safe to just stand still and survey the level around you if you want to. [*]There’s decent enemy variety here, and each enemy type behaves in a very different way. There are four ‘biomes’ in the game and each one adds new, harder enemy types. For example, the desert biome adds an enemy that can pass through the ground. Enemies sometimes have coins or hearts that they drop when killed. You can tell because they’ll have a gold or a red spot where they’d usually have a white spot. [*]Speaking of coins, there are upgrade shops here where you can buy things ranging from coin magnets to health refills and longer jumps. I have found it quite difficult to amass enough coins to buy anything regularly, so I haven’t had a chance to try everything on offer in the store, but even without upgrades the game is a lot of fun. [*]Dig Dog definitely has that ‘one more go’ feeling to it. As I mentioned, I ended up playing it for almost two hours last night when I wasn’t even planning on picking it up. It’s a snappy game, with four levels per biome, so it doesn’t feel like a big undertaking when you start a new run. As such, it’s also a really good ‘coffee break’ game. [*]If you don’t particularly fancy playing from the start every time, once you reach a biome a few times, you can warp there instead of starting from the beginning. This is particularly helpful if you’re like me and suck at the game, but don’t want to get stuck playing the first biome over and over again. [*]Presentation-wise, I think the art is pretty good and the music here is great. You can also unlock more colour palettes for the game. Your bones are counted up at the end of each run and at certain milestones. Much like in Downwell, I haven’t ended up using the different palettes as I like the default one, but it’s nice to see some customization in the game. [/list] [h1]Negatives: [/h1] [list][*]I do wish there was some other kind of attack. There’s an enemy that has spikes on its head that hurts you if you jump on it, meaning you have to attack it from the sides. Well, the only way to attack from the sides is to do that jump-dash I mentioned earlier but I’ve found it almost impossible to dash into an enemy that’s walking on the same plane as you, it’s much more suited to enemies one block above you. Unfortunately, this makes the spiky enemies really hard to kill, which becomes even more frustrating because they will happily jump down any holes you dig. [/list] [h1]Verdict:[/h1] Dig Dog is a great little arcade rogue-like and at $2 on sale, or $3 regular price it deserves to be in the library of any rogue-like fan. It’s easy to pick up and hard to master and it’s super addictive. There’s a good amount of enemy variety and overall content here too, especially for the asking price. I highly recommend giving this one a try! If you found this review helpful, please check out my other reviews over at [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33633486/]Kemo's Corner.[/url]

One of my absolute contenders to the game of the year in this 2018, and one of the most perfect arcade experiences that I have found in Steam since 'Switch 'N' Shoot'. Basically, 'Dig Dog' is 'Spelunky' at the speed of cocaine. It uses a procedural algorithm for the construction of a descendant layout that is as fine tuned and well balanced as in Derek Yu's influential classic. But in its main mechanic it looks to the sheer arcade intensity of drilling Japanese arcade games, feeling like a much more intense and less cerebral version of 'Mr. Driller,' that instead in the use of logic or puzzle elements, it relies in your ninja skills. While the game can be played at a slow and quieter pace, it truly shines when you play this with a speedrunner approach. And a lot of the design elements have been placed thinking in how to create a challenging and interesting layout pushing your quick reflexes. Interestingly for a game with an arcade approach, the game has an infinite nature. While there is a main loop that can be completed, then the game starts to repeat the same biomes but with a new harder gimmick forcing you to play in a much more risky way. The game is also pure excellence regarding the artistic and sound designs. With a minimalistic approach to the graphics relying in a suggestive and elegant color palette in the same tier of quality as 'N++'. And a very satisfactory use of the sound effects, being one these arcade experiences reaching the grade of synesthetic because of how pleasant and joyful it sounds. All of this combined with an use of rumble in the controller and screen shake effects, to evade and abstract your mind in the universe of the game as only classic arcade experiences are able to do. Other plus is how well optimized is, running at a rock solid 60 FPS even with the low specs of my GPD Win, being a perfect game to play on the go.