Review: Dig or Die
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:Your progress is automatically saved at dawn, noon, and dusk. Each time it autosaves, a new save file is used, so older attempts aren't erased. You can also manually save at any time during the day. If you want to pause the game, open the game menu by pressing ESC - opening your inventory or crafting menu does not pause the game. Time needed per session:Plan for longer sessions as you'll want to have enough time to explore, gather resources, build structures, and defend yourself against the nightly alien raids.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Some players may have concerns Every night, the aliens enter a mindless rage and try to kill you. While these battles are not graphically depicted, the enraged aliens will sometimes leave behind small pools of blood that you'll need to collect for crafting materials. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/dig_or_die_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/dig_or_die_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/dig_or_die_2.jpg)
Game Overview
2D crafting survival games are fairly common these days, so if a new one wants to keep players interested, it needs showcase some unique ideas that make it stand out from the pack. In the case of Dig or Die, this is accomplished by a unique physics system and a day/night cycle that ensures the player can't afford to get sidetracked with making a pretty base or other goals. You're stranded on a hostile alien planet, and if you're not working towards getting off this rock, you're wasting time you don't have.
Like other crafting / survival games, you have tools that allow you to gather resources and turn these raw ingredients into something more useful, like building materials, better tools, medical supplies, or defenses. But, unlike other games, you can't just stick building blocks anywhere you want. Chunks of dirt can only be placed in locations with a natural wall, and other raw blocks (eg, stone) can't be placed at all. Walls and other structures must be placed on the ground and need to be supported properly or they'll collapse under their own weight. This can make building bridges or towers unexpectedly complicated, but to be fair, you're not really supposed to be building elaborate mansions here.
There's another quirk of the physics system that you definitely need to think about - namely, liquids. You won't be dealing with "source blocks" or anything like that. Instead, liquids flow realistically, and can even seep through certain materials. This creates a real problem as it rains on a regular basis. If you don't want your bases to get flooded, you'll need to build them so that excess water can flow around them, drain away, or be pumped out. Lava is an order of magnitude worse; not only does it burn anything it touches, the magma table also rises and falls throughout the day. This makes any trips into the volcanic areas are extremely risky as any channels you carve out can flood with the molten rock when you least expect it.
Speaking of exploring, there's nothing stopping you from wandering around the planet whenever you want. However, you should make a habit of sticking close to a base or other safe location as night approaches. While you might encounter some hostile aliens during the day, they'll mostly go about their business unless you've aggravated them first. But, during the night, they'll enter a berserk rage and hunt you down relentlessly. Members of every species you've attacked will swarm your location in a rabid attempt to finish you off. Critically, most of your weapons have a cooldown period, so you can't just run around guns blazing. A better solution to the nightly attacks is to place turrets, mines, and other defenses around your base.
Worse, it turns out that the local aliens also go bonkers when you're preparing to launch the rocket. Since you'll have survived countless nights by this point, the idea of being attacked in broad daylight might not sound like too much of a problem. However, there's a catch: you can't move or use your own weapons once you've entered the pilot seat. From that point on, your base's defenses will be the only thing protecting you, making the final countdown one of the tensest moments I've ever encountered in a game.
And just to make things a little more dire, this game features permadeath - if your character ever dies, that's it. Game over. You won't respawn or get another chance. The only thing you can do is reload your last saved game and try something different. Save often; it might be the only thing that lets you continue if something goes wrong. In particular, make a point of saving right before you try anything risky. On the plus side, there's an autosave feature that will automatically trigger at dawn, noon, and dusk, so you're not risking everything all the time.
To sum all this up, Dig or Die clearly isn't trying to be as expansive or detailed as games like Terraria or Minecraft. It was made to be its own thing, and for what it is, I'd say it's a fun and challenging experience. If you're the kind of player who enjoys 2D survival games and difficult odds, consider giving this game a try.
Like other crafting / survival games, you have tools that allow you to gather resources and turn these raw ingredients into something more useful, like building materials, better tools, medical supplies, or defenses. But, unlike other games, you can't just stick building blocks anywhere you want. Chunks of dirt can only be placed in locations with a natural wall, and other raw blocks (eg, stone) can't be placed at all. Walls and other structures must be placed on the ground and need to be supported properly or they'll collapse under their own weight. This can make building bridges or towers unexpectedly complicated, but to be fair, you're not really supposed to be building elaborate mansions here.
There's another quirk of the physics system that you definitely need to think about - namely, liquids. You won't be dealing with "source blocks" or anything like that. Instead, liquids flow realistically, and can even seep through certain materials. This creates a real problem as it rains on a regular basis. If you don't want your bases to get flooded, you'll need to build them so that excess water can flow around them, drain away, or be pumped out. Lava is an order of magnitude worse; not only does it burn anything it touches, the magma table also rises and falls throughout the day. This makes any trips into the volcanic areas are extremely risky as any channels you carve out can flood with the molten rock when you least expect it.
Speaking of exploring, there's nothing stopping you from wandering around the planet whenever you want. However, you should make a habit of sticking close to a base or other safe location as night approaches. While you might encounter some hostile aliens during the day, they'll mostly go about their business unless you've aggravated them first. But, during the night, they'll enter a berserk rage and hunt you down relentlessly. Members of every species you've attacked will swarm your location in a rabid attempt to finish you off. Critically, most of your weapons have a cooldown period, so you can't just run around guns blazing. A better solution to the nightly attacks is to place turrets, mines, and other defenses around your base.
Worse, it turns out that the local aliens also go bonkers when you're preparing to launch the rocket. Since you'll have survived countless nights by this point, the idea of being attacked in broad daylight might not sound like too much of a problem. However, there's a catch: you can't move or use your own weapons once you've entered the pilot seat. From that point on, your base's defenses will be the only thing protecting you, making the final countdown one of the tensest moments I've ever encountered in a game.
And just to make things a little more dire, this game features permadeath - if your character ever dies, that's it. Game over. You won't respawn or get another chance. The only thing you can do is reload your last saved game and try something different. Save often; it might be the only thing that lets you continue if something goes wrong. In particular, make a point of saving right before you try anything risky. On the plus side, there's an autosave feature that will automatically trigger at dawn, noon, and dusk, so you're not risking everything all the time.
To sum all this up, Dig or Die clearly isn't trying to be as expansive or detailed as games like Terraria or Minecraft. It was made to be its own thing, and for what it is, I'd say it's a fun and challenging experience. If you're the kind of player who enjoys 2D survival games and difficult odds, consider giving this game a try.
Points of Interest
Adjustable difficulty
Although challenging gameplay can be a lot of fun, it can be frustrating at times. For example, if you're still learning how to utilize this game's building mechanics, the last thing you'll want are strong monsters coming after you. Fortunately, there are several difficulty settings to choose between, allowing you to make the game as hard as you want. In addition to making the monsters stronger (or weaker), you can also shake things up by choosing special environments (such as starting from a cave underwater) or adding environmental hazards like the occasional underground lava flow.
Keep in mind that regardless of the difficulty setting you select, your actions control how bad things get at night. If you leave the aliens alone, they'll (mostly) leave you alone.
Keep in mind that regardless of the difficulty setting you select, your actions control how bad things get at night. If you leave the aliens alone, they'll (mostly) leave you alone.
Simple goal, complex solution
The player has exactly one goal in this game: build the rocket that will take them home. In order to do that, you'll need to find materials to upgrade your tools. Your fabricator helpfully lists what items are needed for which recipes, so you'll always know what you need to collect next. Beyond this, you're free to explore and go after specific items in whatever order you want. You can even start gathering items before you can use them!
Playable Epilogue
After you successfully leave the planet, the player is shown returning many years later with even better technology. These new tools allow you to play almost indefinitely, as they function like a Creative Mode in other games. You can even save during this "after the end" segment and continue it again later!
The only catch is that you can't earn achievements anymore.
The only catch is that you can't earn achievements anymore.
Steam community features
For the few players who are interested, there's a set of Steam trading cards up for grabs. For everyone else, there are 18 achievements available to earn while you attempt to escape the planet. Only seven of them are tied to your progress; everything else is earned by completing very difficult tasks, such as completing the game without using any electrical devices or building impossibly large towers.
Lacking depth compared to other games
Other crafting / survival games often give the player a lot of things to do, like fishing, gardening, or maybe they'll even let you spend time building a pleasant village for NPCs to live in. Dig or Die doesn't give you any fancy features like this, so it feels less "complete" by comparison. But, if we're being honest, I don't think this game is intended to be played like that. Costumes and other cosmetic options don't help anyone survive, nor do they fit with the "you're always in danger" style of gameplay Dig or Die seems to be aiming for.
Concerns and Issues
Lots of fighting
None of the alien species are friendly, and it only gets worse if you attack them. For the most part, these battles don't involve gore or anything too serious, but when the aliens are frenzied at night, they leave behind pools of radioactive blood when killed. This blood can then be collected and used in several crafting recipes, some of which are mandatory to progress.
Minor swearing
You're not entirely alone on the alien planet - your ship's AI is still active and able to talk with you. It doesn't have all that much to say, but it doesn't like the situation, and may use words like "damned" to describe the planet.
Demons
At the bottom of the world - the very, very bottom of the world - are a pair of giant humanoid monsters. The game calls them "demons", and their evil appearance certainly fits the name. The player must slay at least one of them, as they both possess a key item needed to build the rocket. These monsters are also the closest thing to any magical elements in this game. Everything else is explicitly an alien of some sort.