Big Dig Energy

Alright. [i]Big Dig Energy[/i] would actually be the best digging game out there were it not for one egregious issue. After saving and leaving the game, when I loaded my game back in, none of my holes/tunnels loaded in with my game. All my upgrades did, but the actually digging? Nope. And I really don't feel like having to start from scratch with digging tunnels to the bottom so I can get the core needed to complete the game. That is a pretty bad bug/oversight. I tested it again just to verify, and it did happen again. And actually, it's the kind of situation that earns a negative review. Which is a shame because otherwise, this is, as stated, probably the best digging game out there. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622686599 The upgrades are both sensible and don't follow the digging script most everyone else uses as far as progression goes. Additionally, collecting ore is also tied to replenishing stamina in addition to earning cash for said upgrades (as well as explosives and lanterns of course). Also, you don't start in your backyard, lol. Instead, you start at an actual little mining town. And your goal is to power a rocket which will presumably then take you where you really want to go. And. You are a dwarf in this game. :) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622820399 I never died, so I can't speak to whether or not the upgrades reset happens still or not after dying. I can confirm that the autosave takes a crazy long time to happen, which is immersion breaking. And one other bug I noted is that sometimes your dwarf gets stuck in one place and you need to hit esc and then go back to the game to unfreeze him. And the last issue I have with this game is that the terrain is pretty much always jagged until you unlock the final digging tool. And at that point, you probably aren't going back to smooth out everything you had dug previously. Not that it really matters since, as mentioned, all your tunnels disappear when you load back into the game, assuming you aren't playing this in one sitting. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622820418 Anyway, right now, this has to be a negative review due to the save/load issue in particular but also when factoring in the other, less severe issues. Still, it's worth following the dev's updates to see if these issues are resolved at some point. If so, then it's worth a look. [b]I received this license via our IndieGems Curator program.[/b] [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/]Robilar's Reviews[/url], it would be appreciated. Cheers.[/code] [code]Also follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] for more reviews like this one.[/code]

Das Spiel ist eine reine Qual gewesen... Anfangs hat es irgendwo noch etwas Spaß gemacht. Aber man ist zu schnell ausgelevelt. Hat man auch erstmal den besten Bohrer, ging es Bergab. Erstmal kann man sich keine vernünftigen Gänge oder Aufgänge zum rauslaufen "bauen". Der Bohrer macht vor dir nur ein riesen Loch. Man ist am Ende nur am Springen und es dauert teils Minuten, bis man wieder draußen ist, weil man entweder nicht durchkommt, irgendwo hängen bleibt oder wieder runterrutscht... Und das schlimmste ist das Ausdauer System... es geht selbst auf Maximaler Stufe VIEL ZU SCHNELL runter. Ja, man findet auch ab und zu solche Steine, die dir Ausdauer geben. Aber das geht trz alles zu schnell. Und ist deine Ausdauer leer, wird dein Leben verbraucht, bis du halt tot bist. Man kann nicht einfach raus und es gibt nichts, was man vorher kaufen könnte, um im Notfall Leben/Energie zu bekommen... wenn du kein richtigen Weg nach draußen als Reserve hast, bist du quasi schon tot. Dann verlierst du dein Inhalt im Rucksack und etwas Energie. UND WARUM ZUR HÖLLE verbraucht der Jetpack ebenfalls Energie? Wer kommt auf diesen Mist? Stell dir vor... du gehst in deine Höhle, du buddelst, sammelst Erze und dann ist deine Energie leer. Nichts wie raus... Ach, warte mal. Zum Fliegen hast du auch keine Energie mehr und wenn du Glück hast, reicht dein Leben dazu noch. - Lösung... entweder unendlich oder Jetpack hat eigenes Energie System! Wäre das der Fall, wäre das Spiel etwas erträglicher. Das haben andere Buddel Spiele viel besser hinbekommen. Allgemein ist die Steuerung sowas von Schwammig. In der Ego-Sicht verdeckt der Bohrer gerne mal 80% des Bildschirmes, wenn du etwas nach unten guckst. Ich habe am Ende etwas durch die Höhle gebuddelt. Die scheint echt RIESIG zu sein - aber WOZU? Es gibt nichts zu entdecken, außer, dass hier und da mal eine Truhe zu finden ist. Sonst sieht alles gleich aus, bis auf die Untergrundfarbe. Ne, das Spiel empfehle ich nicht.

Absolutely love this game. Bought it, booted it up and spend the next 4 hours grinding without realizing. Highly recommend. Only thing I would add is a tool or something to make stairs, climbing up/down sucks when you get down far enough.

This is pretty fun but the autosave stopping me from mining is kind of annoying.

i like the game ... simple and fun ... and i finished the game just now but it has few major problems : -lack of ... everything ? -a very short .....6 hours max game - bug with save and load the game 70% of the times - not worth the price

bravo à ce petit développeur d'avoir créé ce jeu franchement très sympathique je vous le recommande vivement . hâte de voir les prochains contenus !

Big Dig Energy is a lighthearted yet surprisingly engaging indie mining adventure that leans heavily into the simple pleasure of digging ever deeper in search of valuable resources. Developed and published by NuggetSmash, the game presents a clear and immediately understandable premise: descend underground, extract powerful energy ore, and use it to fuel a rocket that represents both your ultimate objective and your motivation to keep pushing downward. Rather than focusing on story or lore, the game frames its experience around momentum and progress, letting the act of excavation itself become the central hook that drives each session forward. The core gameplay revolves around breaking through layers of earth, stone, and tougher subterranean materials while collecting resources that grow more valuable the deeper you go. Digging feels responsive and satisfying, with each swing of your tool reinforcing a sense of physical interaction with the environment. The deeper descent naturally increases both risk and reward, encouraging players to balance ambition with caution. Resources gathered underground feed directly into upgrades, allowing your digging tools to become faster, stronger, and capable of handling denser terrain. This steady loop of dig, upgrade, and dig again is straightforward but effective, making progress feel tangible even during short play sessions. Where Big Dig Energy truly shines is in its cooperative design. Supporting multiplayer for up to four players, the game transforms what could be a solitary, meditative experience into a social and often chaotic adventure. Working together underground introduces moments of coordination and spontaneous problem-solving, whether players are dividing tasks to maximize efficiency or simply racing each other deeper into the earth. The shared goal of reaching greater depths fosters a strong sense of teamwork, and the unpredictable nature of underground exploration ensures that cooperative runs rarely feel repetitive. Playing with friends significantly enhances the experience, turning simple mining into a lively and memorable group activity. Exploration plays a meaningful role alongside pure digging. The underground is structured to reward curiosity, with branching paths, hidden resource pockets, and unexpected obstacles that can alter your plans mid-descent. There’s a subtle strategic layer in choosing where to dig and when to push deeper, as reckless tunneling can lead to wasted effort or missed opportunities. The sandbox-like design gives players freedom to carve their own routes, making each run feel slightly different depending on decisions made along the way. From a presentation standpoint, Big Dig Energy adopts a stylized, colorful visual approach that prioritizes clarity and charm over realism. The blocky environments are easy to read, helping players quickly identify diggable materials and valuable resources even in the midst of busy cooperative play. Sound design reinforces the experience with crunchy digging effects and ambient underground audio that gives depth to the environments without becoming distracting. The music remains understated, supporting both relaxed mining and more energetic moments without overwhelming the action. That said, the game’s modest scope does show in places. The mechanics are intentionally simple, and players looking for deep systems or long-term complexity may find the experience somewhat limited after extended play. Additionally, like many smaller multiplayer-focused indie titles, there can be occasional rough edges in cooperative synchronization that momentarily disrupt the flow. While these issues don’t overshadow the fun, they do highlight areas where further polish and updates could elevate the overall experience. Ultimately, Big Dig Energy succeeds by understanding its strengths and leaning into them. It delivers a focused, accessible mining adventure that values momentum, cooperation, and the intrinsic satisfaction of digging deeper than before. While it may not reinvent the genre or offer vast narrative depth, it provides a consistently enjoyable loop that works especially well as a shared experience. For players who enjoy relaxed progression, cooperative gameplay, and the simple thrill of uncovering what lies beneath the surface, Big Dig Energy offers a charming and worthwhile descent underground. Rating: 7/10

Oh yeah, dig that hole! Dig it goooood!

I love digging games especially where they're grindy because I like the feeling of upgrading equipment, getting new equipment, and finding new resources. It's kind of fun even though at the beginning your tool digs such a tiny area, but upgrades will get you moving eventually. You don't encounter anything that can kill you until really way later in game, but the fact that dying removes not just whatever ores & energy you have, BUT ALL YOUR UPGRADES taking you back to the basic shovel is just such a terrible mechanic. Basically played for 2 hours only to die which pretty much wipes all your progress meaning I need to grind another 2 hrs to just get back to where you were. Just such stupidly punishing game mechanic. I mean even punishing games like Dark Souls give you the ability to recover your gear after death... Traversing your weirdly shaped holes is also a huge pain and ends up taking up most of your time. Honestly don't waste your time on this one till these mechanics are fixed.

Would be a great game if the devs actually fixed the glaring major issues. One being the massive saving problem. It takes an excessive amount of time (given current hardware available) to save a game or even loading a game for that matter. Then when you save a game it doesn't do it right to begin with! Every time I save my game; which SHOULD be locally, when I load it none of my saves progress has been saved! Infuriating! The tools you work with in the game take time to mine with and then to top if off; when you load your save all that time you spent is WASTED! Unaccepatable! These have been issues since 2025 DO NOT BUY THIS GAME UNTIL THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN RESOLVED BY OTHER REVIEWS!