Mining Mechs Xbox Review 7.5/10 "A budget title that drills down deep into the well of fun" ⛏️ @DelayedVictory_ @eastasiasoft #IndieGame #GameDev

It’s always fun to cover smaller games that are under a fiver, as it’s always pleasant to be surprised by a game that may otherwise have passed me by. Mining Mechs is a game that was released on Steam in 2023 and has now been ported to consoles. I played Mining Mechs on the XSX, and was quite won over by the core gameplay loop, surprisingly catchy music, silly humour, and pixel visuals.

The game begins with you arriving at a drill site and being given a pretty shonky mech with which to dig for ore, jewels, and various other interesting items. Pretty soon into your job, it becomes clear that there is an unknown party somewhere underground trying to make contact, alongside a strange noise that gets louder the deeper you go…it’s all very mysterious stuff.

The core gameplay loop here – as you would expect – is to mine resources, head – or teleport – back to the surface, sell precious ores and gems, empty the dirt, spend the cash on upgrades…and repeat. Naturally there are some other little side quests and challenges that pop up, but I was struck by how oddly zen the main loop was of digging for goodies, and deciding if I should upgrade my mech to the max, or possibly save up the cash for an entirely new one. There is also an item shop available that allows you to purchase bombs and teleporters to speed up the mining proceedings, as some rocks need a blinking good blasting to get through.

It was incredibly relaxing and almost hypnotic to see what I could find as I dug ever deeper. The narrative effectively updates every 100m in depth, and aside from that there are no distractions as you go about your dirty day. There is an online multiplayer component, but alas – no split screen, which would have been amazing, and it is a shame that it’s not available here. There is also another money earning aspect of the game, whereby you can link up pipelines to underground ore deposits, ensuring that your cash is continually being topped up, even as you idle.

SUMMARY

Mining Mechs is a simple game with a daft sense of humour and absolute faith in its core gameplay loop. I really clicked with the game,  and had several fun evenings hoarding that cash and unlocking the mechs, a must as the ground gets harder and harder to mine the deeper you go.

Apparently, Delayed Victory created Mining Mechs in two months, and if that’s the case – I’m very excited to see what their next release is!

Well, what are you waiting for? Get your mining helmet on!

🆒7.5/10🆒