Digging Down

As per expectation set by the developers, the game is short. One could probably finish the game in a day (or less) if playing actively.

The game itself is simple, and the experience is linear. Progression is mostly just "numbers go up", with little variation on upgrade selection (or "builds").

There isn't a grandiose story to be had, but the snippets of lore seem thematic to the game's minimalist presentation.

Starting a New Game+ introduces an in-game feature where you can adjust the game speed to make it faster (even more for every new game+). Nothing changes much with the game itself should you do this, but it is a handy way to try and get all the story endings.

UI seems to be reliant on scrolling (options: mouse wheel, arrow keys, pg up/down, home/end) so some folks might find that awkward.

There are no IAP's, thus what you've paid for is what you get. Probably good for keeping yourself busy for a couple of hours should you need the distraction.

I'm not far along in the game at all, but...

I mostly got it because I really like Idle Wizard. So far, it looks pretty cool! Nice graphics, cool little back story. The interface is nice. It appears to ride that fine line between being complex enough to be engaging, without being overwhelming, and not being too easy & basic, so as to be boring.

It seems like the bulk of negative reviews about ALL idle games comes down to its either too long/too short... But that's neither here nor there.

Whatever tho- if you like idle games, you'll like this, I believe. And, if you're into Idle Wizard, Id say buy it to support the dev, if nothing else. Plus, you get some Idle Wizard swag, as well...

p.s. I really liked the fact that Idle Wizard had Linux support (hint hint) :-)
EDIT: Less than 24 hours after posting this review, the Dev got in touch to point out that he had set up a Linux port! Thanks so much!

I wish I could honestly recommend this game especially given the love I shared for Idle Wizards. This looks and plays like a mobile game given a steam port.
My problems:
1. upgrading takes forever and honestly this feels like it's done specifically to force players beyond the refund period of play.
2. upgrades don't feel impactful to your ability to automate. At least where I'm at two hours in this game feels like it wants all your attention all the time and no. It's not worth it.
3. upgrading takes forever and honestly this feels like it's done specifically to force players beyond the refund period of play.
4. Wires. A constantly mounting debuff that not only stunts progress but if it covers a junction piece even once you end up with an end piece that won't connect anywhere. You're better off ignoring this entirely.
5. upgrading takes forever and honestly this feels like it's done specifically to force players beyond the refund period of play.
6. The fighters don't feel like they grow in any meaningful ways. They do more damage. that's it.
7. Did I mention upgrading takes forever and honestly this feels like it's done specifically to force players beyond the refund period of play.

Oh yeah, the soundtrack while nice at first seems designed to make you turn the sound off about an hour in. Animations are stiff two to three frame affairs that feel like the bare minimum. Same with the story as of floor 70 ish. At every turn this game has told me to stop playing and do something better and I kept trying to find something to root for. Maybe if I leave it on overnight.

Edit: The auto collection upgrades for money and intel don't work the way the tooltip tells you they do! Unless it is present or adjacent when they move onto the tile they will not auto collect the resources. Also if auto attack moves the bots out of collection range combat is resolved first and any autocollection that is now out of range is missed. Scavenger algorithm doesn't work as displayed and at level two says within 2 floors. only targets same floor and 1 floor above and below.
A better auto combat function would be nice. It's not going to happen but a guy can wish.
Fixing the tooltips that blatantly lie to the player would be nice.
Adding actual tooltips to the resources so that you know what you're trying to reach for the next resource.
Actual meaningful upgrades and better animations of the Bots.
Permanent cleaning of Wires minigame spots. Otherwise the random rerolling of the underlying structure makes this pointless busy work as the buffs are extremely inconsistent and underwhelming even at 20+ active nodes.
Bubbles is the same as above but even less intuitive and as above the buff is underwhelming to the point of being useless.
If I wanted to wait a week for progress I'd still be playing Idle Wizard, but I thought this would be a well made short experience that respected my time. Even at the $3.29 +tax that I paid I feel ripped off.

Edit 2: Oh boy, it doesn't get better a day in, the "Story" as it is feels like an AI prompt at best and Grok's insane ramblings at worst. Even the Idle Wizard unlockable skins aren't worth the price of this game. It was once said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." That moves us to this point where saying nothing didn't fix it so time to be blunt as ♥♥♥♥.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. It is not worth the money nor the time investment.