When comparing SteamWorld Dig vs Papers Please, the Slant community recommends Papers Please for most people. In the question“What are the best low-spec PC games?” Papers Please is ranked 1st while SteamWorld Dig is ranked 66th. The most important reason people chose Papers Please is:
Papers Please has a unique puzzle solving element. Instead of using mathematical logic, or quick matching thinking, the puzzles in Papers Please involve checking people's background information to make sure everything matches the immigration requirements and following clues to find anything amiss.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fun, steady progression
As you dig deeper, you receive new items that make progressing increasingly more fun, until you hit the end.
Pro Lovely art style
Pro World is permanently altered as you play through it
To navigate through the world of SteamWorld Dig, you need to dig through the earth, shaping out the tunnels and paths you need to pass through, requiring you to think twice about how to dig so you can get through the tunnel efficiently, and escape when you need to before you run out of power.
Pro Unlimited replayability with a procedurally generated world
Through the use of random generation the game is able to create a different experience not only for each person that plays it but for each time one restarts the game. Which lends to a bunch of replayability.
Pro Unique puzzle solving through clue based deduction
Papers Please has a unique puzzle solving element. Instead of using mathematical logic, or quick matching thinking, the puzzles in Papers Please involve checking people's background information to make sure everything matches the immigration requirements and following clues to find anything amiss.
Pro Will require making ridiculously hard decisions
There is a fine line to walk while playing, whether it is worth following the rules and ruining lives or bending the rules at the risk of getting caught in order to help destitute people. The moral choices in the game are often difficult and require hard decisions.
Pro Endless mode
Once the main story is beaten there is an optional endless mode for those that want to see how long they can play without losing.
Cons
Con Nice digger, but not really metroidvania
It has stuff to unlock - but you buy most of those options, unlike a metroidvania game.
Also, down is always correct, unlike metroidvania.
Con Beginning of the game is somewhat tedious
Until a few upgrades are acquired and teleporters placed around the map for faster travel, it requires a bit of monotonous mining.
Con Boring
Con Combat mechanics are basic
Combat consists of hitting an enemy with ones pick or drill, which is time consuming and not really satisfying. It is much easier to just go around opponents, even if it takes more time.
Con Simplistic gameplay mechanic
The gameplay itself, once the player gets a grasp of it can get repetitive pretty quick due to there really being not much deviation from a singular gameplay mechanic.