I saw this game when it was recommended to me by Steam, probably based off my recent playtime in Starbound having rediscovered why I once enjoyed it so much during our last charity livestreams. In ways it is a very similar game, having the 2D mine-n-craft thing made so popular by Terraria originally (another game I own and should rediscover at some point!).
Dig or Die was released into Early Access in March of this year and is currently approaching version 0.1. Because of this it does lack some variety in the amount of enemies (they only come in 4 types that I've seen, although some also come in different coloured 'harder' versions) and the world itself isn't too big. Also if you fall into the DEEP cavern and the procedurally-generated world hasn't generated any rock or dirt column low enough you might as well restart. Say this though, Dig or Die hasn't given me one thing I usually expect from an early access game and that's any noticeable bugs. There's some graphical issues with water physics but that is not something I consider a problem by any stretch.
If you approach the game with its early accessness in mind though, this is so far a decent little game that looks like a solid foundation to be built upon. You are equipped with a plasma rifle to shoot monsters, an AutoBuilder machine which is like a futuristic crafting bench that you can later make better versions of (that oddly can't craft things the lower level ones can) and a 'Miniaturizor' which you can use to mine dirt and wood at first although it too will need an upgrade to dig harder surfaces, and believe me - you'll need to. Your end aim is to eventually build yourself a new rocket to get off the planet with.
Generally you will start off by cutting some trees down (which respawn and grow on their own currently) and digging yourself a little base. Get this done before nightfall because when night comes you will have to survive a wave of monsters all after your blood. But if you dig down be careful of your base flooding during one of the planet's frequent rainstorms. Soil will slowly let water drain through it, but rock doesn't. And yes, you can drown. And fish if they spawn are also hostile and are not currently edible. This planet you've crashed on is beautiful but everything basically wants you dead. Standard really.
Speaking of water, rainfall brings a LOT of it and even when you're underground you can tell when its raining because slopes will suddenly become waterfalls. Fortunately you can most often swim and jump up them still, but the water plays an awfully big part in this world and you will learn how to make your bases so they don't get flooded too badly or often. It's just a shame that monsters are able to swim and don't seem to yet have a drowning function programmed into them. Not that it'd stop them all the time, monsters can use their attacks to 'dig' blocks in their way whether they be dirt or stone.
Later in this game you can build power systems to power machines to make your life more survivable as you craft your way up to the rocket. Also, you will be using iron frames and other things to make sure your bridges and towers don't collapse under their own weight. If you're able to build them without being murdered by monsters, which is difficult sometimes if you don't have good armour or enough health potions.
I will take a long time to get to the end of this game, but for now it's a challenge I want to meet because this game is satisfying despite being difficult. Also, the game cost only £2 on Steam. For that cost, I'd say this is certainly a game you'd want to try if you're already a fan of Terraria or Starbound!
8.5/10 - Not perfect, but set to get better and brilliant value for money!