Ad Fundum

I went in expecting a short-session idle curiosity and came out roughly fifteen hours later with two completed runs and a notepad full of upgrade-path notes. Ad Fundum is a 2D mining progression game where the loop is deceptively simple: pilot a diesel-era mech underground, extract ore, surface to sell, reinvest in upgrades, then push deeper. The genius is in how each layer of that loop has been tuned. The upgrade system splits across two tracks, light and heavy builds, so early decisions about drill speed versus hull capacity actually matter when you hit the later biomes. The base above ground also develops independently, with its own restoration tree that unlocks passive bonuses and special abilities for your rig. None of this is hidden behind opaque menus; the game surfaces the math clearly, which I appreciate far more than I expected to in something tagged 'casual'. The eight underground biomes are the backbone of the experience. Each one carries its own visual palette, hazard set, and ore tier, so the grind never feels like you are recycling the same tunnel. Earthquakes add a genuine risk-reward wrinkle: the terrain shifts and ore rains down, but your mech is one bad collision away from a very expensive surface trip. The procedurally generated maps mean repeat runs stay fresh, and the New Game Plus mode extends useful playtime well past the credits. Community players report something in the range of ten hours for a first clear, with another eight or so of non-repetitive post-game content between NG+ and achievement hunting. That is solid value for a small indie at this price point. The narrative is a light dieselpunk frame rather than a proper story-driven campaign. Your father died chasing a new element that could avert another world war; you take over the mission with a handful of radio allies who check in between dives. The writing is serviceable and occasionally charming, with discoverable artifacts fleshing out a surprisingly considered lore layer. Multiple endings give completionists a reason to care about choices, though returning for the story alone would be a stretch. The real reward is always the next upgrade tier. There are rough edges worth flagging before you commit. Load-screen stuttering when transitioning from underground to the surface is consistent and noticeable given how often that transition happens. More critically, crashes tied to earthquake events were reported at launch, though the developer has been actively patching and has maintained strong community communication since release. The auto-save on every surface return limits the damage, but it is worth knowing before you plan a long session. Controller support works on PC and Mac; Linux users may need to enable Steam Input manually for gamepad recognition. On the upside, difficulty is fully customisable, including a punishing rogue-like mode and a genuinely relaxed mode for players who want the upgrade fantasy without the survival pressure. For the strategy-and-sim crowd this portal usually caters to, Ad Fundum sits at the lighter end of the decision-making spectrum but punishes sloppy resource management all the same. Skipping ally radio calls mid-game is the kind of mistake that costs you in the deeper biomes, and choosing the wrong upgrade track early leaves you underpowered against later hazards. Think of it less as a grand strategy game and more as a tight, build-order-aware arcade experience with genuine mechanical depth under a casual surface. The Steam rating sits at 94-95% positive across several hundred reviews, which is about as clear a community signal as an unrated indie gets.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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