$14.99Hydroneer Dig, wash, get rich
Hydroneer is a mining and base-building sandbox where you dig dirt, wash it for gold, and turn the profit into hydro-powered drills, pipes, and conveyor lines. It supports 2-player split-screen co-op, so co-op friends can run one messy dig site together and split the hauling, building, and selling.
Is Hydroneer worth it?
Hydroneer is worth it if…
- you like co-op games where you share manual jobs and build something slowly
- you like sandbox progression from shovel work to automated mining machines
- you want split-screen on one screen with separate money, machines, and tasks
Screenshots
Dig together, haul together
You start with a shovel, a bucket, and a pan: scoop dirt, carry it to water, wash it down to nuggets, then lug those nuggets to the shop. In split-screen co-op, that physical work divides neatly. One of you digs while the other pans, or one drives the truck loaded with pipes while the other rebuilds the line.
Everything is a physical object you pick up and place by hand, so teamwork is literal. Co-op friends spend a lot of time carrying ore, coins, machine parts, and vegetables across the claim and deciding where each pile goes.
Build a clanking water-powered operation
Money buys drills, harvesters, conveyors, filters, pipes, and trucks, all run on water pressure you route yourself. You choose the land parcel, lay out the base, connect the pipes, and tune the flow until dirt goes in one end and sorted ore comes out the other.
You can also forge weapons and jewellery, grow vegetables, cook soup for villagers, take crafting and cooking tasks from NPCs, go fishing, and drive big hydro-powered machines for digging and hauling. There is no pressure to do it one way: expand the mine, tinker with the layout, or keep a small hand-dug pit running.
Good to know before you team up?
How does co-op actually work?
It is local split-screen for two players. Both can work largely independently, with their own resources, machines, money, and tasks, or combine efforts on one mining setup. There is no shared online lobby to join from separate computers.
Can you play it solo?
Yes. The same loop works alone: dig and pan by hand, sell gold and resources, then buy machines, land parcels, tools, seeds, and vehicle parts. Co-op just adds a second pair of hands for carrying, digging, and building.
What do you do once machines take over?
You expand and optimize. Buy deeper parcels, add drills and conveyor lines, manage water pressure, melt ore into ingots, craft weapons and jewellery, farm and cook, fish, take NPC tasks, and hunt relics deeper underground for better rewards.
