Deep Rock Galactic Review – Off To Work We Go

Deep Rock Galactic has made drudgery exciting and repeatable. This is their great achievement. Your survival is more important than minor profits when you work at a company that values your job. To extract small amounts of minerals, you are forced to go into caves. Your rewards pale in comparison to what you are putting yourself at risk when you have to face massive, hungry alien bugs. Yet as a stalwart space dwarf doing what he does best, you’re having a grand time, because the game’s systems contrive to transform that work into something magical.

That is due to the well-structured approach to cooperative playing. Deep Rock Galactic is possible to play solo with the aid of an A.I. drone to aid in your mining efforts, but it’s profoundly less enjoyable. It’s best to have a four-person miner team working together. Thankfully, a fast and responsive backend allows for quick joining or hosting of sessions, so good grouping is possible even if your friends aren’t around.

The four classes are thoughtfully balanced and play well together, complementing each other’s skill sets. The Scout’s speed, flare gun, and grappling hook get him quickly to where he needs to be. The Driller’s tunneling capabilities expedite any endeavor or escape, and his flamethrower is a crowd control boon. The Gunner’s weaponry holds the line in any fight, and his zip lines make team navigation manageable. And the engineer’s platform creation enables the mining of spots that might otherwise seem impossible to reach, even as his automatic turrets help hold specific control zones. Each member of the group adds value to the group and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.

Your space mining crew will be sent into deep underground planets to collect minerals. However, hostile alien insects may also be present during any mining run. Sometimes you’re just there to collect a particular type of rock, but other objectives keep things interesting, from eliminating particularly nasty foes to retrieving the goods left behind by a previous mining crew that didn’t make it out. The secondary objectives add an intriguing risk/reward mix, increasing the danger and time required, while also improving your chances of a payout. And as you climb the ladder of harder missions, there are other secrets to uncover, from hidden cosmetics in long-lost collapsed caves, to challenging “machine events” that throw in an extra challenging combat exchange. With a pickaxe in hand, there’s a satisfying balance in each mission between figuring out how to reach that elevated gold vein, and then switching gears to stave off a horde of attackers. The battles can be intense, challenging and require constant teamwork.

The caves that are procedurally built look amazing and spacious. The game encourages a focus on discovery and exploration – the mapping and objective markers are limited. That’s frequently a ton of fun, leading to moments of excitement as you smash through a dirt wall to find a massive crystalline chamber just beyond. Sometimes, however, the emphasis on wandering free can cause a feeling of helplessness. Likewise, the game makes great use of light, as the dwarves send out rechargeable flares (or the scout’s longer-lasting flare gun blasts) to survey the area. But the overriding sense of oppressive darkness can wear thin after a time, and the shifting light sources mean that it’s easy to get lost.

Your time on the space station rig is a great place to spend your free time, even when you’re with friends. Upgrade a beer license using newly found materials. This allows you to toast your fellow beer drinkers before silly effects like changing your size or lighting you up. A few drinks offer buffs for your next mission. You’ve got a place to dance a dwarven jig to the nearby jukebox, and a button to turn off gravity in the station for a time. What about you kick some barrels? It’s all frivolous and amusing.

This space station is also where you gradually upgrade your miner’s equipment as they climb through the levels. You will get a variety of perks if you play consistently, though most only have minor impacts on your chance of success. There are a handful of unlockable weapons for each class and a range of upgrades that can be added to your armor and rest of your equipment. The most crucial upgrades can be acquired early on, so the emphasis shifts to cosmetic unlock paths. It was difficult to find meaningful customization options. I felt the need to have more control over my appearance. You eventually open up “promotion,” which adds some new extended missions and a few additional upgrade options. Exceptionally on the most difficult settings, characters can play together with their level counterparts, so the leveling curve remains relatively smooth.

Deep Rock Galactic has a lot to offer, with little quarreling about navigation and progression. The dwarves complain and grumble about each other’s lot but they are determined to tackle every new challenge with steadfast determination. It’s immensely satisfying to have your whole team empty out into a new cavern, and then immediately set to work chipping away at rock and bug alike. Even transplanted from their popularization in Tolkien or Snow White and into a dark corner of space, the essence of the dwarven fantasy is richly realized here, and consistently makes me smile. Bring some friends, a handy pickaxe, and a cantankerous attitude, and you’ll be smiling as well.