There is one universal truth about video games and that is most of them are vastly improved when playing with friends. You will often hear people defend a game that is lacking, simply because they had fun tooling around with their mates. However, when you find a game that is great and you convince a few plucky pals to join you, magical things can happen. I am lucky enough to have a little cohort of companions who love themselves some co-op action. This week one of our number brought Deep Rock Galactic to the table, as a possible game to while those late summer afternoons away. We all threw our money in the pot and grabbed it while on the Steam Summer Sale. Good thing really, because it rocks nuclear bells!
This little gem came out in May 2020 and prior to that was in early access for around two years. The Danish developers, Ghost Ship Games, were founded in 2016 from a group of industry veterans. The developers state on their website that they want to take co-op games to the next level and by gum they have certainly done that in my eyes.
My Precious!
Deep Rock Galactic is a first-person action game that places you in the sturdy boots of four Dwarven space miners. Each one of these well-padded chaps represents an individual class in the game, packing their own weapons and equipment to help them get the job done. Every dive you take part in will have a central goal which sets the theme for the mission, as well as an optional secondary objective that you can have a stab at along the way. When you open the mission console you will be shown a map of all the various biomes and each will have a selection of missions for you to try. The biomes not only look incredible but also offer their own challenges and dangers. The magma biome for example is like something from the devils playground, fiery fissures opening beneath your feet and burning gasses erupting all around you. There are also razor sharp rocks waiting to impale you from above, vicious plant life and gusts of air that can propel you to a quick death.
Each of the levels is also procedurally generated and it’s understandable that could put some people off. However, I am happy to say that, unlike most games that use this technique, Deep Rock gets it absolutely spot on. Tunnels snake away into the darkness below and then vast caverns open up before your beady Dwarven eyes. I’ve been playing solid for two weeks and every day I continually see caves systems like nothing I’ve come across before. Obviously, the name of the game is gathering riches and to do that you have a handy MULE following you around to carry your hard-won minerals. You can summon ‘Molly’ to your location at any time and ‘she’ will also follow you when you get too far away. I love how this four-legged treasure chest can get to any location in the game and is a testament to the excellent pathfinding. The rub is that your enemies can also use this clever pathing to find you anywhere in the level.
Starship Bloopers
As well as gravity and the eager trigger finger of your fellow Dwarfs, the main threat you must deal with is an army of bug-like critters that want to do bad things to you. One thing that will become very evident, very quickly is that bugs that crawl will come at you from literally any direction. If you dig a new tunnel they will immediately utilise this until you block it up, this is truly fantastic path finding. When a huge wave starts pouring out of the walls you will see movement everywhere. These scenes, especially on the more challenging difficulties, can sometimes look reminiscent of when the Fellowship of the Rings are being chased through the Mines of Moria.
These invertebrate assailants come in a wide variety of forms, from tiny swarms, bigger grunts going all the way up to titan sized juggernauts. Each one of these creatures will offer their own attack method, such as the exploders that do exactly what it says on the tin or flying critters that bombard you with sticky goo. There are just too many to mention and really it’s best to fathom these out yourself.
Turning Your Cave into Swiss Cheese
One of the coolest aspects of this game by far is the fact that you can dig anywhere and in any direction. This one fact opens up a whole wealth of options, tactics and hazards. You can literally dig right through the walls of a tunnel towards the adjacent cave system if you so wish. I’ve seen this kind of freedom in other games before, like the most excellent Astroneer which simulates entire planets.
All Dwarves can mine through rock/sand/ice but the driller can devour the terrain in seconds with his twin hydraulic drills. Of course, making your own tunnels can be risky as you often don't know where you will pop up, maybe over a three hundred foot drop? I have even seen advanced tactics with players digging out defendable tunnel systems on the more challenging levels, but beware that some of the bigger bugs can dig. In one mission I escaped down a narrow tunnel away from a huge boss creature and felt like I had avoided being pummelled. However, a few seconds later the gigantic behemoth came bursting through the wall in the next cavern; I died horribly. When you bring down a Titan exploder you’d better not be anywhere near as it will literally carve out another caverns worth of dirt. These spectacular explosions show just how deformable the levels can be and it truly is a sight to behold.
Aside from the various minerals on offer you can also happen across a multitude of other activities and secrets. Some will start a sort of underground treasure hunt, other times you have to find batteries to power a loot chest. Once you have hit level twenty-five and been promoted, you will get a Tritlyte Key which actives a whole range of encounters within the levels you play. On top of that, there will be guardian boss fights lurking around; yes there is a lot to see and do. One way the developers have added a good degree of fun and replayability is with modifiers. These can change the parameters of a level in some pretty significant ways including low gravity, low O2, waves of exploders and so on. One particularly nasty mod is Ghost, which drops an unbeatable (albeit slow-moving) titan into the level that will continuously hound you.
Rigged for Epic (I’m not sorry)
The first time you walk into the space rig, which is essentially home for you and your hairy friends, you will probably feel a little overwhelmed. It’s like walking into an arcade (ancient places where people used to play video games) or a toy shop when you were a kid. There are lots of bright, colourful things to interact with and the many stations will become familiar to you over time. The shop for example will allow you to purchase cosmetics which can then be applied in the wardrobe station. The entertainment platform has a bar, dance floor and barrel kicking game to have fun with while your friends are getting ready for the next mission. I love how the jukebox will have your dwarfs launch into many hilarious dance routines. Brewing beer from the plants you find on missions is, of course, also a thing and some will have some pretty explosive effects. Often these superficial elements to a game feel tacked on and a waste of time, but here they mesh together as part of the experience.
The rig is another example of how well thought out this game design is and how much fun the developers have packed into each pixel. I won’t spoil some of the hidden secrets but I’d urge you to explore your new home for things to press. Away from the main chamber, there is also the Achievement Hall where you can see the deeds of past comrades along with a platform for the all-important promotions. It was in this room where it occurred to me how good the reflections are in this game which are also shown off in the ice and polished gems of the main game world. Each player that joins your lobby will also have their own quarters to swap characters and sort out perks. I would hope in the future the developers allow these pods to be personalised with trophies from battles. The one-room I haven’t mentioned is the infirmary but if you wake up in there something has gone horribly wrong.
Never Toss a Dwarf
Each class comes with a primary weapon, secondary weapon and two utility items. The Engineer, for example, has a shotgun and grenade launcher; both of which pack a hefty punch. Your third slot comes with a platform gun that fires a fast expanding foam that instantly solidifies and creates a small platform almost anywhere you wish. If you combine this with the grappling hook of the scout you have a marriage made in heaven. The fourth slot gives the Engineer two sentry guns that can be placed on any flat surface and will fire upon any enemy that wanders within range.
As you accumulate money and resources from missions you will be able to modify your weapons, with more upgrade tiers that unlock as you level up. You can even unlock alternative weapons for each slot as you start to take on assignments from the relevant console. Assignments can also unlock various facilities in the rig as well as progress your character to new ranks.
One aspect of levelling whether can be initially confusing is that you will have two levels. The red one is the level of your individual Dwarf and can reach a maximum of twenty-five. As you gain character levels your overall player level (blue) will also go up and this is unlimited. Both of these levels will give you access to new parts of the game and allow you to take on new challenges. Once you hit level twenty-five, for example, you will then be able to promote that dwarf which resets the red level to one. However, you will gain a star and access to hidden missions within the main cave dives. Getting promoted also gives you access to cores and the ability to pump even more power into your weapons with modifications at the forge.
Han Solo
The various classes are a big part of why this game works so well. So far I have focused on my Engineer and Driller which have both just hit level twenty-five. I love how each class can also legitimately wander off on solo missions and manage perfectly fine. Obviously, the game will throw less bloodthirsty bugs your way and the levels will also be a little more forgiving.
As well as that adventurous spirit you will also have the assistance of Bosco on solo missions, a handy drone that will help you do a multitude of actions. In a co-op mission, you have a context-sensitive laser pointer to help show your crew what you are warbling about. In solo mission this also allows you to tell Bosco what you wish him to do, whether that be dig through dirt, light an area up or attack a specific enemy.
Conclusion
Deep Rock Galactic is one of the best, nay, it is the best co-op shooter I have ever played. A big statement I know, especially when you consider how many I have tried over the years. It is a breath of fresh air to play a game that has so many well-established systems that not only avoid tripping over each other but enhance the overall experience. For example, the ammo supplies actually drill down to your level leaving a vertical tunnel, which you can fall down as you are feet from your drop pod… (which I totally never did). Like any game of this type, these failures are actually wins because they add to the hilarious stories you and your team come away with.
The ability to deform terrain is nothing new but here it is implemented in such a wonderful way. One time we were all but doomed to miss the drop pod and I decided to just start digging directly through the rock making our own path. With my dwarven chums holding off the hordes at the rear it was reminiscent of the escape sequence in Aliens and no less thrilling when we threw ourselves into the drop pod with seconds to spare.
I think what also makes the whole game gel together is that I have fun listening to these Dwarves mock each other constantly or drop one of the many film references. As well as the obligatory “Rock and Stone!” which is context-sensitive and covers a multitude of situations (right?). I also like seeing what new cosmetics have unlocked or how that blonde afro suits my Engineer. This is by far the best game I have played this year and if I am honest I’ve become a bit obsessed. I cannot recommend Deep Rock Galactic enough, it is ridiculously fun, packed with a tonne of content and will be a game you go back to again and again.
