Deep Rock Galactic is a game that is currently in early access on steam (as of March 2018). This game consists of space dwarfs, aliens and mining. This game feels a little bit like a mix between Minecraft and Left 4 Dead or any other game in which you kill of enemies in waves. The game is still in development, so a lot might still change or can be added to the game.
You start of the game as a dwarf gunner. you have a big mini-gun, a small magnum-like piston, a bomb and a gun that shoots off zip lines. These zip lines help you get to places which are otherwise out of reach. The planet you’re on is called Hoxxes IV and the mission you’re on seems like a probation for a job that you are applying for. You have to go down a mine and gather some Morkite ores. You get help from a little drone that can mine for you and just help you with your tasks. You also have access to a Mule. Wherever you are in the mine, you can call on the Mule and you can deposit your ores into it since you can’t carry a whole lot of them.
When you gather all the ores that you need and deposit them into the Mule, you can push a button on the mule which makes it go back to the escape pod. From the moment you push the button you get 5 minutes to get back to the pod and get safely inside. The mule will start to crawl in the direction that you should go, so follow the mule. This isn’t always as simple as it sounds. You can encounter hordes of aliens that try to stop you from getting back. If you lose line of sight on the mule, this too can be a real pain. You still see a marker where the pod is, but it does not show you the way you should take.
When you get to the pod safely and travel back home, you noticed that this was all just a tutorial level. The game in fact is a 4-man co-op mission. You wake up In your base, here you can switch your type of dwarf, there are 4 different classes, Scout, engineer, gunner and driller. Each of these dwarfs has his own kit of tools and weapons. The engineer as an example can set down turrets and shoot platforms against the walls. Other things you can do in your base are for instance change your appearance, upgrade your dwarf and manage everything you need to manage. There is also a jukebox that you can turn on with a bunch of cool songs in it, when turned on, your dwarf will start to dance.
The most important terminal in your base however is the mission control. Here you get to join missions. You can host a mission or join one, here you will go on mission with some fellow players deep down into the procedurally-generated caves and look for the ores you need. The environment is 100% destructible, that means, if you don’t have a zip line or some platforms to shoot onto the wall, you can just mine yourself some makeshift stairs. The best way to play the game is to get all 4-different type of dwarves in your crew and work tightly together. For instance, the Gunner can put down a zip line which can be used by all dwarves, the scout shouts out when he finds important ores and the driller can mine them the fastest, all this while the engineer builds turrets to protect the team.While down in the mines you might suddenly find yourself to be without ammo, then you can pay some of your ores to call in a supply drop. This will restock your ammo back to 50%. And the mission is succeeded when your entire crew is back in the escape pod.
The first moments in the game are a bit strange. It took me a while to figure out what exactly I should be doing to help my team. But when I started understanding the roles of the dwarves, the game started to make a lot more sense. At this point in your game it starts to really get fun to just kill some aliens and find/mine some ores. I had a lot of fun playing this game and do really recommend you try it, especially if you are looking for a game to play with some friends. It’s a fun game to just mess around in and have fun. As I said before, this game is not yet finished and a lot more will be added to it. A game to look out for.
