By Webb Slifka
wslifka@lc.edu
There is one I have praised in today’s era of gaming and that game is Deep Rock Galactic. Developed by Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Studios on May 13, 2020, this game gained its legendary status by proving gameplay beats graphics.
The best part about the game is its monetization. You pay $30 outright, and everything is available to you. There are no pay-to-win mechanics, all things in the game must be earned. They have a free performance pass and anything you missed in that season will simply go into the normal loot pool of the game; as Mission Control says, “Nothing goes away forever.” There are micro-transactions for cosmetic packs, but they’re usually around $5 as support for the developers.
So, what is the story of Deep Rock Galactic? You are a dwarf working for an interplanetary mining company of Deep Rock Galactic that has little empathy for you or your co-workers because space OSHA does not exist. Your guide is Mission Control, a surprisingly caring entity compared to the company. Other than the mystery of Karl, a legendary dwarf that all dwarf miners want to be; there isn’t much lore in the game.
The gameplay involves one to four dwarves being sent by drop pod to the planet Hoxxes IV to do work in the mines. This includes extracting Morkite (a dark blue ore), collecting alien eggs, squashing dreadnought bugs, escorting a Drilldozer to retrieve a heart stone, sabotaging your rivals by stealing data from vaults, and maintaining a drill site while building pipes to feed liquid Morkite to that site.
The different cave biomes of Hoxxes IV include a frozen tundra, salt caves, magma cores, radiation zones and more! Each cave is randomly generated, none will ever be the same.
While on missions, you will be fighting massive hordes of alien bugs that do not appreciate your invasion of their home. These range from normal Grunts, small Swarmers, large Praetorians, massive Bulk Detonators, and an extensive list of other wildlife. You may also encounter a rival company, simply called “Rivals.” They wish to “survey the planet,” but are a threat to the entire mining operation if the information gets out.
Once you promote a dwarf at least once, you can take them into what are called “Deep Dives,” a series of missions that get harder over time and all resources carry over to the next mission. Mission modifiers make each stage more difficult as you fight through the caves. Modifiers can cause the constant spawning of regular mobs or spawn a giant invincible ghost bug that will explode if you get too close. Completing Deep Dives awards players with tons of XP and in-game credits. These missions are not randomly generated, but they rotate every week to keep the same caves from feeling repetitive.
When it comes to characters, there are four dwarfs that you can choose from, and all are viable choices for different playstyles. Players are given the option between a Scout, Engineer, Driller, or Gunner, which each have their own unique abilities.
The Scout is all about mobility. He is equipped with an assault rifle and a double-barrel shotgun to defend himself. His utility consists of a grappling hook to get to areas that are hard to reach and a flare gun to light up the darkest of caves.
The Engineer is more about support. He is equipped with an auto-shotgun and a grenade launcher to deal with bugs. For his utility, he is equipped with a platform gun to help his team traverse tricky caves and a customizable sentry gun to provide cover fire.
The Driller is great when it comes to cave traversal and crowd control. He comes with a flamethrower to burn bugs and a pistol with interesting upgrades. The Driller carries twin drills to carve through the toughest of terrain and C4 to blast craters in the caves and bugs alike.
The Gunner has one job: extermination. He mows down hordes of bugs with his lead storm minigun and a bulldog revolver for tougher targets. He supports his team with a bubble shield and a zipline gun to cross large gaps in caves.
If you are alone in the caves, DRG has your back with Bosco – an all-purpose drone that can feel like a better teammate at times. Just point Bosco in the direction you want to get to work.
When I started playing this game, I found it hard to get into without friends, so I played solo for a bit and got bored after some time. I decided to jump into a multiplayer game and that is where it all changed. The DRG community are quite literally the best players you can spend time together with. Simply by cheering “Rock and Stone!” in the game makes the other players cheer as well. The developers for the game are great people, always listening to community feedback and improving the game.
As I played more, I got my friends onboard to enjoy the laid-back experience that is Deep Rock Galactic. This game is a 10 out of 10 and I hope that its success continues to last. Remember lads, ROCK AND STONE TO THE BONE!
