I’ve spent the last few days immersed in the darkness Deep Rock Galactic: Survivorand only occasionally paused to take a breath. This is another twist on the bullet hell survival formula from Vampire survivorsusing the science fiction setting of the original Deep Rock Galactic. It’s a combination that works just as well as chocolate and peanut butter. I’ve spent hours escaping insects and mining valuable ore, and yet every time I leave I long for the mines.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor begins with just one of the four dwarves from the original game, the Scout. The Scout teaches the player the basics of the game, using his enhanced agility to evade the bugs while simultaneously taking them down with steady automatic weapon fire. Each round begins with a drop pod landing deep in the mines, and the dwarf emerges with a starting weapon and a few objectives: gather resources across the map and lure out the elite boss by killing an unstoppable alien swarm in wave after wave .
The Scout starts with a basic assault rifle, but the longer I played, the more arsenal I unlocked. I gained XP from mining and killing bugs; Every time I leveled up, I received a small upgrade like movement speed, my weapon’s rate of fire, or more damage. At certain milestones, I unlocked the option for a new weapon – perhaps a cryo grenade when dealing with swarms, or a powerful sniper rifle for taking out difficult targets. The weapons fire automatically, but fall to the ground when reloaded. I had to keep an eye on my ammo, pay attention to my positioning, and collect all the goodies on the map without being overwhelmed by monsters.
Occasionally the Deep Rock Galactic Corporation has been kind enough to provide me with a resupply. I had to find these beacons and clear the area around them and then wait for the drop itself to come down. If I succeeded, I would get an artifact – something like an ammo clip that gives me a much higher rate of fire at the expense of attack speed, or the chance to find gold in every stone I randomly mine. If I had to give up the supply signal to save my life, it would break – making the rest of the run much more difficult.
During my first few laps I took my time getting settled and didn’t worry too much about progressing. This is a game in which you will dying early and often – and that’s just part of the fun. Every time I died, I returned to the main menu, where I could unlock new permanent upgrades using the resources I earned in my last game. The next time I went down I was stronger, faster and wiser. Eventually I also gained the ability to play the other classes: Rifleman, Engineer and Driller.
During the first few rounds of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor It felt a bit samey, the game opened up as I unlocked and played new classes. Each round I had a new upgrade to test or a new tool in the random arsenal. The four classes all play differently. While the Scout is a nimble guy who runs and shoots, the Gunner is much happier facing the swarm and allowing his giant minigun to tear through insects like wet tissue paper; The engineer drops towers, creating control zones. and the Driller is by far the best miner of the group.
Regardless of status, mining was essential. There were valuable minerals wedged into the rock that I needed for upgrades. Secondly, mining allowed me to explore new avenues that were vital to my survival. When I found myself stuck to a rock and every bug in the universe was rushing to eat my bones, I would turn around and slip out into the open, digging a tunnel through the rock. The trick is that mining can be slow work, especially when trying to get special resources. The best rounds of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
I rarely spent time there Deep Rock Galactic myself, simply because it’s not a rotational game for my friend group. But it’s fun to look at this world from a different perspective that’s more suitable for solo play. The game is full of mindless joy – all I have to worry about is pointing my dwarf in the right direction and he will do the rest. Meanwhile, I feel the rush of serotonin when I level up and buy nice new weapons. I regret to inform you that instead of a brain, there is one Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor was released on Windows PC on February 14th. The game was reviewed using a pre-download code provided by Ghost Ship Publishing. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These have no influence on the editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find More information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.