Review for Deep Rock Galactic. Game for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 13/05/2020
Born from the ashes of a Press Play project, the late (at least by myself) Danish development studio which, before closing its doors in 2016, had given us small pearls like Max: the Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba, Deep Rock Galactic, after an Early Access lasting a couple of years, is finally out in version 1.0 on Xbox One and PC and is therefore ready to receive our final judgment.
Rock & Stone! Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative first person shooter where we will play the role of a beefy dwarf intergalactic miner: the mustachioed protagonists of the game are in fact employees of Deep Rock Galactic, in fact, a mining company that searches for rare materials around the most dangerous and remote corners of the galaxy. It is up to you and up to three friends to explore the depths of the planet Hoxxes IV, avoiding its natural pitfalls and its poorly grown insect fauna, bringing back to its orbiting ship (which serves as a hub for the game) all kinds of glittering and mysterious riches.
Not your classic space expedition
Made in Unreal Engine 4 (we saw the 5 in action recently), Deep Rock Galactic first of all stands out from the mass of more or less independent productions thanks to a clean graphic sector, but which we would not hesitate to define as remarkable. Ghost Ship Games (the name of the Danish development team made up of many former exponents of the aforementioned Press Play) has done a truly remarkable job in creating, with a cartoonish and clean style, a FPS that would visually look good in the presence of AAA productions much more expensive. The levels of Deep Rock Galactic are procedurally generated by the game at regular intervals, but they are in any case alive and colorful thanks also to dynamic lighting that will make our underground raids even more interesting. However, we must point out decided frame rate drops in the base Xbox One version.
Deep Rock Galactic, as you may have guessed by now, focuses its gameplay loop on obtaining precious minerals by exploring these underground caves (made various by the existence of different areas of the planet with enemies and different appearance) alone or in cooperative, facing the enemies and using the different skills and weapons of the 4 classes of dwarves that the game offers (Gunner, Engineer, Explorer and Drill), each with its strengths and weaknesses. The caves are 100% destructible - to Minecraft, if you want - but the title still offers a more linear recommended exploration, following the cool 3D map to better orient yourself. Then explore, lighting the caves with your own flares, drill rock and minerals with a pick or drill, fight the spiders and other creatures that crowd the depths of Hoxxes IV, and finally bring everything back to base with a quick run to the extraction pod : this is roughly the basic structure of a Deep Rock Galactic mission, although continuing in the game there will be many modifiers that can intervene.
The dwarves have dug too deep and too greedy
Because Deep Rock Galactic does have a kind of story told in the background, but is a virtually infinite game without a classic progression, similar to a Sea of Thieves, a structure that is absolutely there and will see us gain resources to unlock new areas, make our dwarves gain experience in the different classes to improve their skills and arsenal and spruce them up to all points with new mustaches and beards, of course. To get to the "promotion" (ie to level 25) of each of the 4 classes you will really need a lot of hours and the game also offers some options hidden in the endgame such as Deep Dives (series of three consecutive missions to be completed at once, which hide part of the best loot in the game).
Deep Rock Galactic therefore certainly cannot boast of having a classic type narrative and, in the long run, it might get tired for lack of motivation, but its fast and effective gameplay, its level physics and graphics engines and even just the irresistible personality of the dwarves, whether they are digging a hole or drinking beer or dancing in the gaming hub, make it a very pleasant surprise and a game that we really recommend to try with a few friends these days, if only to feel closer to everyone. For lone wolves, on the other hand, Deep Rock Galactic does everything possible, adding an AI-controlled bot that helps both in fighting and in the collection of resources, but it is clear that the appeal of these games really comes from the stories told not only on the screen from the software code, but also and above all those that you listen to in chat with your friends.
We have been following this game for quite some time and its final release has not disappointed us at all. Technically solid, fun and deep (literally), Deep Rock Galactic, with this mix of Left 4 Dead, Sea of Thieves and Minecraft is one of the most immersive co-op multiplayer experiences of 2020, as long as you own a good PC or Xbox One.
► Deep Rock Galactic is a Shooter-indie type game developed by Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 13/05/2020
