Author: Jacob Bullard

Deep Rock Galactic (DRG) is a co-op FPS made by Ghost Ship Games set in deep space aboard “The Space Rig” where you will gear up and beer up before heading to Hoxxes IV in search of gold, glory, and bug guts! Far away in the outer rim the planet Hoxxes IV holds plenty of materials and ore to collect, and many profits to be made. This is why the corporate titan known as “Deep Rock Galactic” has set up shop in the planet’s orbit, bringing in tow a team of disproportionate and destructive dwarves! Within the Space Rig you will purchase and upgrade equipment, customize your short savant, and select missions that hold a large variety of objectives and minerals unique to their location. Although the gameplay loop is pretty simple; get resources, upgrade your dwarf, go on harder missions; every excursion feels different. In each mission your team is entirely underground, meaning you’ll have to do your fair share of spelunking to get around. While navigating the rocky reaches you will notice that no map is the same, and that’s because it's procedurally generated! No two missions will have the same map, and although that doesn’t sound too astonishing, I think you’ll find it much harder to navigate a linear and vertical system of interconnected tunnels and caves while giant insects are biting your limbs off.

In DRG there are four classes to choose from. Scout, Gunner, Engineer, and Driller. Each of them come with a unique kit that helps them explode or explore the insect infested investment known as Hoxxes IV. Scout has a grappling hook to zip around the map faster than any other, while also grabbing resources from high up on cavern ceilings. Armed with a pulse rifle and double barrel sawed off shotgun, he is a comically compact cannon ball of catastrophe. The Gunner hauls a zipline to traverse long distances, and once deployed stays deployed so that your teammates can keep pace. He also packs a gatling gun that shreds xenos faster than a split jawed trophy hunter with a shoulder mounted plasma cannon. Engineer brings a sentry turret to pick up some of the manual labor, and a platform gun that shoots wheels of cheddar cheese that you and your allies can walk on for those hard to reach places. The engineer is a solver of practical problems, like when some big mean acid spitting space bug tries to eat your compact compatriots, you use a gun. And if that don’t work, use more gun. Packing a shotgun and grenade launcher he is a wave clearing machine that holds objectives like it’s his job. Which it is. I wonder if they match 401k? Saving the best for last, the Driller comes packing; you guessed it, drills. They can get you out of a tight spot, blast open a shortcut, or turn bugs into piles of small gooey paste. Along with his drills, what's better to clear out tight hallways in a cave than a flamethrower? Good thing bugs can’t read or write, therefore the geneva convention doesn’t apply! If that wasn’t enough he also brings a payload of C4 large enough for you to say “See four. I see four life sentences waiting for me when I get home.” And if any of these weapons don’t suit your fancy, each class has bonus unlockable weapons that can heavily alter their playstyle.

As you make expeditions down to the planet, you will accrue money and materials you can use to upgrade your arsenal. Changing the way certain guns work, increasing armor and health, and purchasing the fanciest facial hair. You can’t practice genocide without looking dashing! Oh, worry not friends, have a clear conscience! They’re bugs! It’s not genocide, it’s pestocide! While you’re looking absolutely stunning, head over to the bar for a drink. During missions you can peruse the local flora and fauna, and subsequently poach them! Bring them back to the bar and use these ill gotten goods to create new types of beer for you and your crew. Before going on a mission make sure to drink up so you can get different and unique bonuses that will do anything from increasing pick strength, to increasing the amount of gold you acquire! Be careful not to drink too much though, you might get a DUI! Drilling Under the Influence! 

DRG has a wonderful art style akin to Borderlands or a comic book. Sharp angles and bold linework make for a very visually pleasing and entertaining look. Each zone on Hoxxes IV is also very diverse, and the procedural generation can make for extremely beautiful zones. Loaded with glistening gems and bioluminescent plants all while subterranean beasts fly through the caves, it looks like a dream. Don’t admire it for too long though, or you won’t notice the giant space leech closing in over your head only to rip you into the air and suckle on your scalp until you’re dead. Mixing the fantasy of dwarves and the sci-fi of space bugs doesn’t sound like too great an idea, but Ghost Ship Games did a fantastic job of blending the two and making a new aesthetic for fans to dive into. The game has been out for a few years but recently has been gaining lots of traction due to the practices of the company and the replayability of the game.

Almost every game nowadays has some form of battle pass or something similar. DRG decided to make one too, but completely free. A rewarding and incentivising progression tree that lets you make progress to items you would actually want, all the while not draining your wallet. I know battle passes and DLC are generally accepted at this point, but I love seeing games making content for old and new players to come back to, and not just to drain the cash out people looking for something to do in their game. And while Ghost Ship Games work excellently with their community, the community themselves is also an incredible group of people. Out of my 124 hours in game, I’ve only encountered one rude player. For a multiplayer game that is absolutely outstanding. While being friendly, other players are also incredibly helpful, guiding new players on how to handle certain side objectives and how they should be helping the team! And if you ever need to know if the teammates around you are there to help, just press the gesture button and call out a good ol’ “Rock and Stone!”. Remember kids, if you don’t rock and stone, you ain’t goin home!

Before I wrap this up, I would like to give Ghost Ship Games a glowing accolade. They made an entertaining escort mission. Never in my life have I played a videogame and gone “Oh boy, an escort mission!” The “Escort Duty” missions involve you guiding a giant “Drilldozer” to an “Ommoran Heartstone”. As the dozer makes its way you need to keep the bugs off of it, refuel it, and bust open the heartstone to get its core. Keep repairing the dozer, work together, and let the dozer do its thing. There’s never any pathing problems, the drilldozer isn’t weak and can take a solid punch, and you can ride the dozer so you don’t have to worry about an awkward walking speed where you are slightly faster than it while running or slower while walking! Also the Drilldozer is named “Dorreta”, please be respectful to her and take her head with you before you leave. Please and thank you. 

Deep Rock Galactic is an extremely replayable co-op game, with a sense of teamwork and action that I haven’t seen since the heyday of Left 4 Dead. If the gameplay loop gets too boring for you, there is also a very active mod scene for you to dip into. And if that doesn’t do it for you, jump into a “Deep Dive” with three of your friends and take on a real challenge! Some would call max level missions with as many multipliers as you can put on the real endgame. Some would call the Deep Dive missions the end game. But in reality the real end game is the basketball minigame next to the bar. For 30 bucks this game is an absolute steal that I think everyone should pick up. If that’s not enough the game also goes on sale often, and as of March 2022, they just dropped an announcement for another season of the battle pass that will include all new missions and cosmetics. I’ll see you stumpy soldiers in the rig, Rock and Stone!