Deep Rock Galactic
Hunt bugs and haul mud.
You’ve no doubt heard that Deep Rock Galactic is like Left 4 Dead, if Valve’s co-op classic swapped zombies for alien arachnids and took place exclusively in dark, confounding tunnels. That’s more or less accurate, but Deep Rock Galactic’s eponymous depth is more than just environmental. The breadth of approaches possible here makes Vermintide 2 look like Desert Bus, and frankly it’s all a bit much for the first few hours.
An opening tutorial mission does a fantastic job of conveying the basics, though – this is your pick, use it to hack away at valuable minerals and carve tunnels. Right. Cool. Shoot the gun on the bad spiders – with you there. Call the M.U.L.E. to you and deposit mined resources, press 3 to equip a zipline launcher and 4 to toss a shield. Mine the required materials, dump them in the M.U.L.E., call for evac, then make it out before the dropship leaves without you.
It’s a fascinating proposition, and Ghost Ship Games deserves the dedicated fanbase they’ve found through Early Access by marrying such demanding elements as destructible scenery, class-based co-op, and procedurally generated cave networks.
What encourages you to persevere is the sheer ingenuity of other players. The experienced ones, who’ve been down in these caves since early Early Access, have a knack for turning befuddling topography into fairground rides with three ziplines and some well-placed pick-holes. The division of labour between Deep Rock Galactic’s four classes makes the spectacle of player ingenuity all the richer. In the same way you’d just stop and admire a particularly nifty sentry spot or tele placement in the early TF2 days.
Solo or with fellow humans, Deep Rock Galactic is as much a game about learning the hard way and reaping the rewards as it is about dislodging alien terra firma. As such, it’s in danger of having many players simply bounce off it, but the hardcore who remain are rewarded with Mariana Trench levels of depth. PHIL IWANIUK
A clear and distinct spin on four-player co-op FPS with atmosphere and ingenuity.