Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Impressions: Your next obsession

With Deep Rock Galactic being a massive sensation, it's hardly surprising that Ghost Ship has looked to expand the world by exploring new ways to deliver a Deep Rock experience. One of the first upcoming ventures includes a Vampire Survivors-esque spin on the sci-fi world, with this very game known as Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. During my time at Gamescom this year, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with this very game, in a demo session where Ghost Ship's CEO and CCO, Søren Lundgaard and Mikkel Martin Pedersen, told me all about the upcoming project.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a game that requires very little input from the player. All you have to do is move an analog stick to direct your dwarf miner, and the rest is all handled automatically. You don't mine, shoot oncoming enemies, or pick up items. The game does all this for you automatically, and while you are no doubt wondering how there's a hook to the title with such little interaction, this comes in the actual level design and challenge.

The idea behind Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is to head deep into a planet to gather as many resources as possible, complete predetermined challenges (such as defeat 300 enemies), and to escape with your life, all while evading and blasting through literally hundreds of enemies, and ultimately a boss-level foe. The concept is very straightforward and easy to understand, and it's also very well and effectively realised, in the same vein as that of Vampire Survivors, with its basic yet hugely entertaining gameplay.

It's not easy to play Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, mind you, as you'll need to mine and carve your way through a level all to escape the attacks of enemies, as being a roguelike, once you die it's game over. But similarly, as the game falls into this sub-genre, it also has a progression system to understand. Mining and defeating enemies will drop experience that once collected will eventually level you up. Each time you increase in level, you can choose a new perk, artefact, or weapon, with these usually having minor yet important elemental typings connected to them that combine to allow you to design builds that complement one another. It's a system that, like the gameplay itself, is super easy to understand but has a true depth to it.

With multiple playable characters promised at its Early Access launch, and a few different biomes and levels, each with their own bosses to discover, it's pretty clear to me that Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is shaping up to be my next big obsession. This is a really easy game to pick up and play, with runs usually lasting for 20-40 minutes, all while being effortlessly fun. The day when the title comes to Nintendo Switch, which I was told by Lundgaard and Pedersen will be sometime in the future once Early Access has wrapped up, I think I will find it very challenging to spend time playing anything else during my downtime. But you don't need to take my word for this, as the game will soon be getting a demo as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, so don't miss a chance to experience this indie gem for yourself.