With Deep Rock Galactic making waves, it’s no surprise that Ghost Ship wants to expand the world by exploring new ways to deliver the Deep Rock experience. One of the first upcoming adventures includes a Vampire Survivors-esque spin on the sci-fi world, and the game is called Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. I had the chance to play the game first-hand during Gamescom this year, and during a demo session, Ghost Ship’s CEO and COO Søren Lundgaard and Mikkel Martin Pedersen walked me through the upcoming project.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a game that requires very little input from the player. All you need to do is move an analog stick to direct your short miner, and the rest is handled automatically. You won’t mine, shoot oncoming enemies, or pick up items. The game does all of this for you automatically, and while you’re no doubt wondering how to hook the title with so little interaction, it comes from the actual level design and challenge.
Deep Rock Galactic: The idea behind Survivor is to go deep into a planet, collect as many resources as possible, complete predetermined challenges (such as defeating 300 enemies), and escape for your life while dodging and blasting hundreds of enemies to eventually become a Boss level enemies. The concept is very simple and accessible, and it’s also well and effectively implemented, with the same basic but very fun gameplay as Vampire Survivors.
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Be aware that playing Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is not easy as you need to dig and pass levels to escape enemy attacks, because as a Roguelike, once you die, it’s game over. But again, since the game falls into this subgenre, it also has a progression system to understand. Digging and defeating enemies will drop experience, which, once collected, will eventually allow you to level up. Each time you level up, you can choose a new perk, artifact, or weapon, and these often have minor but important element types that combine to let you design builds that complement each other. It’s a system that, like the gameplay itself, is remarkably accessible, but has real depth.
At an Early Access launch that promised multiple playable characters, as well as several different biomes and levels, each with its own boss to discover, it was clear to me that Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor was becoming My next big obsession. It’s a very easy game to pick up and play, and runs typically last 20-40 minutes while being effortlessly fun. The day the title came to Nintendo Switch, Lundgaard and Pedersen told me that once Early Access ended, I’d find it very challenging to spend time playing anything else. But you don’t need to take my word for it, because the game will get a demo soon as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, so don’t miss your chance to see this indie gem for yourself.
