I’ve been chipping away at the first Deep Rock Galactic ever since it hit Early Access back in the day, and I’ve enjoyed the game’s evolution and expansion over the last decade. In turn, I’ve also enjoyed watching the success of Ghost Ship Games, with the studio using DRG as a springboard for its move into indie publishing.
Now the developer-turned-publisher is back with the third full game in the Deep Rock Galactic series, and I’ve been playing it over the weekend, like many of you. And, like many of you, I’ve yet to fall in love with its roguish charms.
What is Rogue Core all about, then?
If you’ve played Deep Rock Galactic before, then you’re already aware of the game’s core staples, as they transcend both titles. This is a dwarf-filled sci-fi shooter with mining elements and oodles of personality, big guns, and distinctive cel-shaded visuals.
I’ve always liked and respected the core game, even if it’s not one of my personal favourites. On the other hand, I absolutely adored Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and I consider it to be one of the best bullet heaven games around.
Long story short, my admiration for past DRG games had me excited about the prospect of a roguelite shooter set in the franchise.
Dig faster
It’s fair to say that Rogue Core is a more streamlined experience than the original game. This is a first-person shooter about jumping into small parties, hitting quick objectives, and moving on before you’re overwhelmed by enemies.
On that front, I think Rogue Core is a pleasingly atmospheric game, and the game’s core aesthetic shines once again. Watching horrible monsters scuttle on the floor, in and out of shadows, makes for tense moments, especially when you’re powering up the lift to take you to the next floor of your challenge.
While this is certainly a more concentrated experience, I don’t think Rogue Core goes far enough in streamlining things. In future, I think more needs to be done to differentiate it from the original, and cranking up the pace would be one way to do this. One example of a gameplay element that could be finessed is the mining; it’s a core staple, but could parts of the process be automated now? It worked in Survivor.
DRG: Rogue Core’s Early Access Roadmap
The mixed feedback that the game has at the time of writing points to discontent among players, and I broadly agree with their main complaint: the decision to limit player choice when levelling up takes some fun out of the character building.
Because all players in the team have to pick from the same pool, you’re often left with unappealing choices. This is especially true if you end up playing a game or two with someone like our Kieran, who loves picking the best upgrades before you have a chance to think…
There’s work to do, and Ghost Ship’s roadmap outlines a plan to take the game forward. The devs immediately identified three things that need attention: the contentiousness timer, issues involving ammo supply, and the aforementioned shared upgrades pool.
Next up on the Rogue Core roadmap is a bunch of pre-planned updates, with new upgrades and balancing on the horizon, along with a new re-roll system. After that, more events, enemies, and encounters are set to follow, but when the three big issues will be addressed is harder to pin down, given how these elements are more central to the experience.
Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is a solid game that needs a good boot up the backside if it’s going to reach the standards set by the first two games. This is exactly the sort of situation that Early Access is intended for, and I think it’ll eventually come good, but there’s work to do and expenite to mine.
Rogue Core is out now on PC (Win), and I played the game via access kindly provided by the developer and their co-op buddies in PR.
