Interesting timing on DRG all around.
There was a reveal trailer for
Hardspace: Shipbreaker recently and I posted a positive comment on YouTube. Another user replied that I should look into Deep Rock, a game that was on my radar in the past, but I had immediately dismissed the moment I saw "co-op focus" in the description. I'm pretty allergic to all things online-multiplayer.
I noticed that Deep Rock was -50% as well as having a free-trial this weekend so I decided to dig a little deeper on the subject. There was a recent YouTube let's play showcasing solo mode in the game and I was quite impressed with what I saw. Didn't realize that in solo you have an AI bot providing combat/mining backup.
So I downloaded the trail version and fired it up. Hot damn I was sold almost immediately. I legit felt impatient to wrap up the tutorial level so I could smash the Buy button, lol.
First off, the game just looks gorgeous. It's got that flat-poly aesthetic that looks simplistic on the surface but is augmented with tons of lighting and atmospheric effects. It's a striking look. Game also runs like absolute butter, spitting out 120fps without breaking a sweat.
But what really sold me after my initial graphics wow was the feel of the game. Player movement, camera control & shooting are all incredibly dialed in, making world traversal feel amazing. Kinda reminds me of Doom 2016 for some reason.
Pacing feels smart with a good balance of resource gathering and combat. The biggest ding I'd level against the game is that you can't save and exit out mid-mission. This makes total sense in a co-op focused game, but it really bites for the solo player. One of the big reasons I'm not into multi at all is I want the freedom to pick up and end a gameplay session at the drop of a hat. And it looks like some of these missions can last over an hour which means you really need to be signed up if you want to see completion. Thankfully mission briefings do indicate how long they are out of a 4-star rating.
There's an extensive upgrade path for each of the 4 characters you play as (engineer, gunner, driller, scout) as well as your bot buddy Bosco. Makes me think there's some good replay value in there if you want to grow your characters.
So yeah, for $15 DRG feels like a steal, even in solo play. Just feels like a great pick-up & play title with an entertaining loop. Glad I looked further into it after my initial dismissal.