100%! Deep Rock Galactic is still an amazing game in 2021, and here I will lay out a few of the reasons why I think it is worthwhile to give it a try in 2021!
A sad part of any gamers life is when their favourite game gets old enough that the player base starts to die out. New games or releases overtake or overshadow that beloved game of yours, and soon enough you cannot find a match to play.
So, you look around for a new game to play idly switching tabs between Steam and Springbok Casino bonus to curb your disappointment and try to lift your spirits as you look around for the next game for you to play.
This can be even worse for an indie game, as they are made by smaller companies and usually have a smaller fanbase than a Triple A title. Some indie games can die out even only a year or two after their release.
Thankfully, this isn’t the case for Deep Rock Galactic! The game still has a strong player base of over ten thousand players online a month! Compared to a Triple A game that may not seem like a lot, but it is more than enough to quickly find games to play whenever you want.
This is also supported by the fact that the game has a consistent player base. Even though ten thousand players may seem small when you hear of games with millions of players, that number hasn’t gone down in months!
This means the players it does have are there to stay. You needn’t worry about having nobody to play with when you boot up the game and head over to the console to get a mission.
Synopsis
In Deep Rock Galactic you play as a Dwarf working at a galactic mining company based around a fictional planet called “Hoxxes IV”. The planet is extremely rich in precious minerals but is also incredibly dangerous.
The play will go on various types of missions in procedurally generated cave systems. Their goal is to complete the objectives and make it back alive to the space station.
The goal of each mission will differ depending on the type of mission it is. Some are very simple, while other kinds of missions are more complicated. As you complete more and more missions, you will grow in rank and unlock more customizables and abilities for your Dwarf.
Gameplay
The core gameplay is you go on a mission in a procedurally generated cave system and complete the objective you were given within that cave system. However, that description does quite a disservice to the variation of the game.
You can play as one of 4 classes in Deep Rock Galactic. Those are the Gunner, Scout, Driller, and Engineer. Each has their own unique abilities that make them more suited to a specific task than another class.
For example, the gunner has the most powerful weapon in the game. His job is meant to fight off the endless hordes of enemies that will accost you on every mission you go on.
Oh, did I not mention the endless hordes of enemies that will accost you? Well, there are endless hordes of enemies that will accost you on every mission you go on. Be prepared or be overwhelmed!
Thankfully, each mission can have a difficulty level set for it. The easier the mission, the less enemies will come to attack you. Those enemies will also be easier. However, you will also gain less experience and money from completing those missions.
This gives a nice risk reward incentive for each mission. Do you do a slightly easier mission you for sure know you will complete, or a harder mission that will reward you more yet you are unsure if you will be able to complete it?
This also means you will always feel challenged by the game. Some missions on some difficulty levels can be truly brutal to complete. You better hope you have a good team with you or you just might not make it back alive!
Yes, that’s right, I said team! This game supports, and is best, when you play it 4 player co-op! So, whether you play with random people online or your best friends, you are sure to have a blast!
With some truly tense moments such as when you are the last person alive on your team fighting against a swarm while frantically trying to heal your teammates up again, the game gets intense!
The next class after the gunner is the scout. The scout has a much weaker weapon set, but has a powerful flare ability to light up large areas (you are in a cave after all) and a grappling hook to zip around and look for resources.
Third is the Driller. The driller carries a powerful flamethrower, but it has a shorter range than the gunner’s minigun. Besides, you want a driller to get you out of a tough spot, not to fight.
It is great to have a driller on the team as they have a drill (who would have guessed?)! This means they can burrow quickly through the stone and create a new path for your team to escape from.
Finally, there is the engineer. The engineer can set up sentry guns to defend a position, and has a platform gun to create platforms to stand on. This is quite useful to be able to mine out hard to reach minerals on walls or the ceilings of the cave.
One final note about gameplay is that the environments are completely destructible! This means you can mine, burrow, and tunnel to your heart’s content to complete a mission or solve a problem how you see fit.
Graphics
Deep Rock Galactic is a gorgeous game in my humble opinion. It has a rather cartoony style, but that means it’s graphics will age incredibly well. It isn’t trying to be realistic, so it won’t look bad even for years to come.
Some games who try to look realistic can look bad or unnatural once we have found ways to simulate or create better graphics or models for people and things. A cartoony art style negates this problem as it is just stylistic, and not realistic.
Along the lines of visuals, the environments themselves are absolutely stunning at times. There are many different environments from lush bioluminescent green caves to scorched and unforgiving magma caves.
This coupled with the procedurally generated cave systems means you will never see the exact same cave twice. Sure, the environments can get rather “same-y” after a while, but the excitement of the gameplay will help distract from this so it’s not an issue.
Community
I spoke briefly before about how Deep Rock Galactic still has a strong player base, but I want to speak about the community itself for a moment. Many games suffer from a problem of a toxic fanbase.
People being unwelcoming or rude to new players, or just a general lack of kindness towards other players. From my own personal experience, Deep Rock Galactic hasn’t had this problem.
Players seemed genuinely friendly and helpful to a new player when I asked quick questions. I’ve never had someone tell me I “sucked” or any other complaints even when I was new to the game.
There seems to be just a general friendliness between players. It seems like people do take on an attitude of “we are all a team and we have to work together if we want to be successful.”
So, a successful mission can be quite rewarding as people use the in game emote system to chant “Rock and Stone!” The Dwarf rallying cry of the miners of Hoxxes IV.
