Overdue Reviews is an occasional series in which I pretend to be a videogame journalist. This week: multiplayer mining in Deep Rock Galactic.
It's been a while since I've been properly hooked on a game. Deep Rock Galactic might have changed that - but not entirely in a good way.
If you're not played it, Deep Rock Galactic is a four player co-op shooter about space dwarves mining a hostile planet. Each level is procedurally generated, with objectives to complete ranging from simply mining some minerals to considerably more complex and interesting challenges.
There are four dwarves to choose from, each with a small but unique set of weapons, which feel balanced and effective. Each dwarf has a different way of traversing the terrain - from drill to grappling hook - along with an axe for smashing and mining. The scenery is mostly destructable, often requiring the digging of tunnels to proceed.
There are a variety of mission types in a variety of environments, each with its own challenges and hazards, ranging from swarms of crawling and flying creatures to winds that will blow you off your feet, lava, killer plants and exploding fungus. It's also surprisingly funny - your boss mutters sarcastically in frustration while the dwarves complain about their working conditions.
All of this is well executed and tremendous fun. The only problem is that it doesn't have an ending. Strip away the distinctive visuals, the gags and the fun gameplay and underneath lurks something more like a free to play mobile game - an endless progression of levelling up with no specific purpose, designed to captivate your attention for as long as possible.
It seems that the developers care more than most - new content has been added not infrequently since launch and all of the paid DLC is entirely cosmetic and non-essential - but there's still no particular goal. It's just variations on the same caves and monsters, over and over and over again.
Perhaps if there was some kind of overarching campaign to complete missions in every part of the planet, culminating in an extravagant boss fight, that would be something. But Deep Rock Galactic feels built to just serve up randomised variations on the same basic concept, over and over again.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, and if you're looking for an occasional fun and challenging evening with a few friends it's just about one of the best multiplayer games I've experienced. But if you're wanting to get really immersed and feel an eventual sense of accomplishment, it might turn into a bit of an endless grind.