…Deep Rock Galactic

The video game industry is festering. Corporations pump out as many games as possible for the purpose of extracting money from their players through predatory microtransactions. Many titles are so rushed that they’re unplayable for months after release. But there’s a diamond in the rough: Deep Rock Galactic.

A product of a Danish studio, Ghost Ship Games, Deep Rock Galactic is available on PC, Xbox and Playstation. Playing as a squad of heavily armed dwarves, you and up to three friends descend into caves to battle hoards of bugs and complete missions, whether it’s building pipes to extract liquid Morkite or stealing alien eggs. Every cave is procedurally generated and completely destructible, so there’s always a fresh challenge and unlimited ways to overcome it. 

You don’t even need to enter a level in order to have a blast. The lobby area is full of simple pleasures and places to explore. You can grab a drink at the Abyss Bar, dance by the jukebox, or kick the glitchy barrels around until management tells you to stop.

All the little details work together to create an immersive atmosphere of disgruntled employees doing a lethal job for a company that doesn’t care about their wellbeing. The dwarven player characters often shout things like “Deep Rock really need to provide better equipment!” and “Wonder what slop they’re serving in the canteen tonight?”

The experience is made even better by the diverse, team-based gameplay. Each dwarf has his own unique set of abilities. The Driller can excavate any obstacle with the help of explosives, while the Engineer is great at fortifying an area with turrets and proximity mines. Everyone needs to do their job and work together if you want to survive.

The flawless combat mechanics take the game to the next level. A swarm of shrieking bugs coming from all directions is guaranteed to get the heart pumping. You can mow down enemies with a minigun or autocannon, but there’s nothing more satisfying than the thump of a break-action grenade launcher that shoots miniature nuke

Of everything Deep Rock Galactic has to offer, the best feature is the button that makes your dwarf raise his pickaxe and exclaim some variation of “Rock and Stone!” Whether your team has just conquered a dreadnought class enemy or you’re piling into the drop pod after a successful mission, the rallying cry brings everyone together. “If you don’t Rock and Stone, you ain’t comin’ home!”