Deep Rock Galactic (DRG) is a co-op first-person shooter game that puts players in the role of a dwarven miner. The gameplay revolves around exploring procedurally generated caves, mining resources, and fighting off hordes of hostile alien creatures. The game features four classes, each with its own unique abilities and equipment, that must work together to complete objectives and survive the dangers of the underground.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ One of the standout features of DRG is its excellent level design. The cave systems are incredibly detailed and feel like real places, complete with hidden chambers, tight squeezes, and treacherous drops. The lighting is also impressive, with dynamic shadows and flares that create a sense of depth and danger. Navigating these caves is a real challenge, and requires careful planning and teamwork ( hopefully :'] ) to overcome obstacles and make progress. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Controls: 9/10

Deep Rock Galactic's controls are intuitive and responsive, allowing players to quickly master the various actions required to navigate the game's environments and battle hordes of alien monsters. The only minor issue is that some players may find the default keybindings unintuitive, but these can be easily customized to suit individual preferences; personally, I enjoy playing on a controller, where binding options are far more limited. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Application / Consistency: 9/10

The application and consistency of Deep Rock Galactic are impressive. The game runs smoothly, with very few bugs or glitches. The loading times are short, and the matchmaking system is fast and reliable. The only downside is that there are occasional server issues, but these are rare and usually resolved quickly. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

User Interface / User Experience: 10/10

The user interface and user experience in Deep Rock Galactic are exceptional. The menus are intuitive and easy to navigate, and the in-game HUD is clean and informative. The game also features a robust tutorial system that teaches you the basics of the game and helps you get started quickly. Even now after hours of gameplay, I still continue to find minor, but ever so meaningful, tool-tips, indicators, and HUD elements that are truly just the cherry on top when it comes to the tools DRG offers its players. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Music / Sound 10/10

Deep Rock Galactic's music and sound effects are immersive and add to the overall atmosphere of the game. The game's soundtrack is especially well executed, with a mix of ambient and more intense tracks that match the game's various environments and combat encounters; with even more that can be played at the space station's jukebox. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Graphics & Art 9/10

The game's graphics and art style are stunning, with detailed environments, smooth character animations, and impressive lighting effects. The game's aesthetic blends elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and mining themes, resulting in a unique and captivating world to explore. Though, it's worth noting that the game's art style may not appeal to everyone. Some players may find the exaggerated character designs and cartoonish animations to be too over-the-top or not immersive enough; personally, I've always been able to appreciate the character of different art styles and DRG is no exception. Nevertheless, the overall quality of the game's graphics and the art style is undeniably impressive. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Content & Gameplay 10/10

Deep Rock Galactic offers a huge amount of content, with multiple character classes, unlockable upgrades, and procedurally generated missions that ensure each playthrough feels fresh and exciting, even after playing long-term; between cosmetics and equipment unlocks, there's always something new to discover. The gameplay itself is highly engaging, with a focus on cooperative teamwork and tactical decision-making; in my experience, a planned approach makes all the difference. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Overall Rating: 9.5

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Deep Rock Galactic is an excellent co-op game that offers an engaging gameplay experience, stunning visuals, and a well-crafted soundtrack that immerses players in its unique and thrilling worlds. Despite its initial learning curve and the occasional bug, the game provides a challenging and rewarding experience that can be enjoyed solo or with friends. With regular updates and new content, Ghost Ship Games continues to impress and DRG is a must-play for anyone who enjoys cooperative gameplay or sci-fi shooters; a warm shout-out to the developers for their well placed hard work.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thanks for reading, hope it helps, LICHPUNK

You play a member of the Belpaese family (AKA "Vampire Survivors") first available with many more to unlock. Your only goal is to survive the hordes of enemies coming forth, and being summoned by the game's antagonist, Bisconte Draculó. The Belpaese family is seemingly hunting the infamous Draculó. Though without any seeming luck, but it undoubtedly gets hectic along the way; really invigorating that empowering feeling within the player. Being able to fend off most enemies with a hit or a few, the game is quick to grant the player with some degree of power. Throughout playing, I valued this to be an essential part of reinforcing that protagonist feel developers attempt to provide, and players typically seek. Don't be fooled though, you're just as quick to be humbled by the ever-increasing quantity, frequency, & strength of the hordes; one missed step could mean the end of your run. Almost every run you begin is a constant power struggle, you'll fluctuate from maniacal laugh-inducing amounts of power and victim-like amounts of power at almost any stage of the game; this aspect is why the game offers so much replayability as well, it's a continuous fight to strengthen yourself & weapons faster than the horde & come out on top, a Vampire Survivor.

Controls: 10/10

I played exclusively using mouse & keyboard, however, you can swap to a controller at any time while playing without having to explore settings any further. The controls themselves could not be more simple, the only real controls you'll be using are your respective movement & interaction or select controls. A significant part of your survival commonly depends on maneuvering around the hordes of monsters, which will be plenty for your primary focus regardless.

Application / Consistency: 10/10

I personally failed to ever have any issues involving the functioning of the program, or game, itself. I don't recall ever encountering any bugs, (at least any noticeable ones) freezing, or crashing of any kind. This includes areas outside of gameplay, such as the settings & in-game shop. My desktop setup specifications are visible on my profile for those curious about more detail.

User Interface / User Experience: 8/10

The user interface for all states of the game is remarkably intuitive, and arguably allows any new users to follow along and navigate, or perform, that which they wish. The UI's minimal appearance is what enables its navigability, but it also provides greater in-depth views of stats, function, & customization for players who seek to decipher more detail. Being an achievement hunter, I absolutely love the accessible "Unlocks" menu which provides a list of achievements that's dynamically based on your respective game unlocks at the time of viewing; only once you have unlocked the requirements are the unlocks visible. In my experience, it proved to be a uniquely beneficial feature, as opposed to the ladder.

My criticisms when it comes to UI & UX partially stem from my original attempts to utilize the item evolutions I'd newly understood. I noticed that after obtaining the "Grim Grimoire", which enables the viewing of item evolutions in-game, you are able to view it at any point in the pause menu; however, once you have entered the UI state for leveling up you're unable to view it until you've continued past the level up menu. It may be by design, but I found myself constantly in the position of wanting to view it whilst actively in the process of making the decision of what item to proceed with. As a player, I think it would be largely assisting to have the same button accessible from the pause menu state on the level-up state. My only other nitpicking criticism is reflective of the font's general lettering thinness & angularity, I find it causes a rather unrefined appearance, but that's entirely based on perspective; I understand how it may contribute to the arcade style the game has & I respect any disagreement.

Music / Sound 9/10

The game's cheerful menu sound effects and invigorating instrumentals do exceptionally well in providing players with that survivor feeling, back against the wall intensely fighting until the insurmountable end. Though remaining the same, each stage's "cool combat music" at the beginning of a run grows infinitely more intense as the horde count continues to rise; setting that "survivor" encapsulation for players in stone. The playful UI sounds are just that, they're fun! Simple things like pitch change on button confirmation really bring the game to life and make it seem much more interactive, all while contributing to the general arcade-retro style the game so closely resembles. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be caught humming along to the "treasure chest" tone that plays each time you find & open one; it's hard not to enjoy it when you know you're about to be getting some upgrades!

The only issue I encountered with the sound design occurs on one of the last stages of the game, "Eudaimonia Machine" It occurs not upon entering the stage, but upon interacting with the figure, "The Directer", and triggering the final boss fight, the music begins to play at what seems like max volume & is no longer affected by the music volume slider in the pause menu. Again, I'm unsure if this is unintentional or by design, but for the sake of UX, it's something that I would change personally.

Graphics & Art 10/10

The game's art style overall clearly mirrors that of a retro-style arcade game at the base level; utilizing pixel art really solidifies this idea and make's it almost seem like you're playing on an arcade machine every time you play. Those similar to find nostalgia in these sorts of things will be beyond satisfied with what they're met with upon launching. The game contrasts the rather simple gameplay with a variety of enemies greater than you could keep track of & some of which you will only see under specific conditions, but every enemy appears to be well-curated & polished; factors such as these leave players with intriguing curiosities of what's to come next. The visuals are really pushed above & beyond that of their counterparts when the lighting & screen effects are brought into play; flashing, bright colors, raining confetti, streamers, & more all triggered by specific in-game events develop the game's unignorable personality even further. Complete the "Great Jubilee" to see for yourself.

Content & Gameplay 10/10

The gameplay itself is incredibly straightforward; move your character, upgrade your weapons, and survive. There's just so much variety when it comes to all of these aspects though; there are hours of unlockable characters, items, stages, upgrades, challenges, and more. I adored testing out different weapons I had unlocked, as well as messing around with different combinations of weapons to see which items worked well together, which is definitely important when it comes to the later minutes of a run. Your character really ends up being as strong as the decisions you make along the way. The gameplay mechanics are exceptionally customizable while still being able to maintain a challenge for all types of players. The extravagant ending was massively entertaining, and made the struggle to get there all the more worth it.

Overall Rating: 9.57

Wishing poncle, & Vampire Survivors good luck in their upcoming nominations for "Best Early Access Launch" at the Golden Joystick Awards, and the "Best Debut Indie" at The Game Awards; I'd certainly say the team deserves them.

Thanks for reading, hope it helps,
LICHPUNK