Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor now in Early Access

Several years on now, the long-lasting effects of Vampire Survivors‘ popularity is still making waves in the games industry. Complete with a Steam event a few months back, Bullet Heavens have shown no signs of slowing as the winning formula is still as addictive as it was when players first picked it up en masse. We’ve even seen some significant franchises dip their feet in the genre, like Holocure and Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, and now, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Which has unleashed its take on the genre with some unique twists as it entered Early Access on Steam yesterday.

Set in the Deep Rock Galactic universe, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor strips away the first-person shooter presentation and instead places your dwarves into the fray in an isometric perspective. The chaos of immeasurable bugs serves as the enemy pool, but your arsenal of weapons and abilities will let you edge out survival if your kiting and game sense can get you there. The difficulty level is enough to pose a challenge but you’ll feel your dwarf eke out a little bit better with every subsequent run thanks to the Rogue-lite progression in the interim offering some ample upgrades.

Rock and stone will be felt in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor as the quality level I felt in the game’s demo last year was top-notch. I was pleasantly surprised with how one-to-one it felt in line with the source material, with special attention to detail in every facet of its presentation despite having a different developer.

Funday Games has the foundation of something strong here, and squashing bugs while the player’s squash bugs should be a cinch before the time comes to give this game a full release. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is currently on sale at $8.99 as a launch promotion and I’ll be plugging away at it for a while to come.