Rogue Core proves Deep Rock Galactic is the most malleable game of all time as it continues the dwarves’ monopoly of genres (and my obsession)

For those who haven’t seen the light, Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative horde shooter involving a bunch of dwarves mining a planet for an uncaring mega corp. It’s basically Left 4 Dead but instead of zombies, you’re shooting bugs, and you’ve also got to collect materials. Dare I say it: DRG is the best co-op horde shooter.

But Deep Rock Galactic was just ground zero. Since then, these dwarves have gone on to infiltrate other genres and take their thrones too. This takeover started with Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, which is, you guessed it, DRG if it were Vampire Survivors. Like the main game, you can still dig paths through the environment and collect resources for upgrades, firmly setting itself apart from the rest of the genre. Plus, it’s the perfect game for my ROG Ally, so I can play Deep Rock on the move (or, more commonly, in bed).

And now Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core has released into early access. Again, the name gives it away, but it’s DRG if it were a roguelike. As Wes Fenlon explains in our first impressions, it’s not quite hitting the peaks of the main game (yet, at least), but it’s a reverse-engineered roguelike twist on one of my favourite games of all time. In other words: I’m doomed.

The basic gist is that you pick a class (they’re more like hero characters), load into a mission to race to the bottom of a monster-infested mine, and grab various upgrades along the way. Much like in the main game, it’s how these characters interact with each other that’s the star of the show. After accidentally picking the Guardian one match, I think it might actually be my favourite of the bunch. I can fire a shotgun blast of orbs that stun enemies or use that energy to create a creature-repelling field. And my ultimate ability places a bubble shield that restores armour to allies.

This plays into various builds you have to scrounge up on the fly, like faster ability regeneration when standing still, firing lightning when you have armour, and so on. And in typical DRG fashion, you’re encouraged to problem-solve with your team, which is oddly rare for co-op games in my experience, not least because each player gets to bagsy an upgrade.

Rogue Core is admittedly a bit barebones right now, but developer Ghost Ship Games has proven with Deep Rock Galactic that it’s able to massively expand and iterate on projects over years. I’m dying to sink more hours into Rogue Core’s early access as my current roguelike obsession. And I’ll no doubt dive back in when it’s almost unrecognisable further down the line.

Most impressive of all, Ghost Ship has proven just how malleable its dwarves are. So much so that you’d have thought Deep Rock was always a survivor-like (sorry, “bullet heaven”) or a roguelike.

I’m curious where the series will go next. Perhaps a rhythm game? Racing? Honestly, it could be a life sim aboard the mining rig and I’d still be down for it. You know what? That’s actually not a bad idea. I might be a tad biased though, given my work profile picture is the Scout and my Steam name is literally Deep Rock Propagandist.