Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core

I do kinda wished I didn't have to strictly like or dislike this game to make my review, as why I don't necessarily hate this game, it is unfortunately quite flawed. I'll change this review as soon as more substantial content is added, but while I do quite enjoy this game, I don't necessarily think it's worth the price tag at the moment. However, I would still recommend grabbing it on sale, as it is still quite enjoyable as a video game, just go in with three expectations: 1. It does not play like base Deep Rock Galactic very much, so if you're going in thinking of it as just a small expansion you'd probably be disappointed. 2. This game is early access in every sense of the word, so there's alot of stuff that's unfinished or just not added yet. 3. This game is also quite a bit harder than base Deep Rock Galactic when starting out. As a roguelike, it quite heavily focuses on co-op play and teamwork alot more than the base game, most notably with the shared upgrade system and the game timer, both of which are high points of contention that make or break the game for alot of people starting out, and while both have been improved since launch, still need quite alot of work. For the shared upgrade system, well... honestly I quite like it, I think it makes this game stand out quite alot from other roguelikes, and it enforces teamwork and coordination, though it could definitely use more upgrades and synergizations with kits- or perhaps more choices than the current amount we have atm (4 upgrades with 4 players, 5 if you're playing on jumble mode) As for the timer... I like this a bit less- there's a strict timer that, while it CAN be altered now to give you more or less time, while also giving more or less rewards, ends with you NEEDING to reach the next level, or fight probably the most evil ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing ever put into a video game (invincible cave leeches), on top of an endless swarm... I do wish there were more conditions for when the timer reaches critical levels, such as maybe having temporary modifiers like lethal enemies/low o2/tankier enemies/big boss enemies, instead of going "♥♥♥♥ you, here's the reaperworms, now die" As for the weapons and characters, well... the amount we have is good starting out, with half of the weapons being brand new additions to DRG, and five classes... though given that the game's at it's most interesting with lobbies of 4 classes, and you also can't stack classes like you can in the base game, we could definitely do with more playable characters. Granted, with how the classes are designed, not being able to stack classes isn't too much of a detriment, but we can always do with more variety. Now for the content there is to grind for- it is the biggest negative point for me with this game personally. Not because the stuff we have to grind for is necessarily bad, but because we unfortunately don't have much of it. We don't have an item shop like the base game, we instead have a cosmetic sheet and can earn scrips from playing the game. And well... I've gotten everything on the sheet at around the 80 hour mark... I've also managed to get every achievement in the game around 5 hours before that, so- I do really enjoy grinding for stuff in Deep Rock Galactic, but there unfortunately isn't much at the moment. And the only other way you can get cosmetics at the moment, is through cosmetic crates in the caves themselves, which are not only not guaranteed, but also... we have five characters in the game, having all their stuff in these crates isn't exactly optimal... this can be easily rectified if we had content seasons like the base game, or an actual item shop (we especially need something to do with merits now, especially in the late-game stages where they're only really used for buying promotions now) The last thing I wanna mention is performance issues, as it unfortunately isn't as well-optimized as base DRG at the moment, mostly due to being on the latest version of Unreal Engine. Granted this could be rectified as time goes on, but it is something to keep in mind. All that in mind, in the current state this game is in at the moment, I'll give this game a 6.5/10. It's not bad at all, but it's very flawed in it's current iteration... if you don't mind the early access pains or are looking for a more combat-focused DRG, and a roguelike that heavily focuses on co-op play, I could suggest giving this game a try, though maybe get it on sale. (There is also a very unfortunate amount of doomposting and toxicity surrounding this game at the moment which I am SERIOUSLY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tired of tbh)