Well, normally I will wait until I beat a game or sink a fair amount of time in it to review... Unless I feel a game needs more exposure, in which case I'll write one early. This is one of those games. At time of writing I see one other written review, and since this game has turned out to be an absolute GEM among games, I'll toss in my two cents to see if we can get this game a little more exposure.
First of all, ever play a game that scratches an itch? What about those games that scratch a couple? Well, this game just hits every nerve. I started playing not sure what to expect, good or bad, especially given that I had only seen one review. Since then, I have been playing almost non-stop. This game feels like the developers went around asking people, "What do you like in a mining game?" ...and then they just put every suggestion in one bundle.
First of all, sometimes quantity IS better than quality. Anyone who has played Vampire Survivors knows the glorious feeling of picking up experience gems. (This game is NOT a VS-like, just comparing the 'picking up tons of stuff' feeling.) The ground will just be LITTERED with them. Indeed, I am often underwhelmed by mining games in which you mine and mine and mine and only a couple little pebbles of ore falls out. This game either a hoarder's wettest dream or worst nightmare, depending on the stage of their disease - you are just CONSTANTLY, CONSTANTLY picking up resources. Every single rock/can/whatever you mine drops stuff. Blow up a robot and it might drop a few, or even ten-ish items. The constant ffft-ffft-ffft of picking up items is so infinitely satisfying. And you even start out with an inventory that lets you store tens of thousands of items, with increasing capacity as you play. It is... glorious.
Next, the crafting. How many times have you bought a 'crafting' game and just been completely underwhelmed by the 12 items you can craft? There are just dozens and dozens of items you can build in this game, each with their own stats, and not all of them built by just a combination of ores. (For example, some of the more advanced weapons require simpler weapons as one of their components. This game does not make it tedious - if you haven't crafted that simpler weapon, it simply consumes the resources needed to craft that simpler weapon as a part of crafting the more advanced one. But still.) Craft weapons, deployables, healing stuff, everything.
Next, the enemies. Too many games, the enemies are all the same but with different stats and weapons. The enemies in this game each have their own flavor. In fact, some of them you can even use to your benefit if you pay attention! I won't give anything away, but there are certain types of enemies I specifically DON'T kill for a while, as I can kinda get them to do some of the 'work' for me. Really pay attention to what goes on around you and you can use your environment to your benefit!!
And the weapons really are a range of possibilities. You've got AoE deployables, ranged weapons, melee weapons (and these melee ones are actually worth using!), orbital weapons, all kinds of stuff. This is one of the FEW games where I actually find myself using a variety of weapons, rather than picking one favorite type and just sticking with it. There really is a benefit here to using a combination of approaches.
The out-of-dungeon 'lab' is also a lot of fun. You can do all kinds of stuff - upgrade your robot's stats, transfer/craft stuff from your nearly infinite storage (again, hoarder's dream), use a data-scanner to gain research points and then use those to research new technologies, go down to your 'showcase' room to put items on display... there are just so many things to do in between dungeon runs on top of just playing the dungeons. 'The lab' is an important place to be, and this game makes it fun to be there.
On top of the enemies being unique, the combat is also extremely satisfying. It's not brutal - it doesn't make me want to jump out of a window. It's also not so easy that it's boring. It's right in that 'Goldilocks zone' of being challenging while not frustrating. There's plenty of 'healing' resources out there so you can continue to fight fight fight... and it's also nice that there's no huge 'setback' for dying. Once you reach zero health, you simply evacuate the dungeon. Now you'll have to head back to the lab, heal up, craft some more weapons (all weapons, including melee, have a limited use, so you'll do plenty of crafting), upgrade your 'bot if possible, then head back for more action.
The amount of resources, items, collectibles, weapons, data items, and more is just glorious - there are tons and tons, but not so many that it gets confusing. Again, Goldilocks zone - tons and tons of crap, but not so much as to be overwhelming.
The graphics are on point - old school graphics but still solid with no issues I could see (besides trees kinda 'getting in the way' of my ability to see some stuff in one of the dungeons). The music is a little repetitive but still fun, and not to the point of being annoying. The sound effects are satisfying - the explosions, the ffft-ffft-ffft of picking items up, and more. The world itself is simple, direct, and fun to move around in. Dungeons are procedurally generated so it doesn't get stagnant. Progression is that type of grind that again, is just right - enough to notice the difference, but not so much that you're OP in no time... and a bit of a grind so you feel the progress is earned, but not so much of a grind that you just want to quit.
Overall, I feel like everything about this game was MADE for someone who likes mining, crafting, and dungeon-crawling. I have to say it again - it's almost like the developers sent me a survey, saying "What all do you like about mining games?" and then made a game just for me. They have ALL the best aspects in this game without the annoying or disappointing factors found in many other mining games. Everything is just right in my book.
Finally, in all of my reviews I ask the most important question: Is the game worth full price? I got it on sale for about $6.39, but knowing what I know now I would easily have paid the full $7.99. I haven't beaten the game yet (still working on it) but I've already pulled almost 14 hours out of this game, which means as of NOW (not having finished it) I've paid less than a buck an hour. So, yes, FULLY, FULLY worth full price, and a sale is an absolute steal for anyone who enjoys this genre of game.
If you like mining, crafting, fighting, exploring dungeons, collecting, and more, I simply couldn't recommend this game enough. The intro video really doesn't do it justice - while it shows plenty of the stuff that goes on, you can't really get the feel of the game until you play it. I would encourage ANYONE who enjoys this genre of game to give it a try - I absolutely have not been disappointed and I'm SO glad I decided to pull the trigger and give it a try.
And maybe, if you enjoy it too, don't forget to review it. More attention to a game = more revenue generated = hopefully more content updates. I would love to see this game continue to develop.
EDIT: Also, I need to mention, this is marked as 'unknown' as far as Steam Deck compatibility, but so far it has run on my Deck just fine with no need for using any specific version of Proton. I was able to start it up and run it just fine as is.
