Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor has launched its 1.0 version today, September 17th, ending the Vampire Survivors-like and DRG spinoff’s two-year spell in early access.
Despite some initial umming and ahhing about how a comedy co-op FPS would translate into a single-player autoshooter – if I press the Rock and Stone button and nobody hears, did I say Rock and Stone? – DRG: Survivor quickly won me over, thanks in particular to the tension and horde-dodging trickery afforded by its adaptation of the original game’s pickaxe mining. I’ve also had a little go on the 1.0 build ahead of release, and it does indeed feel like the most complete, well-tuned version yet.
The big additions are a new escort mission type, inspired by (yet sadly not also starring) Dotty the Drilldozer from OG Deep Rock, and the Gear system, which provides an alternative to the persistent upgrades shop by rewarding successful runs with equippable clobber. Your bearded exterminator can only don a handful of these at a time, but they grant juicier stat boosts than the upgrades that your cash and minerals will stretch to in the early game, so they’re good for a more tangible power boost.
Per-run, XP-earned weapon upgrades also seem slightly more generous than I remember from various early access builds, and the lower hazard levels (or difficulties, if you’re a smooth-handed leaf lover) are generally more forgiving. That all gives DRG: Survivor a much more welcoming introductory phase, though there are also plenty of nasty mutators in the Anomaly Dives and Lethal Operations modes for danger seekers.
I, for one, am all about the power spikes, those cackling turnabouts where all your accumulated upgrades finally flick a brain switch from ‘run away to survive’ to ‘run into them to kill.’ I still think Vampire Survivors is more forthcoming with these moments, but DRG: Survivor 1.0 is at least more willing than previous versions to let you become a wave-wiping whirligig of bullets and plasma. Good on it.
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