Deep Rock Galactic, the quietly huge indie co-op FPS that popped off once again earlier this year with the help of a popular vtuber, is getting a roguelike spinoff. Well, technically a "roguelite," but the difference between the two is incredibly slim and any two people might offer three different explanations. Publisher Ghost Ship Games is really zeroing in on "meta gameplay with permanent progression between missions" with its use of roguelite.
Just in case you, like me, are experiencing déjà vu, let me refresh your memory. Just about six months ago, Deep Rock Galactic publisher Ghost Ship revealed a single-player Deep Rock Galactic spinoff that was clearly inspired by the bullet hell indie darling Vampire Survivor. We're talking about another, very different spinoff, though it's still about badass space dwarves navigating caves for riches and resources.
Per its Steam page, Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is a 1 - 4 player co-op FPS roguelite with "100% destructible environments" and procedurally generated levels that get progressively more difficult as you blast your way through them and upgrade your gear with the resources you collect. The story puts you in the shoes of a dwarven Reclaimer whose job is to re-establish Dwarven domain over the mining operations of the planet Hoxxes IV.
After your space mining company Deep Rock Galactic plunges deeper than ever into the soil of Hoxxes IV to find precious materials, all of the dig sites go dark without warning and leave you - and whatever pals you bring with you - to reclaim them and re-establish contact with your home base.
Missions start with you picking your active ability and Reclaimer weapon and then boarding your Drop Pod, which will take you to the Greyout Barrier covering the entrance to each dig site. Once you blast through, the only way to get out is to successfully complete the mission, at which point you'll go back to your ship to permanently unlock new weapons, suits, and mods.
There are also temporary upgrades to unlock by depositing the mineral Expenite into your Processor Drone during missions, making you more powerful to scale with the increasing danger of each level.
Ghost Ship says Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is in "early, early, early" development, with closed alpha tests in the works for a later date. You can sign up for Early Access now, but the publisher warns "you will be exposed to early ideas, early sketches, early mockups, and early implementations, way before stuff is 'done'."
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