You play a dwarf miner who digs up minerals for a mining company in Deep Rock Galactic, a co-op first-person shooter on the alien planet Hoxxes IV. You can play alone with the support drone Bosco or with up to three friends, on PC, Xbox or PlayStation. You choose one of four classes, Driller, Engineer, Gunner or Scout, and each has its own job on the team. A Scout is fast and can grapple up to high ground, while a Driller uses drills to open new routes through the rock.
A mission begins when you drop into a cave system by pod. Each cave is randomly generated, and the terrain can be dug through or blown open, so every run looks a little different. Your main job is a set objective, such as mining a quota of Morkite or repairing broken equipment. You work on it while alien swarms attack and your ammo and supplies run low. Once the objective is done, you call the Drop Pod and race back to it with what you mined. Optional secondary objectives add risk, but they also pay extra rewards.
The minerals and rewards you bring back are what move you forward. Back on the Space Rig, the station where you spend your time between missions, you use them to buy weapons, upgrades, perks and cosmetics. Each class gains levels as you play, and once a class reaches the top, you can promote it. The first promotion opens Deep Dives, which are three harder missions in a row without returning to the Space Rig, along with the Forge, where you craft weapon overclocks.
- Developer
- Ghost Ship Games
- Publisher
- Coffee Stain Publishing
- Release
- PC Early Access: 2018-02-28 · Xbox One Game Preview: 2018-02-28 · Xbox Series X|S optimization: 2022-09-09 · PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5: 2022-01-04 · Full release (Windows and Xbox One): 2020-05-13
- Platforms
- Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Game data
Weapons
Deep Rock Galactic's guns are split by class, with the Driller, Engineer, Gunner and Scout each offering their own primary and secondary choices. Every class starts with a gun in each slot, and the rest unlock through Equipment License assignments at class levels 10, 15, 18 and 21. Guns can be upgraded through several tiers at the Equipment Terminal, and late-game overclocks add major changes to individual weapons.
Mission Types
Mission types are the different jobs underground in Deep Rock Galactic, from collecting resources to hacking and scanning. Every one has a primary objective that must be finished for a successful run, plus an optional secondary objective that adds extra rewards. Mining Expedition is the only type open from the start, and the rest unlock through assignments, with Industrial Sabotage needing its own.
Biomes
Hoxxes IV is split into several continents, and each one has its own biome that shapes its caves, hazards, plant life and minerals. The Deep Rock Galactic biomes range from crystal-filled caverns and overgrown fungal bogs to frozen ice layers and the scorching caves of Magma Core. Every biome is rich in one mineral and short on another, so the place you dig shapes what you bring home.
Collectibles
Overclocks
Overclocks are endgame modifications that push a weapon past its regular upgrades, and they unlock after a dwarf's first promotion. They come in three tiers, Clean, Balanced and Unstable, and each one works on a single weapon. You craft them at the Forge from Overclock Infused Matrix Cores earned from Deep Dives, promotions and Forge Mastery.
DRG Controls
| Action | Desktop | Console |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W, A, S, D | Left stick (Xbox) |
| Jump | Space | A (Xbox) |
| Sprint | Shift | No control shown |
| Fire weapon | Left mouse button | Right trigger (Xbox) |
| Swing pickaxe | Right mouse button | Left trigger (Xbox) |
| Interact | E | X (Xbox) |
DRG gameplay tips
- Shoot the glowing weak spots. Many enemies have a glowing area, usually on the face or back, that takes far more damage than their armor. Aiming there brings them down much faster and saves ammo.
- Throw flares often. Caves are dark, and flares light up the area and mark your path. They recharge over time, so spending them whenever they're ready costs you nothing.
- Deposit minerals in the M.U.L.E. regularly. The M.U.L.E. is the pack robot that carries the team's haul, and you can only carry so many minerals at once. Dropping off often keeps you from backtracking with full pockets.
- Take only the resupply pods you need. Resupplies are bought with the Nitra the whole team mines, so grabbing one when you're barely hurt leaves less for a teammate who is out of ammo.
- Stay with your squad. Caves are easy to get lost in, and a downed dwarf can only be revived by a teammate. Spreading out leaves no one close enough to pick you back up.
- Check the Mission Types before you pick a job. Each mission type asks for a different objective and cave layout, so knowing what you're dropping into helps you choose a class and loadout that fits.