Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor has made its way to consoles, bringing its top-down mining and shooting gameplay from mobile to bigger screens. The game, priced at £9.99, offers a substantial amount of content, but its simplistic mechanics and heavy grind may have been better suited to its original platform.
Gameplay and core mechanics
The spin-off from the six-year-old co-op first-person shooter Deep Rock Galactic retains the series' setting on the planet Hoxxes IV, where players control dwarven miners. Unlike the original, this version is viewed from a top-down perspective, and the "Survivor" subtitle references the game Vampire Survivors rather than indicating a survival genre.
Players move their miner with a single stick while the game automatically aims and shoots at enemies using equipped weapons. Up to four guns can be acquired, and upon leveling up, players choose from sets of three potential upgrades. These choices depend on unlocked armaments and the specific dwarf being used, each with a default weapon. Upgrades can tune elemental damage, reload speed, firing rate, and other attributes.
Mission types and progression
Initially, only Elimination missions are available, involving hunting aliens and mining minerals. Quickly unlocked are Escort missions, where fuel must be found for a drilling machine, which then must be protected from a huge monster. Egg Hunts involve cracking open giant eggs to reveal mini-bosses that need to be defeated before a final boss appears.
The player's role is limited to steering the miner and selecting upgrades. On mobile, this felt adequate, with gradual unlocks providing motivation. On a larger screen, the simplicity becomes harder to ignore. The dwarves' and narrator's repetitive exclamations are more grating in surround sound, losing any comedic value.
Visual and control improvements
Some elements work better on a TV. The difference between nitra, an upgrade currency, and red sugar, which recharges health, is now clearly visible. Both are red crystals that looked identical on mobile. A real analogue stick is also preferable to touchscreen controls.
The game includes a large quantity of objectives, generous for the same price as the mobile version. The opening dozen or so hours are buoyed by rapid upgrades and plentiful unlocks, including new weapons, character classes, mission types, and gear. This novelty deflects attention from the limited interaction of moving a single joystick.
Summary and verdict
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a top-down mining and shooting game with an extensive catalogue of unlockable characters and equipment, though its simplistic gameplay and excess of grind worked better on mobile. Positives include plenty of content for a low price, a good variety of weapons leading to impressive builds, and an interesting twist on the Deep Rock Galactic universe. Negatives include a gameplay loop that gets old, annoyingly repetitious vocal samples, and game modes that feel too similar.
Score: 6/10. Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, iOS, and Android. Price: £9.99. Publisher: Ghost Ship. Developer: Funday Games. Release Date: 7th October 2026. Age Rating: 12.
