Co-op shooter deep rock galaxy was first released on PC in 2018. It has a dedicated online following and lots of loyal fans, but this is not a video game review. This is a review of the confusingly identically named board game.
And the name is not the only thing the two have in common. Although a lot of the board game adaptations I present here tend to worry more about the spirit of the video game than its literal interpretation., Deep Rock Galaxy tabletop experience, despite switching to a turn-based system, is very its digital one.
You and up to three other players control space dwarves heading into a dark cave to drill for gems. So far, so video games. Then you find caves full of alien bugs that you have to destroy. Again, like video games. Then you have to take those gems and get out of there. You can see where this is going.
The difference, of course, is that in video games this takes place in a The remaining 4 people died-like frenzy, as the player rushes in real time to play a frantic shooter. The board game is much more relaxing, as it transitions to a system where players can take turns and spend their time working in the caves.
deep rock galaxy appearance and gameplay, like so many other modern dungeon crawlers, from Lower arrive royal attack. Everyone gets action points that they can use to move around and interact with content (“interactions” include “shoot insects in the face”), everyone gets unique weapons and powers as much as they could use and, as expected in 2023 for a licensed game, everything—from dwarves to even bugs to stalagmites—is represented by an episode combines extremely detailed miniatures, extremely eye-catching.
(NOTE: Transport game in two versions. The standard version only has plastic minis for the dwarves, while the more expensive deluxe version that I played with has minis for everything).
This case tries to do its own thing, and match the feel of video games (if not speed) at the same time, is the way to trigger the actions of the enemy. Instead of relying on the enemy’s initiative, or letting them move after all players have done so, in deep rock galaxy every time a dwarves finishes their action, they draw an event card, and these cards almost always trigger the enemy to spawn and/or move.
Having them appear on the board frequently and move before all players have a chance to react, sounds unfair but it feels great like a video game, in that you are constantly surrounded by things crawling out of the walls. And that’s rarely unfair, because every dwarf is equipped with a lot of stuff (and strong) weapon satisfying blasting large chunks at any swarm of insects close enough to you.
The main consideration of board games, like video games, is to balance your need to mine a certain amount of resources with your need to keep killing enemies in order to stay alive. Lean too far on either of those approaches and you’ll fail the mission, either because you didn’t mine the goods in time (each level has a time limit) or because… you’re dead.
I like video games and I like dungeon crawlers, so for the most part I really enjoy playing deep rock galaxy. The tension between the game’s two commands is constant and perfectly balanced throughout, and its combat—a combination of your powerful weapons and the hordes of giant plastic miniatures you have being able to move around and throw off the board when dead—is one of the best things I’ve had in a long time with a game like this.
Also, and I know people (myself included!) are getting tired of every game that ships with tons of minis, in this case, they are very welcome, not only because they are detailed and solid, but also because the game also includes a MULE that you drop your little gems in, a tactile experience so great that it can be the highlight of your game. the whole game for me.
One thing to note, however, is that, despite its price and category, deep rock not the kind of lasting tablet experience you might expect. While the idea of a miniature dungeon crawler might evoke expectations of a multi-day campaign, deep rock galaxy actually just a set of standalone quests that can be solved in an hour or so depending on the number of players involved (another cool feature of the “bad guy goes at the end of each turn” system. of players” is that it scales perfectly to the number of people at the table).
While there Skill a campaign — just a recap to do all the missions in order without dying — and it’s not a game that builds on the story, it’s still a bit odd to take out one such a big box and set it up for what is essentially a mid-length game.
That’s not a problem, just one thing to keep in mind first if you’re thinking of picking up or playing it. You should also know that, despite being a literal adaptation of the video game license, this requires absolutely no familiarity with the digital version of the game. deep rock galaxy whatever. As long as you know you’re a space dwarf that drills and gems and shoots bugs, you’re good to go.
About my only real criticism of the game is that its documentation is one of the most frustrating I’ve come across in a while, lacking a proper quick start guide and sharing important information. its importance between the rules and the separate quest book, this made our first quest a very slow slogan. Really it took us forever to learn how the enemy system works (quite important info!), so if you’re playing this and have the time I 100% recommend checking out the online rule explanation first.
Nothing Revolution around deep rock galaxy. As I mentioned above, it’s another dungeon crawler, another licensed adaptation, and another game (depending on version) with lots of minis. But video game fans will find a tablet switch that faithfully transforms the co-op experience into a more beneficial drinking experience. and are in the room at the same time, while others will just find playing games all night blowing up space bugs and looting some treasure.
