Deep Rock Galactic Review (Count Virgil)
I did have fun playing DRG, but I think this game is still incredibly flawed and a little flat, which surprised me given it's overwhelmingly positive reception. After over a hundred hours of playing this game, I can say with absolute confidence that it is lacking content. You are introduced to the game by having to complete one of each mission type, which is a great way to start someone on a journey with proper expectations. The issue is that it doesn't scale into anything more grand, mechanically. There are just buffs and debuffs which make the same 10 missions more chaotic and difficult to handle. At some point, you will unlock Deep-dives, which may indicate that more diverse content and a deeper progression system should be locked behind it. No, this isn't the case either. Deep Dives are just a randomly selected three missions, out of the same 10 missions you've already done over and over, but with random debuffs and more bugs.
This was really disappointing because you have to promote your dwarves to even unlock this feature (along with other side missions you can't participate in until you promote), only to do more of the same thing. This is a huge missed opportunity to have unique bosses and map layouts that deviate largely from the core 10 mission types, but could encourage the players to use the skills developed to overcome these weekly challenges.
Builds and Character Progression
This part of the game is great, until you get to promotions, then it completely tapers off as there's no incentive to promote other than flexing how long you've been playing the game. All of the major playstyle changes come when you unlock passives on your armor, weapons, Pick-axe, robot helper and grenades. This is where the most fun in the game comes from, because all the features are new, your character is incomplete, and there is something significant to strive for. You feel the power of having 2 passives, and then 4 passives, etc, and start to establish a style for your gameplay. There are weapon alterations which you can make, but you won't have access to those until you've farmed some weeklies and deep dives post promotion. After promoting, there's nothing... Just empty levels, which don't reward you at all. No additional damage reduction, dmg dealt, enhanced passives or party buffs... Nothing that you would expect when you look at a player who has a 3-star gold promoted Dwarf, who then dies just as fast as you and outputs the same as you. This just doesn't make any sense to me. I recognize this is potentially design-space, which could be saved for a future update, but this game has been out almost 4 years at the time of writing and this studio is working a new project in the same world as DRG.
Customization
This system is mostly good. I don't have a lot to say about the different cosmetics themselves, they are fun and interesting. My main criticism is actually regarding the way they are obtained. Each of the four dwarves have their own independent customization loadouts, but it's the same hairstyles, colors, armors, etc for each dwarf and you have to purchase them all separately. I think this is totally bullshit and could improved very easily. The full collection should be available to be used by any dwarf, just divide the cosmetic unlockables amongst the classes, so that there's an incentive to change classes. Like a mustache or a particular pair of chops? Well, you gotta play the Driller to get it or maybe the Engineer has a unique armor you want to unlock on your gunner. This facilitates each player spending some amount of time on each character and a proper reward for doing whatever the requirement is. Currently, it's just grind mats, buy hairline 1 on all 4 classes. Grind more mats, buy hairline 2 on all 4 classes, and that's awful.
Music, Style and Charm
This is where I honestly feel the game's identity is the strongest. The Jokes are funny, the characters are endearing, and the music when you're in the middle of the shit is freaking awesome. They've really captured the essence of a 9-5 job, and turned it into a game, which is hilarious and relatable!
Closing Thoughts
I had a unique experience with DRG, and there's a lot of things that are done right in this game. There's a lot of charm in this game, and it's clear that this project was loved by the Developers and it's community. Their seasonal pass is very generous and rewards effort over money. Their DLCs are reasonably priced. The game is fast-paced, and while is easy to get lost and very chaotic, it's still fun. But would I recommend it? Personally, no. I think the type of player who wants to play this game, knows who they are and will find this on their own. This is a an acquired-taste for sure, like black licorice.