Survivor takes all of the chaos of Deep Rock Galactic and dumps it onto the shoulders of one poor Dwarf. No backup, no respawns - it's just you, a mountain of minerals to mine, and about a billion angry bugs.
Hey folks, I'm Ash and today we're gonna find out if Survivor lives up to the Deep Rock Galactic name, or if it stumbles around like a Dwarf after one too many drinks at the Abyss Bar.
Video version of this review (~10 minutes)
A surprising challenge
Much like the rest of the genre, the combat in Survivor is fully automated. Your Dwarf fires and reloads on his own, while you have to handle the important bits like dodging bugs, mining minerals, and hoovering up those precious XP fragments so you can unlock bigger and better toys. It's a pretty simple premise, but simple doesn't mean easy.
The difficulty curve ramps up fast. Even the very first Hazard level - the one that's usually meant for actual babies - will happily flatten you if you’re not paying attention. And the higher you go, the more the game will force you to think carefully about builds, positioning, and your priorities. And you know what? I really like that. For a game that's so mechanically straightforward, that extra thick layer of strategy is exactly what keeps things interesting.
There's tons of enemies attacking from every angle
Breakneck pace
The problem is that Survivor never, ever eases off. From the second you drop in it’s non-stop, pants-on-fire chaos. Even after 20 hours I still can’t reliably finish every side objective or scoop up all of the minerals - there’s just always a massive horde breathing down my neck.
And victory doesn’t buy you a moment of peace either. Once you beat the level boss you’re hit with a brutal 30-second escape timer. Miss it, and you’ll be left behind like poor Karl. It’s always go-go-go with Survivor - which is exciting, yes, but also mentally exhausting. So despite liking the difficulty, I feel like the game needs to pace itself better. There should be a series of build-ups and releases so the player doesn't get overwhelmed, rather than the current 'shake a cola can until it explodes' approach.
Not even close!
The arsenal
Pretty much every weapon from Deep Rock Galactic makes a return, along with a few newcomers I’d honestly love to see in the main game - things like the flamethrower roomba. They all serve the same basic purpose of turning bugs into paste, but they’re different enough in how they work to feel distinct. Some are turrets you drop and forget, others create a light show around you, and a few just spew fire everywhere.
Each of the four Dwarves also come with their own signature weapons and stats, and I'm happy to say that none of them feel stronger or weaker than the rest. The same can’t be said for the weapons themselves, though. Because of reasons I cannot even begin to fathom, Survivor has guns that only shoot straight forward.
That design makes sense in games like Vampire Survivors where you’re constantly kiting enemies in open space. But in Survivor, you spend half your time burrowing through rocks. And while you’re mining, those weapons just don't do anything. So now you’re stuck choosing between grabbing resources or actually defending yourself, which is about as fun as it sounds. So yeah, not every weapon’s a winner. But thankfully, the upgrade system gives you plenty of ways to tweak them.
The goo-gun is as fun here as it is in the main game!
Upgrading your gear
Each time you level up you'll get a chance to improve your gear. Usually that means a small stat increase, but occasionally you'll unlock Overclocks — the big fancy upgrades that completely change how a weapon plays. And honestly, I love these. They give you loads of options to experiment with. If you're tired of your turrets just sitting around you can slap some tank treads on them. Want to save time? Make them mine for you. Want a firework show? Crank up the fire rate at the cost of accuracy. Or if you’re feeling particularly spicy, stack all of those at once and watch the world burn.
Unfortunately, the regular upgrades are mostly just boring stat tweaks - more damage here, faster reload there, and so forth. I get that you need some bread to hold a sandwich together, but slamming down an entire loaf onto the plate is just not the way to go.
And that’s a real shame, because Survivor can do exciting upgrades - they’re just rare. Take, for example, the flamethrower’s legendary upgrade that gives you an extra fire beam. Mechanically, it’s still just more damage, but it looks and feels awesome. It’s the kind of upgrade that gets you excited and makes you go 'YESSSS' whenever it shows up. As it stands, leveling feels like a rollercoaster: every now and then you get a thrill, but most of the time you’re just waiting.
Who doesn't love a good fire sprinkler!
Deep Rock Galactic feel
The good news is that Survivor isn’t just using a Deep Rock Galactic as a coat of paint. It genuinely feels like Deep Rock Galactic through and through. The weapons, the sound design, the biomes - it’s all authentic. Even the mission flow follows the same rhythm: mine minerals, fight swarms, and then run around in a blind panic when things go sideways.
Much like the main game, each mission has a main objective that has to be done or you ain't going home, plus a side objective such as collecting Boloo Caps for extra resources. Along the way you’ll also mine gold and nitra for run-based upgrades, as well as precious minerals for the permanent progression system. It really is a faithful adaptation.
Missions... or the lack of
And for a while, I was happy with that. Being able to dig through terrain gives you lots of options on how to approach fights, and the resource variety pushes you to explore every nook and cranny of levels - which I love doing anyway. But there’s a problem. Survivor only has two mission types: escort the drilldozer, or kill a dreadnaught. And that’s it. They’re well-made, sure, but after a few dozen runs the repetition sets in hard.
What really baffles me is how easily this could've been avoided. DRG’s missions are mostly simple - go somewhere, do a thing, defend against a swarm, and repeat. Translating that into Survivor should be remarkably easy. So to see it launch with only two mission types and three side objectives feels strangely rushed for a game that's otherwise remarkably polished.
The missions are cool, but why is there so few of them?
Progression and repetition
Even stranger, despite the mission variety being limited, Survivor buries you in progression systems. There's so much stuff to unlock it almost feels endless - like the devs knew the missions were a bit thin, so they stuffed the game full of unlocks instead.
First you’ve got the genre staples: permanent stat upgrades bought with currency you earn in missions. Nothing groundbreaking, but they’re very accessible to even casual players, and quite satisfying to chip away at. Then there’s gear - bits of equipment you can slap onto your Dwarves to help customize their playstyles. Again, simple, but effective.
Then come the masteries. These are special challenges that let you permanently buff your weapons, your Dwarves, even your stats in individual biome. And if you beat them again on a higher hazard level, you'll get an even bigger buff. It's a truly staggering amount of stuff to unlock.
The good thing is, none of this grind is mandatory unless you're chasing the hardest difficulties. So if you like that kind of long-term progression, you'll probably sink hundreds of hours here. But personally? After twenty hours or so I had my fill. I had a great time, but eventually it all started to feel like I'd been there, dug that. And honestly? I just kinda stopped after that.
This is only the tip of the iceberg!
Is it worth playing?
So, is it worth playing? Well, Survivor is a game I genuinely enjoyed, even if it couldn't keep me hooked forever. The gameplay is satisfying, the Dwarves and their arsenal nicely varied, and it captures the spirit of Deep Rock Galactic far better than I expected. But with only two mission types and so much repetition, it’s hard to ignore how quickly it wears itself thin.
Still, given its low price tag and how much fun it can be in short bursts, I would still recommend it - just don't expect it to be your next forever-game. It's more of a bite-sized treat.
[Note]: Interested in the original Deep Rock Galactic? I've also done a retrospective talking about the game's current state - 7 years after launch!