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Mining the confusing stars in Deep Rock Galatic

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I'm actually pretty sure we mine asteroids or planetary caverns.  Stars would be tricky.  Deep Rock Galactic Date played: Jan 1, 2019 Time played: ~45 minutes Version: Early Access What's this all about then? My brother and I jumped into the game to see what this coop mining shtick is all about.   We are space dwarves mining....something, somewhere in the caverns of some distant asteroid or planet.  There's not much of a plot.  We all work for a big evil corporation and it's cheaper to send in dwarves than robots, apparently.   What is the primary game play loop? We're in a dark cavern looking for gold.  We throw flares around to light up the walls until we see a patch that might be gold.  We engage in a movement and platforming game to get to it (different characters have different movement special abilities such as a zipline or a gun that creates platforms on sheer walls).  Then we spend a few seconds mining...

Post 0 - Introduction to the blog

Hello! Welcome to our blog.  Readership as of today, Jan. 9th, 2019 is still low, but in case new readers wander in I wanted to explain what we're writing about.  Here's a quick review of who we are and what we're writing about. Dan I'm a 33-year old gamer.  I enjoy the hobby, but find that I have less and less time to pursue it.  I also have less time to hang out with family and friends, so I combine the two activities when I can.  That's not unusual, but I often find that review sites lean towards time-intensive or hardcore gaming.  That's great, but I want to know how I'll feel about playing it.  That might be casually with folks, to relax or let off steam solo, or because it's really entranced me. Maui I'm a 14-month old cat.  I tend towards the tactile games - my favorite is chasing string - but I'm certainly not above a good nature documentary.  I don't pick up games as easily as some others, and usually bring it to the humans...

Post 1, 1/5/2019: Mining the unfriendly stars

Deep Rock Galactic Date played: Jan 1, 2019 Time played: ~45 minutes Version: Early Access Did I feel present? Not entirely.  Movement in the game is smoothly gliding, which feels disassociated from the rugged surroundings.  The idea of movement is actually one of the game's core mechanics, and dwarven occupations are differentiated partly by their movement styles.  I spent a bit of my (short) time standing on a cavern floor trying to figure out how to get to a sparkling little gem on the ceiling.  My brother's class could shoot little crystalline platforms onto the wall, basically creating bolt-on steps, and the gunner in the tutorial can send up a reversible zip line.  Both are slow and clunky, and still make it difficult to position yourself correctly.  The most satisfying method was to carve a zigzagging little staircase into the rock itself, which was time intensive and a little unreal feeling, but still fun. Where'd everybody go? Deep Rock ...