Drilling Into the Core
There’s something satisfying about the concept of digging up rare materials and building up a base. Tons of games use digging as a core mechanic and plenty of them see huge commercial success. Apparently people just really like digging.
So when a game like Drill Core combines mining resources and tower defense mechanics into a replayable roguelike formula, it’s bound to get players interested.
Drill Core consists of an alternating day and night cycle. During the day, miners, collectors, and guards are deployed to the mine below the drilling platform to collect resources. Coal, iron, and swarmlit are the three main ores collected for progression during individual runs, but there are also some additional ores present that can be used for permanent upgrades between runs.
Miners need to break the blocks to drop the ores for collectors to come and gather. These ores are then transported back to the drill platform where they can then be used to recruit new units, unlock upgrades for the run, and build new structures and turrets that will defend the drill platform at night.
Defensive Layers
Because after the day cycle ends, the mining shaft is assaulted by a wave of insect-like enemies that will slowly make their way towards the drill platform core and attack it. If they manage to destroy it, then it’s game over.
The primary form of defense against these monsters are turrets that can be placed alongside the mineshaft walls. Two are provided for free at the start of the run, and there are a variety of options to choose from, and you can unlock more during the course of the run. There are machine gun and rocket turrets, which operate as expected, but also laser weapons and other unique defense systems that can apply status effects to enemies as they make their way down the shaft.
Progression and Meta-Upgrades
Ultimately, the goal is to survive enough of these day/night cycles while collecting coal, which is used to fuel the drilling platform. After you get enough coal, it can be used to drill the following morning. At which point the platform will lower another 50 meters and you get one step closer to deploying the core.
In-game, the explanation is that deploying the core helps to stabilize the planet and needs to be done at a specific depth to be successful. Once you get to that depth, you deploy the core and extract all the units that are still alive.
Between runs, permanent upgrades can be unlocked that add new structures, improve efficiency, and give stat buffs to the platform and units. There are several styles of platforms and even different drilling factions that can affect how the game plays.
Early Roadblocks
Focusing on the gameplay itself, Drill Core does a great job at dissuading new players. The gameplay loop itself can be fun, but for whatever reason, some of the most basic mechanics are hidden, unlocked through progression. For me specifically, the recruitment of new units needs to be done one at a time until a recruitment queue is unlocked. This makes the first runs of the game incredibly tedious. Especially since the controls are a bit awkward to learn at first.
During a run there are four sections to cycle between. There is the mine, the platform, the walls, and then the top of the shaft. You need to manually cycle between these different sections to interact with them. The camera can be moved around independently, but if the camera pans up to the mineshaft walls while the mines are still selected, trying to change selections will cause the view to move back to whatever section is currently active.
Thankfully there are quick actions which can be performed to recruit units or activate special abilities, regardless of what is selected or where the camera is. But unfortunately, the game does not explain these mechanics, leaving most of it up to trial and error. Drill Core is certainly a game that was designed for PC first, and I can definitely see it working better with mouse and keyboard controls.
Micromanagement and Hazards
Despite these criticisms though, the game is fun, and once I got used to the quirks of the controls and progressed to some of the higher difficulties, I was enjoying myself.
During the mining sequence, there are blocks that contain eggs and additional hazards like geysers or explosives. The egg blocks will periodically infect a normal block which miners need to destroy, otherwise an enemy will spawn underground that the guards need to deal with. Geyser blocks may launch fire at units nearby, so prioritizing destroying them, or digging to them in a way where the launch direction isn’t facing units are both options.
There are definitely micromanagement aspects to Drill Core, as letting miners dig unchecked will cause them to be attacked and killed. In turn, that requires you to spend more resources on recruitment, which takes away resources that could be used to construct turrets or buildings. Buildings and turrets can’t be destroyed by enemies once built and are essential for expanding operations and defense, and so the longer they take to build the worse off the run is.
Barracks increase the number of units that can be recruited, which makes mining faster and safer, while research labs improve upgrades to units, increasing their speed, damage, and even healing them. Special structures add abilities for the run, like resource scans or defensive actions that launch rockets and lasers at incoming enemies. Balancing where the resources are spent and what is purchased is essential, especially at higher difficulties, to keep the run alive.
A Unique Roguelike That Demands Patience
Drill Core may be hard for some players to get into. For me especially, I was struggling to enjoy the game at first while I learned the controls, slightly frustrated until I unlocked the unit queue feature. Having to individually recruit units and constantly go back into a menu to select them drags down the experience at the start. Which is a shame because getting past that, Drill Core does have an engaging gameplay loop. It’s not going to be for everyone, and it will require patience, especially early on.
But if you are willing to overcome those roadblocks, then Drill Core is a unique roguelike that is worth adding to your game library.
Important Links
Drill Core Digs Deep Onto Consoles – https://www.thexboxhub.com/drill-core-digs-deep-onto-consoles/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/drill-core/9pndtrw4hkn0
