Dungeon Driller

just played through the game's early access and i have to say that it's awesome!) it's a hard game set in a dark mining facility where you drill for minutes upon end to repay your debt with original (and well-done!) graphics, great satirical portrayal of modern-day anti-consumerism, hustle culture and harsh (even borderline unfair) conditions that the miners have to work in, and, the best part about the game is the gameplay itself - it's hard, requires you to keep your resources (like health and energy on your light) in constant check, and has you follow a certain path if you don't want to get softlocked forever in your debt - but, despite all of the hardships, it's a lot of fun, so, in the end, it's all worth it!)

the game also has a lot of small, but great details (despite being just early access) that make the whole experience all the more worthwhile - like the placement of the ads in the party menu!) it feels very unique and fitting for the game's overall theme, and their variety is pretty good, too - every time i opened the menu i saw a different piece of satire, each of them equally hilarious and all-too familiar... another great detail is the helping bird - it's absolutely useless and also has the TRIAL word haphazardly drawn on it with a red marker, but the dialogue that you get when you return her to the machine with the options being a call-out towards how various programs ask you why the hell are you deleting them is pure genius!) and, finally, the agressive flame spirits in the lava basin add a certain stealth element to the game while also shaking up the gameplay for a bit - after all, constant drilling, mining and fighting against giant lizards gets pretty tiring after a while, jajaja!)

but, there are some problems/bugs with the current version, too, and i hope that in a future demo they will be adressed or fixed completely - firstly, the fact that the interact button and the switch on/off button for the lights are the same is pretty annoying, but you quickly get used to it and it actually ties very well into the game's theme - maybe this was deliberate, too, since a lot of products in our days have awkwardly made functions that are ever so slightly annoying - also reminds me of a tactic that predatory MMO's use, when they create this sort of awkward gameplay mechanics and then sell the solution for them in-game. bruh. in any case - it's pretty weird, but when you exit a vehicle the latter's sprite looks like if you're still in there, or some fellow miner hijacked it from you but is taking his time before leaving off. next, i'm not sure about the fact that you can't mine while in the vehicle - maybe it's just the thing with the area after the lizard and the area with the lava spirits, but i was able to mine on it just fine!) and, finally, if you interact with the machine to finally pay off your debt while on a vehicle then in the final cutscene the vehicle will be present in the place where you pay off your debt and walk off. now, all of the beforementioned bugs aren't all that nasty or gamebreaking, but it still would be great if they were adressed in some way in the future versions of the game)

all in all, Dungeon Driller was very fun to play through - it was hard (just how i like my games!), had a lot of well-done satiric humour that hit close to home, great, original graphics and a gameplay that made something as frustrating and boring as drilling rocks fun!) NinjaChicle, you did a great job with the early access, and i wish you best of luck, nerves of steel and lots of inspiration while working on the demo for the game!) stay safe and take care!