Tiny drone versus DEMONBORG! Who will win? With help from Aux-Bot, dive into Demonborgs to mine their structures in this fast-paced rogue-like. Mine resources, dodge obstacles, destroy enemies, and survive.
Presented in a vibrant pixel art style, Demonborg Mining Co. is an explosion of colour and particle effects. It’s certainly very attractive to look at with a simple yet striking aesthetic that makes your intended mining targets very easy to see. However, it can come to the detriment of being so visually loud that it’s difficult to tell when enemies hit you.
But how does it play?
The gameplay is relatively simple, with WASD or the left joystick used for movement and the Space key or X button on an Xbox controller used for a boost that can be used as long as fuel is available. You can easily pick up fuel while mining, so boosts will usually be available. Movement, however, works on tank controls, so left and right just rotate your drone, which takes a little getting used to. It works, but it doesn’t flow super well, and with all the visual noise, it can be easy to become disoriented and move in the wrong direction.
Each run starts with picking two turrets from a randomly generated group of four, although you can reroll by spending chips earned by clearing levels. While progressing through each level, you will find little floating “?” or “!” marks that lead to random events. This could unlock new turrets, give you a chance for extra fuel, or add other buffs. Be warned, though, it is possible to fail and lose health or resources in the random events, so it’s always a gamble.
The Rogue-like bit!
Clearing out a Demonborg will award you with a chip that can be used to unlock permanent upgrades between runs, such as turrets, increased damage, hull strength, and powering up Aux-Bot. Upon clearing each level, you can also spend the resources you’ve mined to heal, refuel, unlock new turrets, or upgrade the ones you have.
While it’s easy to pick up and play, the game balance is a bit lacking, with runs being very hard or very easy to start with, depending on the randomisation. This means that you could start with great luck that carries you through, or terrible luck that leads to your dying early. This doesn’t feel good, as with all the visual and audio noise, it can be very overwhelming and feel like death was somewhat out of your hands. Plus, if you take a break away and forget the controls, good luck remembering them because there is no way to look up the controls or any previous tutorial information in-game.
To Conclude!
All told, while Demonborg Mining Co. is a game you can while away some time with, it’s wrought with slight frustrations that add up to make the experience more than a little tedious. A death by a thousand cuts.
It’s good for pick-up-and-play for short game sessions, and I can see it doing well on the likes of the Switch. It’s certainly worth a look, and many issues could be addressed with patches should the developers choose to make a better experience, but only time will tell.
Developer: Ouch Giver Games
Publishers: Ouch Giver Games
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Played On: Steam
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