Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is getting an expansion that introduces the series' first ever new class, and it’s a dwarf driving a weaponised bulldozer that flattens terrain and enemies alike
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is comfortably the best autoshooter to emerge off the back of Vampire Survivors' success. Far from being a cynical cash grab, it deftly blends DRG's mining mechanic with the almighty power curve of Poncle's action roguelike.
Indeed, aspiring space dwarf Robin Valentine gave it a score of 90 in our Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor review. "To me, DRG:S is the survivors-like genre at its most engaging and tactical," he wrote in September last year. "I find myself just imagining yet more things developer Funday Games could add in new updates to come."
It turns out Funday has likewise been pondering what to do with Survivor now the main game is out in the wild. The answer it has come up with is "add a heckin' big bulldozer". Funday revealed its first expansion for Survivor late last week, and it adds a new class so over the top it quite literally chews up the scenery.
The Heavy Duty DLC introduces the Demolisher, which is apparently the first new playable class added into any Deep Rock Galactic game. Unlike every other class in Survivor, the Demolisher rides into battle on a vehicle called the Rock Dozer that flattens almost anything in its path, ploughing through rocks to create new pathways and squishing alien bugs beneath its mighty treads.
Funday is staying tight-lipped about the specific abilities of the Demolisher, but the studio has revealed that players can choose between three class mods—Contractor, Gridrunner and Operator. Broadly, these mods focus on mining output, mobility, and the efficiency of your machinery respectively. I'm not wholly sure what the last one means, but the other two are self-explanatory.
Alongside the Demolisher, Heavy Duty will enhance your arsenal with a further 10 weapons that can be wielded by all classes. These include elemental weapons like the electrically charged arc burster and the fiery dragonstorm incinerator, and automated gadgets like the chainlinked slither drone. This isn't everything that's coming in the DLC either. The expansion's Steam page says that there are "two major, unannounced features" that will be revealed at some point in the future.
Even without those mystery additions, Heavy Duty already sounds like a beefy expansion. It's out April 30th, though there's no word on how much it will cost yet. The base game's also 30% off until March 18, meaning you can grab it for just $9 (£7.70).
Best laptop games: Low-spec life
Best Steam Deck games: Handheld must-haves
Best browser games: No install needed
Best indie games: Independent excellence
Best co-op games: Better together