Many have heard that Deep Rock Galactic is a game like Left 4 Dead. That is more or less accurate, but the depth of Deep Rock Galactic's namesake is more than just an environmental game. The breadth of approaches possible here makes "Vermintide 2" look like "Desert Bus," and frankly, the first few hours are all overkill.

The opening tutorial mission does a great job of conveying the basics. I see. Cool. Shoot the bad spiders, call M.U.L.E. to deposit the mined resources, press 3 to equip the zipline launcher and 4 to equip the rechargeable shield. Mine the necessary materials, dump them at the M.U.L.E., request evacuation, and escape through your own haphazard network of tunnels before the dropship departs without you. (Once the payload is on board, the employer will not care about the more carnal elements of their workforce.)

This all makes sense within the confines of a friendly dummy run for speed, and in fact depicts a brilliant core loop that should feature in other four-player first-person co-op games. It would have been nice if "Vermintide 2" had replicated that brilliant dynamic shift of having to rush to escape within the time limit, which would have been an absolute failure. I wish there had been more Deep Rock Galactic resource harvesting and permanent upgrades in Left 4 Dead. Also, asymmetrical class-based co-op play is always fun when it's so thoughtfully balanced.

This is a tempting proposition, and Ghost Ship Games deserves the dedicated fan base it has found through Early Access by blending demanding elements such as destructible landscapes, class-based co-op, and procedurally generated cave networks. However, it is hard to say that newcomers will enjoy it. [No, for newcomers, it's less about mining, fighting off hordes of acid-infested spiders, and dragging your feet until you evacuate with a heroic last, than it is about regularly getting lost, trying to make sense of the admittedly cool lo-fi 3D map, and getting back to your teammates before getting lost again It's more important as a core loop to spend the golden minute or two as if it were part of the mission.

There are many aspects to this early game problem. One is the fact that not only are all environments destructible and procedural, but they also require you to pollute them in order to reach the lower levels where more valuable deposits inevitably exist. The responsibility lies 100% with the player, as there is no way for the level designer to make the path easier to navigate.

Another is the limited number of environmental identifiers in each organism in Deep Rock Galactic - although they have been added fairly quickly in updates since 1.0. On one of the first four or five missions I found myself wandering around the same area with two large rooms with electrified blue crystals and flowers of the same type. I wasn't 100% sure if I had doubled back by mistake.

Finally, there's the aforementioned map, which beautifully mimics the aesthetic of Ridley Scott's "Alien," but does little to actually orient you to your surroundings.

If I feel like I've spent a lot of time on why I frequently get lost, it's only because it's a glaring problem alone in an otherwise highly engaging formula. And many players will never break through that barrier.

It is only the ingenuity of other players that encourages patience. Experienced players who have been diving this cave since early Early Access have a knack for turning the impenetrable terrain into a spectacle ride with three ziplines and well-placed pick holes.

The division of roles among Deep Rock Galactic's four classes (Gunner, Scout, Driller, and Engineer) enriches the spectacle of player ingenuity. Just as in the early days of TF2, when I stopped to admire the particularly clever placement of sentries and teleporters, here the engie really shows its worth with its well thought-out placement of defensive structures.

On a thankless mission in the crystal caves, I faced a swarm of enemies as a gunner, standing alone in the line of fire. In those few minutes, the digger had carved a truly ornate staircase into the rock wall to gain access to it. Moments like that are what keep me playing "Deep Rock Galactic."

All of which begs the question, "Does it work as a solo game?" The answer is "sort of." When you go on a solo mission, you are given a drone companion, Bosco, who helps you shoot and resuscitate. Bosco, like literally every other aspect of the game, is upgradeable no matter how small, and is quite capable on the mine site. Playing alone, you won't feel like you're missing anything outstanding.

But it's not the same game without watching and, most importantly, learning from the better players. It does little to relieve the frustration of getting lost, and it takes time to figure out what to actually do in each class. It becomes a game of consuming resources and trying to maximize your upgrade tree, not the essential fun of mastering a hostile cave network.

Whether played solo or with friends, Deep Rock Galactic is as much a game of hard work and learning and rewards as it is a game of fending off alien terraformers. As such, many players risk leaving the game, but the hard core that remains will be rewarded at Mariana Trench level depths.