But soon that narrow tunnel is lit with torches, side chambers have been found and dim light spills in from all sides, and I'm scampering back and forth through those passages like they're just another cheery, familiar road leading back home.

Bigger jumps, pelo gravity, faster running, a dash, a grappling hook, unique weapons etc. Even when these items don't offer a mechanical change, they often combine with other items that do, leading to a more enjoyable exploration and feeling of progression. It is this sense of progression that makes up for the fact that it has a similar mining system to core keeper's. But no such equivalent exists for core keeper, and it is disappointing to unlock the next tier of pickaxe when the only thing you're looking forward to is .... the next tier of pickaxe.

Smithing Skill Issue: The Blacksmith skill is currently not working properly. The skill is supposed to decrease the amount of ingredients required to repair items and craft items in the anvil, but it currently only decreases the amount that's visible in the crafting recipe, while still using the original (non-discounted) amount of said recipe.

Cutscene Crashes: We’ve had some reports of the game crashing right after the intro cutscene, preventing Explorers from starting new adventures.

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does a great job of slowly revealing its crafting system, and the breadth of ways you can build up your base. You largely learn by doing — unlocking additional perks or finding new materials and wondering “What can I do with this?

Next, we want to focus on getting Copper Ore so we can make Copper armor, weapons, and tools. Getting your hands on a ranged weapon is a must, too; some of the early-game enemies can hit pretty hard!

’s multiplayer (up to eight people), similarly facilitates a lot of collaboration and strategizing. But the game is far from derivative. It weaves tried-and-true survival sim elements into a tight play loop where the game is the grind in a way that feels meditative without being too repetitive.

Your first step will be to create your character. You can adjust your cosmetic look in a variety of ways, but don't stress out about this too much — Core Keeper Gameplay you can change the look of your character later by crafting a Magic Mirror and a Dresser at the Carpenter's Workbench.

Character creation doesn’t get too complicated, but you might hesitate over choosing your character’s Background and the perks that come along with it.

TL;DR: Core keeper is a game with potential, but with very shallow progression systems that can make it feel repetitive very quickly.

Minimap: This shows you the map of the area immediately around you. Icons for bosses that you have located will also show up on this map, giving you an idea of which direction you need to go in order to reach them.

Jason Dietz We reveal the past year's best and worst video game publishers (based on their 2023 releases) in the 14th edition of our annual Game Publisher Rankings.

Boss order and world exploration are theoretically quite flexible, given this is a sandbox game. There is currently only one solid gate to progress: defeating the first 3 bosses. Which separates this guide into two parts.