Core Keeper is a survival sandbox game developed by Pugstorm. Currently in early access, the game features mechanics similar to other games in the sandbox genre such as Minecraft, Terraria and Stardew Valley, including mining, crafting, farming and exploration in a procedurally generated underground world. It was released to Steam in early access on 8 March 2022 and received praise for its game mechanics, art style, and tone and atmosphere and you can play with friends.
Gameplay
Core Keeper is a top-down sandbox game based around survival and crafting mechanics similar to games such as Minecraft and Terraria. It can be played single-player or cooperatively with up to 8 players. Players also have the ability to host a server which anyone can join at any time up to a maximum of 8 players. The game begins with a cutscene explaining the backstory of the player character before placing the character in a procedurally generated network of caverns. The starting location, called the Core chamber, is the same biome for all players, containing the same starting enemies and resources. It also contains three devices representing bosses that can be found and defeated within the game. It is a dark area at the beginning of the game but can be illuminated with the use of torches or a lantern. Torches can be made using gathered wood which is the first resource encountered in the area.
The world is built up of square tiles of dirt and other materials which can be dug or mined to further explore the map and to gather resources. Blocks of ore glitter, helping players to know in which direction to dig to find them. Gathered resources can be used to craft tools and workbenches which unlock new items to craft. A furnace can also be crafted which allows the player to smelt ores to create weapons and armour. Players must also gather food to prevent their character from starving which occurs when their "hunger bar" becomes empty. This can be done by finding food in the world or by planting and watering seeds using a hoe and watering can. Later in the game, watering crops can be automated with the use of sprinklers. Additionally, fish can be caught in a fishing rhythm minigame using a fishing rod. Food can also be combined into meals using a cooking pot which can be crafted in the game. Meals cooked in this way provide an additional health boost and perks compared to naturally occurring food.
Exploration in the game is facilitated with an in-game map which can be opened as an overlay. It is also facilitated with the use of portals which allow the player to traverse great distances across the map. As players explore other areas of the game world, different biomes containing new resources and enemies are revealed. As enemies move around the game, they spread the environment in which they spawn, meaning that clearing an area of enemies requires cleaning the floor as well as defeating them. If a player dies during combat, they respawn at the Core in the starting area. They can retrieve their lost belongings by returning to the area where they died and reclaiming them from the tombstone dropped there. New regions also contain large boss enemies. Once defeated, bosses drop items that can be used to summon NPC merchants to live at the player's base. The first three bosses included in the game are Glurch the Abominous Mass, a giant, jumping, orange slime, Ghorm the Devourer, a massive insect creature that tunnels throughout the map, and The Hive Mother, a fleshy creature that spits acid and summons other enemies. Upon being defeated, these bosses drop items which can be used to activate the Core in the Core chamber, unlocking new items such as a drill for automatically mining ores and new bosses. Furthermore, whilst the areas accessible to the player are initially limited by a wall that surrounds the first few starting areas, upon activating the core this wall is removed, revealing new biomes and an infinitely generated map.
The game allows for a wide array of ways to play ranging from focusing on fighting bosses to avoiding bosses in favour of crafting and base-building. This is reflected in the game's skill system which rewards activities taken by the player with points to improve skills related to them. For example, running a lot improves the character's speed, mining resources improves the character's efficiency in mining, and fighting improves the character's strength. Players also choose a starting class during character creation before they begin the game which gives bonuses to specific skills and relevant starting resources. The look of the player character can also be customised by using vanity slots in the inventory.