Deep Rock Galactic Season 4 surfaces with rocket boots, new beer & Flappy Bird

Deep Rock Galactic is pushing into its fourth season, and while many games have seen the jump from third content drop onwards to be a tricky one (we see you, Overwatch 2), it feels as though Ghost Ship Games is hitting its stride.

Season 4 of the dwarf-filled mining title is leaning into its whacky side more than ever, and having spent some time going hands-on with a preview build of the game, I can say it's much better for it.

Deep Rock & Roll

Click to enlarge

For the uninitiated, or those (like myself) that haven't stepped foot on Hoxxes IV for a while, Deep Rock Galactic takes players deep under a planet's surface to extract materials, drilling ever-deeper and finding more and more nasties beneath.

Kill enemies, grab resources, and get out - preferably alive. It's a tough job, but Deep Rock Galactic mixes workplace and gallows humour to great effect, with sarcastic Dwarves and callous management exchanging dialogue regularly.

It's all buffeted by frantic shooting with four unique classes for up to four players, and there's not an aspect of the game that Season 4 doesn't touch in some way.

Take the pre-game experience, for example. Players have been able to get their best mining outfit on and pick a loadout for years, but a new "randomizer" beer, available at the in-game bar, can rotate all the weapons and cosmetics equipped to mix things up for returning players. You won't know what's equipped until you drop in, either.

Dropping By

Click to enlarge

Once you're on Hoxxes IV, you'll find yourself fighting through the caves and pressing on with a little more trepidation this time around. That's because there are new Rockpoxx enemy variants, ranging from rushing types to those that ambush from the ceiling, pulling you skyward - and often into danger.

Aside from new abilities, these enemies have different weak spots, too - as is video game science, you'll need to shoot them in the shiny weak spots for the most part, but that can be tricky as you dance around the swarms.

The Mactera Bombers and Naedocyte Breeders are the least of your worries, though, with Lithophage Corrupters wriggling around the caves corrupting the area. That needs to be foamed and cleaned with cleaning utensils, before scrubbing the big bad itself into oblivion. It's chaotic, and pretty gross, too.

Deep Rock Galactic's shooting mechanics have always been strong, but it's traversal that's getting a (quite literal) lift in Season 4. That's thanks to a new loot drop, Rocket Boots, that can send your dwarves careening across caverns at impressive speeds.

They won't show up in every run, with the devs acknowledging it'd create too much of a divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots", making the item too ubiquitous if it was an ever-present option. To unlock it, you'll need to complete a hacking minigame which is a Flappy Bird clone (yes, really). They're worth it, though, with the boots significantly speeding up exfiltration.

That Flappy Bird analogue, dubbed Jetty Boots, is also found in a new arcade cabinet in the game's lobby area. It's a fun way to compete with others in a PvE-only game, with high scores being shared across sessions.

Final Thoughts

As you can imagine, there are new cosmetics to earn, with new sleeveless variants for owned armour, too.

There's a fresh Battle Pass, too, and the team at Ghost Ship is quick to point out that it's entirely free. There are new cosmetic packs to purchase, but everything included in Deep Rock Galactic Season 4 won't cost you a penny.

Deep Rock Galactic Season 4: Critical Corruption launches on June 15.