Let’s be real for a second. Finding games like Deep Rock Galactic is a nightmare because Ghost Ship Games basically trapped lightning in a beer mug. You’ve got the procedural destruction, the class synergy, the pitch-black caves, and that specific "Ooo-rah" camaraderie that makes you feel like you’d actually die for a digital dwarf. It’s a weirdly specific cocktail.
Most people looking for a replacement are usually chasing one of three things: the frantic horde survival, the "industrial" aesthetic, or the feeling of being part of a highly specialized four-man team where everyone actually matters. You can't just slap a co-op tag on a shooter and call it a day. It needs that soul.
Honestly, the industry has been trying to catch up to the "Hoxxes IV" magic for years. Some get the shooting right but fail the atmosphere. Others have great mining but zero tension. If you're tired of hearing "Rock and Stone" in your sleep and need a new obsession, we have to look at what actually makes these games tick.
The Co-op Formula That Actually Works
Most developers think co-op just means "more players equals more enemies." That's a trap. Deep Rock works because the classes—Driller, Engineer, Scout, Gunner—are fundamentally broken on their own. If you’re a Scout in a dark room without a platform, you’re useless. If you’re an Engineer without a light, you’re building in the dark.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is probably the closest you’ll get to that "oh crap" feeling when a swarm hits. Fatshark, the developers behind Vermintide, have mastered the art of the "horde director." While Deep Rock is about exploration and extraction, Darktide is pure, unadulterated meat-grinder combat.
🔗 Read more: Why the Harry Potter Game Monopoly is Actually Harder to Find Than a Golden Snitch
The atmosphere in Darktide is oppressive. You aren't cheerful dwarves; you're "rejects" being sent into a hive city to die for a God-Empire that doesn't know you exist. It captures that industrial, gritty vibe perfectly. However, it lacks the destructible environments. You can’t just dig your own way out of a bad situation. You have to fight through it. It’s a different kind of stress, but the class-based teamwork is just as tight.
Why Helldivers 2 Scratches the Same Itch
If your favorite part of Deep Rock is the chaos of a botched extraction, you need to be playing Helldivers 2. It’s the current gold standard for "emergent gameplay." Basically, everything can and will go wrong.
In Deep Rock, you might accidentally blow up a teammate with a C4 charge. In Helldivers, you will accidentally drop a 500kg bomb on your best friend’s head because a bug nudged your arm. It shares that specific DNA of "competent professionals being overwhelmed by sheer numbers."
The progression is similar, too. You’re constantly upgrading your "stratagems" (think of them as your gadgets) to handle higher difficulty tiers. The community vibe is also strikingly similar. Instead of "Rock and Stone," it’s "For Democracy." It’s a bit more cynical, sure, but the feeling of four players barely making it onto the extraction shuttle while the ground explodes behind them? That’s pure Deep Rock energy.
Survival Games That Actually Feel Like Mining
Maybe you don't care about the shooting as much. Maybe you just like the "work" part of being a space miner. There’s a specific zen to clearing out a vein of Gold or Morkite that some games manage to replicate without the constant threat of giant spiders.
Satisfactory is the big one here. It’s first-person, it’s industrial, and it’s all about resource extraction. You aren't just mining; you're building massive, sprawling factories on an alien planet. You still have that sense of being a lone worker (or a small team) for a giant, uncaring corporation (FICSIT Inc. is basically Deep Rock Galactic’s corporate cousin).
Then there’s Valheim. It sounds like a stretch because it’s Vikings, not space dwarves, but hear me out. The way Valheim handles its "biomes" and resource progression mirrors the Deep Rock loop. You go into a dangerous area (the Black Forest or the Swamps), you find a specific ore, you fight off the locals, and you haul it back to base. The physics-based tree falling and structural integrity requirements give it that "heavy" feeling that makes Deep Rock’s traversal so satisfying.
The Hidden Gem: Barotrauma
If you want a game that makes you feel claustrophobic and terrified of what’s outside the walls, Barotrauma is the answer. It’s a 2D co-op submarine simulator set in the oceans of Europa.
It is significantly more complex than Deep Rock. You have to manage reactor power, fix leaks, craft medicine, and fight off massive sea horrors. But the dynamic is the same. The Captain, the Engineer, the Mechanic, and the Security Officer all have to do their jobs perfectly, or everyone dies. It’s less about "shooting bugs" and more about "keeping the ship from imploding," but the high-stakes teamwork is arguably even more intense. It’s crunchy, it’s difficult, and it’s deeply rewarding when you actually survive a mission.
Where Most "Games Like Deep Rock Galactic" Fail
You’ll see a lot of lists suggesting games like Left 4 Dead 2 or Back 4 Blood. I think that’s a mistake.
While those are great co-op shooters, they lack the procedural exploration that makes Deep Rock special. In a typical zombie shooter, the map is the same every time. You learn the spawns. You learn the "meta" path.
Deep Rock’s caves are different every single time you drop. You can’t memorize the map. You have to rely on your tools—the flare gun, the platforms, the drills—to navigate. This "navigational puzzle" is the missing ingredient in most clones.
GTFO tries to do this with high-intensity stealth and horror. It’s much more hardcore than Deep Rock. You can’t just run and gun; if you wake up the "sleepers," you’re probably dead. It has that procedural feel and a heavy emphasis on tools (scanners, glue guns, turrets), but it lacks the lighthearted fun. It’s a game for people who think Deep Rock is too easy on Hazard 5.
The "Vibe" Factor: Humor and Heart
We can't talk about games like Deep Rock Galactic without mentioning the personality. Ghost Ship Games gave those dwarves so much character through just a few voice lines and emotes.
- Void Crew is a newer title that's trying to capture this. You and your friends man a spaceship, and you have to physically run around the deck fixing things, reloading cannons, and piloting. It’s goofy, chaotic, and very "dwarven" in its spirit.
- Sea of Thieves has a similar "manual labor" charm. Raising the sails, angling them to the wind, and bailing out water feels like the chores you do between swarms in the mines.
The humor in Deep Rock—the dancing, the beer drinking, the kicking barrels—isn't just window dressing. It builds the "third place" for players to hang out. If a game is just a series of menus and combat encounters, it's not going to keep you for 500 hours.
DRG: Survivor and the Bullet Heaven Trend
Interestingly, the most successful "game like Deep Rock" recently was actually Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. It’s a single-player spin-off that takes the aesthetic and puts it into a "Vampire Survivors" style loop.
It proves that the brand and the mechanics (mining while fighting) work even in different genres. If you like the "auto-battler" feel but want the dwarf theme, it’s a no-brainer. But if you’re looking for that social connection, you’ll have to stick to the titles mentioned above.
What Should You Play Next?
Choosing your next game depends entirely on which part of the mine you miss the most. There isn't a one-to-one replacement, and honestly, that's a good thing. It keeps the original special.
If you want the Combat and Chaos:
Go with Helldivers 2. The scale of the war and the sheer cinematic insanity of the stratagems make it the best co-op shooter on the market right now. Just be prepared for a lot of accidental team-killing. It’s part of the charm.
If you want the Technical Teamwork:
Try Barotrauma. It’s much harder to learn, and the UI can be a bit intimidating, but the feeling of triumph when you navigate a sub through a Narrow Abyss is unmatched. It’s a "job" game in the best way possible.
If you want the Atmosphere and Lore:
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is your best bet. The music (by Jesper Kyd) is incredible, and the art design is some of the best in the industry. It feels "heavy" in a way that very few shooters do.
If you want the Mining and Building:
Satisfactory will eat your life. You’ll start by hand-mining some iron and end up with a planetary-scale conveyor belt system that would make R&D proud. It’s the "management" side of Deep Rock turned up to eleven.
Actionable Steps for the "Rock and Stone" Refugee:
- Check the "Hazard" Level: Don't jump into GTFO or Barotrauma expecting a casual time. Those games require a "let's sit down and focus" mindset.
- Bring Your Own Crew: Most of these games have matchmaking, but like DRG, they are 10x better with friends. If your usual group is burnt out on mining, try pitching Helldivers as "the same thing but with more explosions."
- Look for "Emergent" Mechanics: When searching for new games, look for words like "procedural," "physics-based," or "sim-lite." These are the traits that allow for those "you won't believe what happened" moments that define the Deep Rock experience.
- Embrace the Genre Mashups: The best games often don't fit into one box. Deep Rock is a Mining-Horde-Shooter-Dungeon-Crawler. Don't be afraid to try something like Abiotic Factor, which combines survival, science, and co-op in a way that feels surprisingly familiar to any dwarf.
The reality is that Hoxxes IV is a unique place. But the spirit of "Leave No Dwarf Behind" is alive and well in plenty of other corners of the gaming world. You just have to know which tunnel to dig down.