CORE KEEPER - Un viaje adictivo a las profundidades | Review

First of all, I would like to thank Fireshine Games for sending us Core Keeper and allowing us to create this content.

A Paradise for Explorers and Builders

Suddenly, you find yourself in the middle of a mysterious cave with some stone structures that resemble totems or statues, while only carrying the items related to your craft - the items you start the game with depend on the context/class you choose for your character -. You were just exploring ancient ruins when one of them activated the artifact you were carrying. Now, you are alone in an enigmatic cave and so begins your adventure in Core Keeper.
 

Like in other sandbox games, when you find yourself immersed in a universe with so many paths to explore, it gives you a great sense of freedom, while at the same time you feel a bit lost not knowing the possibilities that await you and what the game allows you to do. In Core Keeper, it's no different and the desire to explore and understand how much content that game has to offer is huge.

If I had to summarize the experience I had in this game in a few words, it would be: satisfaction and fun. Playing is very enjoyable, everything you do in the game is enjoyable, from mining, to adventuring and exploring the paths the cave already had, fighting monsters, fishing, planting, building... It's a game that, while having mechanics that are easy to understand, has a lot of content. When you think you've advanced to a new technology and now you're reaching the limit, the game shows you that it has more materials.

Regarding the feeling of satisfaction, everything in the game contributes to that: the soundtracks are very pleasant and change according to the biome you're in; the sound effects fit the gameplay and the game universe like a glove; despite being pixelated, the graphics are very cozy and beautiful and have some effects (lighting and shading) that give a refinement and detail that are very interesting for the art.
 

In general, my experience playing solo was very enjoyable, but it was even more incredible when I experienced Core Keeper cooperatively. My spouse and I really enjoy playing survival and/or sandbox games together. In this one, we had an experience that pleased us a lot and will certainly become a very prominent game in our repertoire. There are many "activities" to do in Core Keeper and having one or more partners to share and help each other in the world definitely makes the gameplay even more satisfying.

The Perfect Formula?

In my opinion, I think the most important thing in a game is how much fun it brings you, regardless of any technical or artistic issues. For this to happen, there are countless factors that the game needs to have balanced so as not to bother the player in any aspect. There are games that have ultra-realistic graphics, but a weak story and/or gameplay that are not fun; there are games with beautiful stories, but that are not fun to play; there are games where you need to disable the soundtrack because it's annoying. And there are games like Core Keeper, which get the balance of everything right and make you want to play incessantly.
 

Exploring is delightful, at every moment you are rewarded with new resources or monsters. In each biome you have certain types of resources that make you always have to visit it - or get some items that allow you to rebuild the biome - to keep yourself well prepared.

Fishing, gardening, and cooking are also very satisfying, although the mechanics of all of them are very simple. Each type of fruit, fish, or meat provides a positive status, so when cooked, certain dishes provide different attributes that will help you in combat and exploration.

Combat allows you to use magic staffs, summoning tomes, long-range weapons, and short-range weapons. So far, they all seemed strong and worth using, especially the long-range ones, which allow you to be a little safer from enemy attacks (most are melee). The battles are not difficult, it's just a matter of mastering the timing of the monster's attacks to move and keep striking. Casual and/or inexperienced players with games may have some difficulty, but nothing that will disrupt the gameplay. On the other hand, for experienced players, it may make sense to increase the combat difficulty in the world creation options if you are looking for something more challenging. Overall, I believe that the difficulty of the battles is just right, not boring, nor frustrating.
 

Core Keeper has systems that facilitate base management, things that increase the "well-being" of resource management, not to mention the possibility of automating machinery with electrical network constructions. In general, it's a game that, unlike other base building games, you won't spend a lot of time moving items around and doing the "office boy" function, carrying resources from one place to another.

Finally, the map and mini-map end the game's "well-being" with a golden key. Many survival games prefer to make it a little difficult for the player to locate themselves by adding different systems related to the map. In the case of Core Keeper, the developers hit the nail on the head by keeping the map and mini-map updated in real time, after all, you're stuck in a huge 2D cave. If there wasn't a way to locate yourself in real time, I can assure you that the game would go from casual to hardcore.
 

It's from several small points that Core Keeper remains balanced as a very enjoyable and fun survival game that manages to be fun for the vast majority of audiences, as they achieve balance in various elements of the game, in terms of technical, artistic, or gameplay aspects. That said, it's a game that I highly recommend to all audiences looking for a survival and exploration game, whether to play solo or cooperatively.

Remember that, for the production of this review, Core Keeper was played on the Windows platform (PC), through Steam.