Core Keeper

This has easily become one of my most favorite survival games. I'm a huge fan of Don't Starve Together and love the concept of being able to fight bosses to progress in the game. I wasn't a fan of Stardew much so I was afraid this would be similar. This game offers a challenge similar to DST with very interesting game mechanics and already good design/automation. I believe they're still providing constant updates to the game, along with other game collaborations-- although I haven't fought ALL the bosses yet, I really hope they add more and eventually incorporate a storyline.

This game has an excellent gameplay loop for the first half of the game. The progression through the first major bosses feels fleshed out and satisfying. However, anything past that grinds to a screeching halt in terms of pacing. Everything becomes a major grind, weapons for anything but melee are not fun to get (in my playthrough, I was a summoner, and the next weapon in my progression required mining for a chest which has a small % to show up in each tile, and the weapon has only a small % to show up in said chest). This game started with a great idea, but it feels like the devs forgot they had to develop ideas for the entire game instead of the first half. Came away very disappointed.

In general a pretty good experience. The game looks and sounds great. The art especially imo kept getting better and better as you progressed, the bosses especially looked really cool at the end. There is plenty to do in every stage of progression. I'm glad the progression is both open and linear. The ore progression is linear but you are free to go to any of the outer biomes whenever you feel like when lowering the wall. I love the equipment levelling. It can be expensive but it allows any piece of equipment to stay viable later in the game so you can keep the effects of old equipment. Character levelling is neat, lets you always improve your stats by just playing. While trying to max out stats can be a big grind, it's never necessary unless you play on hard difficulty. The biomes themselves are pretty neat, even if slimes are reused frequently there are enough unique enemies in each biome that I don't mind. However I always feel like by the time you can fully deal with a biome's main status effect, you're already done with it. For instance poison doesn't come up often after the nature biome, you get armour with immunity to fire damage after you have no reason to be in the magma biome anymore. Things like that currently make the perk of immunity against a status effect feel pointless. Shimmering Frontier and The Passage could use more work though. They're visually neat, having nice music and The Passage was nice with its difficulty. But there is very little to do and see in there besides getting the ore and upgrade material. More setpieces and mini-dungeons could really improve these two biomes as they are very bland compared to any previous biome that have more variety. It bogs down the final bits of the game which made it difficult to want to spend much time there and basically finish it as soon as you're prepared for the bosses. This playthrough I played as the explosive class and it ain't a great class to use. It is funny and I do not regret going with it 'cus being a menace to friends, especially on accident, is hilarious. But for how dangerous you are to yourself and allies, you are not really that strong. Placeable bombs are not worth it in combat at all unless you punch the bomb and blow yourself up. Grenades miss easily and even if you hit an enemy, the damage is only passable for how slow you can throw these so it's not worth the resource cost. Which makes rocket launchers the only viable way to fight. More gimmicky explosives would also be fun. The mouse bomb was fun to use 'till it became unviable to use. Lastly, there is no way to prevent explosives from hurting allies. This makes it basically impossible to use against bosses if even just 1 friend is playing melee. A potion would be neat. Something you can drink to gain immunity to explosives from allies for a few minutes. This allows explosives to be used in a boss fight AND if someone does die thanks to you, you can blame them for forgetting to drink the potion. PvP should get a slight rework too. I know this game ain't a competitive game but if you randomly fight a friend for fun, the fight tends to end really fast. Especially around the lategame where everyone's average damage gets around 500-1000, with a lot of builds effortlessly insta-killing a player even if they're completely maxed out. A little damage modifier like 0.5x on players could help with that.

so much content gamplay is so satisfing gets frequent updates only unlocked 23 percent of achevments

a nice chill game that is regularly adding new content. good combat and design possibilities.

A solidly mid 2D pixel action game with minor crafting, exploration, and sandbox elements. Any comparisons to games like Factorio, Stardew Valley, or Terraria would feel deeply disingenuous. This is a comparably shallow game, only alluding to the depth of the mechanics of these titans, and any similarities only hold up on the most surface-level reading. Falling deeply within the "More fun with friends" category, Core Keeper is a nice social space that enables exploring a rather static world together while collecting resources and building a small base in the process. Gear and skill progression is basic but fun, and apart from pacing issues after around 20 hours, where the world runs out of content, is a pleasant treadmill to make people play together and collaborate on resource collection. Base building is cute and simple, and like all other mechanics, well-designed towards not getting in the way too much and not taking up any mental space while hanging out in the world. Auto-sorting chests and other QoL features adapted from mods of better games show the developers cared about creating an approachable and fun game. The story is basically non-existent and, like the rest of the game, doesn't get in the way of the core gameplay loop of easy and consequence free arcade combat and fast-paced exploration in a smallish world. The game is solid but nothing really special. I wouldn't recommend this actively to anyone, but fun can be had here. If you are looking for a fun 20-30 hours of hanging with friends, go for it. But if you heard any comparisons to the games mentioned above and think you're getting a deep experience, this isn't for you.

I can't believe it took me THREE YEARS to finally get around to playing Core keeper. This game is a masterpiece. It has everything: exploration, resource hoarding, leveling up your gear, collecting outfits, taming and breeding animals, farming, base building... Don't have time to write much more, have to go hammer some more rocks.

It's like Terraria, but more chill. Very good, even better with the boys.

Very good. Hooked me instantly. Has the same feel to it as Terraria. Very well done, excited to try multiplayer

Fun little game to chill with. A lot of fun if you can get friends to play with and divvy up work. Plays a lot like terraria, but better since you don't need a Wikipedia on you other screen to play.

great game, lost of ways to just chill and build your base or run around collecting resources

I should like this game, but for some reason I'm just bored while playing it. It might be better playing with other people to give it some life, but as a solo player, whenever I start playing the game I just get super bored and restless while playing. It just feels empty.

10/10 I love the environments, the music, the game-play, everything about it. its very relaxing and offers limitless exploration and building. Ive had the game since early-access and its only gotten better with time. I have nothing negative to say about it honestly. Well worth buying at full price.

Take the best aspects of Minecraft, Terraria and every other survivalcraft game and you get... ..Core Keeper. (If that wasn't obvious)

Very good game and funny as a group. You better make sure you play at the same time, so all can be a part of all technology steps. Be warned the difficulty in this game skyrockets the more you reach the end. Not for lazy or stupid people

Killed a mushroom Found a funny biome Killed a bug Got jumped by 22 big bugs 10/10 game, would recommend

Banger game, so fun to play, love the pixel are and the bosses, the final fight was amazing weapons were cool too

Core Keeper blends elements of survival sandbox, coziness, action combat, and RPG-style progression in ways that few other titles do. This game is truly a labor of love - and it shows! Don't sleep on this game.

This game is fantastic! It is such a fun survival craft game. It's not too complicated where you can't figure things out by yourself, but it's also not too simple where it gets boring after a while. Sure, some of the progression is a little repetitive, but there is always something a little different in each area you come across. There is a good mob variety which keeps things fresh. Lots of different builds that you can make without feeling like you are missing out on the ultimate build. This is a go at your own pace kinda game, but you always have something to do until the very end. The game was so fun that I ended up getting 100% of the achievements. I recommend playing this with a friend, but if not, it's still really fun playing solo. The devs are really good at community feedback and they are good at releasing new updates often that add more content and fix any game breaking bugs. The game is so fun that I am playing it again on my switch with another friend and it feels mostly like a fresh experience. There used to be issues I had with the game such as having to respawn bosses if everyone dies fighting it (which costs resources), but the devs fixed that issue and other issues I had. Besides some repetitive core progression, I don't really have anything bad to say about the game. I give it a 9.5 out of 10. TL;DR The game is a lot of fun, but especially with a friend and it has frequent updates to make it better and better. Definitely recommend to those who love survival craft games. Not too simple. Not too complicated. Get it!

if u don't play core keeper what are u doing in life? this game is perfect for me, stardew gave me so much anxiety in comparison to core keeper. i enjoy setting my own pace for exploration and being able to take my time getting lost in the world, truly the best game ever.

It takes the best of Terraria and Minecraft and gives it a beautiful makeover. The sounds and the visuals are stunning. The fighting is super fun and intuitive

Dedicated server world reset after latest update, erasing everyone's progress. :( Fishing ranged build works though. :)

Core Keeper is a cross between Terraria and Minecraft, with 2.5D visual. The game plays well, combat is engaging enough, and both its visual and auditory aesthetics are enjoyable. The map is immense and it makes explorations rewarding. There are 8 classes to choose from, each offering slightly distinct starting stats and items, but the game lets you transition easily if you don't like the class you started with. The bosses could be a little tougher, and there could have been added more weapons types. Besides that it's fun game to play solo or with friends, with lots to do.

A classic mine/battle to get better gear, to mine/battle. Cool skill tree level up system too, with a touch of automation of materials available. Has a story element too, bosses, secret bosses. I would recommend this to anyone who would like a Minecraft/Terraria/StardewValley cross over.

the games good HOWEVER i really miss being able to use permanent health upgrades multiple times i HATE that they are one time use now PLEASE add an option in gameplay to revert back to the old way. thank you God bless

Strongly recommend. It hits all of the addictive dimensions for me - interesting but unobtrusive environmental storytelling; artful and charming soundtrack; massive and varied world; deep and relaxing single-player experience. Multi-player is fun but a very different experience from single-player (especially depending on the personalities of your friends); I personally value the ability to have both multi-player and single-player save games.

A relatively chill and cozy game that makes hours fly by without you even noticing. I do wish the classes had more depth, but overall, it’s a fun and enjoyable experience.

Always find myself returning to this game for a chill adventure into it's depths. Always a fun time and it and keeps me coming back for more, what else can you ask for?

The game is pretty solid, I've only encountered a few graphical bits with reflections but otherwise had a fun time with this. I wish there was more content post final boss but I feel like there's plenty for now. A great game if you plan to play with other people.

really pretty game, recommended for terraria enjoyers

Great game, even solo. Not too hard. You get really strong by the end of the game. I like the runescape-like progression with added skill trees. Mining takes too long to level up imo.

Wow, this game is a lot of fun! (Single player... haven't tried multiplayer yet) Almost everything is fantastic. Players can alternate high energy fighting and exploring with more chill farming and fishing pretty much as they like. It has sensible customization options for a more challenging/more chill time. It has great quality of life, with my favorite being the button to automatically distribute loot in character inventory to (very nearby) storage chests with the same items. A close second is that crafting stations automatically pull needed items from (very nearby) storage chests. Genius! The only thing awful in 2025 is rough pixel graphics (why, oh why must there be fuzzy squares and vague blobs?) But you can see that from the preview, and if you can put up with that (or like it), then I haven't found any other downsides as I prepare for the 4th big boss fight.

Great game. As though Stardew Valley and Terraria had a baby. Would recommend.

Very good game so far. Terraria-like potential if updates dont stop coming.

I did not expect to have spent this much game-time in such a short amount of time in this little game. I freaking love it so much already.

Amazing game when playing for friends. Get ready to open the wiki quite a bit.

It gives me Minecraft Dungeons vibes. Really good game, been playing since early access!

Exploration is great, there's so many items and biomes in the game that's interesting. The bosses are pretty linear and cool too. If there's criticism from me, it's the fact that standard mode is too easy, particularly feeling like it's creative mode. Hard mode is not any more difficult than Standard. The bosses are just fatter, I think, so there's not much of a challenge. Maybe if you took away the map, the waypoints, and added more complexity to the boss fights like an area debuff, it'd be harder. I feel like there's also no point in caring for Cattle other than having them as decorations for your base. Other than the fishing buff from turtles giving fishing/crop bonuses, the rest doesn't seem to be that useful. Food buffs made from Fish and Crops are enough. I wish the Cattle had better use. Like, you'd be unable to destroy a certain wall unless you used explosives made from gunpowder (which comes from camels). Or the carapace from the bugs can be used as a substitute to repair/reinforce. Etc. Just my take anyway.

Melds combat and skilling in unique and creative ways.

this game has the terraria x stardew valley inspiration with an incredibly distinct environment design conducive to this nostalgic sense of exploration you'd get from something like playing minecraft as a kid.

Reminds me of Terraria and Minecraft. I really enjoyed this game, especially with friends. I definitely recommend this game.

I recommend this game to y'all because the community is great and the game itself has tons of potential Going for 100% achievements was so fucking painful and grindy though

This game is amazing! I hope they keep expanding it and adding new biomes. 10/10.

the game play has been nice. Had some issues with having my friends join my world for multiplayer. Solved it by turning off any VPN like software completely off even if it wasn't in use on my friend's side. Also, I wish you could label chests.

Lovely game, came back after 1 year and the expansions and things they added just made the game more fun to play!

[h1]Terraria 2?[/h1] Core Keeper is a Pixelie roguelike similar to Terraria where you mine, craft and build while discovering the mysteries of the Core... keeper. There are loads of bosses to fight that drop good loot, you are not locked into any specific class though the game does ask you what class you want to be when you create a character so thats a little strange as the initial stat boosts are only helpful for about 10 minutes till you realise what you picked was just terrible or none of the loot you find is for that class (looking at you summoner). The story progression is a good pace and guides you to the areas you are capable of doing before softly telling you, you need to do the objective being being able to move outwards. Speaking of outwards the map is... massive and goes out in 3 rings with different biomes is all directions. Really fun and actually challenging game with the later bosses that forces you to upgrade and theme your build around your specific gear and playstyle. If you want more Terraria this is the next best thing! [h1]8.4/10[/h1] [i]- Kinda grindy but I cant stop playing for some reason...[/i]

Saw a review on here complaining about a lot of minor QOL flaws such as inventory management being frustrating so I wanted to chime in and note that yes, the game can be tedious at times but the overall gameplay loop of combat, leveling, and exploration is fun. It was fun to dodge around enemy attacks, which are all very telegraphed and I didn't have any issues with timing. Game feels perfectly balanced on normal, if not a little easy since towards late game you really pick up on how to properly avoid attacks and retaliate. Lots of fun weapon options as well for different playstyles. Leveling different skills got tedious at times, but weren't a requirement to succeed at the game. The world is so large that exploration could be annoying at times especially when you just wanted to find the next boss, but you could easily craft scanners that gave you their locations which alleviated the pain. The pixel art aesthetic also looks very cool, with some enemy animations looking super awesome. The biomes were all unique and some were quite pretty. Overall, fun time with the game.

Love indie games like these! Played both Stardew Valley and Terraria I find Core Keeper being a mix of both which I really like. Thank for this awesome game! Highly recommend!!

Like many of you, I also spent an inordinate amount of time playing Minecraft, Terraria, and myriad other crafting/exploration games. The top down perspective, adorable artwork, earworm-music, and interesting gameplay make this a worthy entry into that genre. You must build, craft, farm, and slay beasts to uncover an ancient secret and find your way back from whence you've come. Or you can spend countless hours hollowing out the earth like I did, because part of my brain hates walls. Whether you play in a group or solo, you can unravel the mysteries of the world. Give it a shot!

Anyone who loves a good survival game with a challenge this is the game for you I have a deep love for boss fights but also I love survival this gives you a good mix but without feeling like every boss is a dark souls boss and getting frustrated also even if you have trouble with a boss you can always invite your friends to help you out, This game is amazing single or multiplayer and has a good community and has lots of good mods that are also very easy to get and use if that is the sort of thing you are interested in, Either way this game is truly a hidden gem and I know if you try it you will like it!