Hello there, Kabloop here! Today I’m talking about upgrades, and what players can expect in terms of character progression when they get their hands on DIGGERGUN later this year.
In DIGGERGUN there are two ways to improve your character: increasing their stats and obtaining DIGGERGUN abilities. Both of these have been implemented in such a way as to encourage player choice, either when deciding which stat to invest your points in, or which DIGGERGUN ability to use in moment-to-moment gameplay. After all, what choices we make and how we make them, is a key theme of DIGGERGUN.
Let’s look at character stats first. Your character, Alex, will gain experience points as you do things in the mines. This can be anything from collecting resources, to defeating enemies or depositing lithium. After earning a certain amount of experience points Alex will level up, gaining a stat point.
Your stat points can be put into any four of the following categories:
Aim: Improves Alex’s aim when using the DIGGERGUN. Increases damage dealt by your DIGGERGUN.
Strength: Enables Alex to carry more lithium. At certain thresholds, Alex will be able to carry more food in their inventory.
Energy: Increases the total amount of energy Alex has.
Luck: Increases Alex’s luck, allowing them to find more lithium, rare materials… as well as a few other things.
A maximum of ten points can be applied to each stat, with the effects of these stats being passive. Due to the way DIGGERGUN has been designed, increasing a stat by just one point can make a huge difference to gameplay.
For example, at the beginning of DIGGERGUN, Alex can only carry five lithium. However, they’ll be required to deposit eight pieces of lithium a day to get paid. If the player invests one stat point into Strength, Alex will be able to carry eight pieces of lithium. This means the player won’t have to make return trips to the lithium deposit to meet their quota.
DIGGERGUN isn’t a mechanically demanding game (it’s not Elden Ring!), however, it has been designed to be oppressive. And making use of your stats points will help you even the odds… especially considering time is money.
Let’s move on to DIGGERGUN abilities. This is quite different from the levelling system outlined above.
Whilst stat increases are passive and can be done in any order, upgrading Alex’s DIGGERGUN is done linearly by progressing the Trader’s storyline. To do so, Alex will have to give the trader various resources.
Upon gaining a DIGGERGUN upgrade, Alex will be able to use a new DIGGERGUN ability when in the mines. Each of these abilities is unique and is designed to help in a variety of situations.
Here are just a few of the DIGGERGUN abilities you can obtain:
Beam: Fires a laser beam, which blasts through multiple enemies until it collides with a solid object.
Shotgun: Fires multiple bullets at once, in a variety of different directions.
Block: Creates a solid block in front of Alex, allowing them to jump on top of it. Can also be used to block enemies.
Using a DIGGERGUN ability costs energy, with each ability’s energy costs being unique. The beam, for example, costs two energy, whilst the shotgun only costs one.
These upgrades have been designed in such a way as to provide interesting moment-to-moment gameplay choices to the player, especially as they dig deeper into the mines and encounter tougher scenarios.
A good example of this is the fly enemies. These little buggers periodically spawn from plants. They are small and difficult to hit with a standard bullet. They are, however, easy to hit with a well-aimed shot whilst using the shotgun ability.
On the flip side, the Laser upgrade is great for clearing a path, but its energy cost is high. This means the player has to choose wisely when to use it.
It's important to note that if Alex's energy drops to zero they will collapse, losing half their money.
How much players will be able to use these upgrades will depend on the stats they invest in. If the player upgrades Alex’s energy stat a lot, then they will be able to use the beam ability a lot more frequently than someone who hasn’t done so.
That’s it when it comes to upgrades… or at least, those that are of use in the mines.
One very important aspect of DIGGERGUN is the various character storylines. The choices players make during these storylines will determine the outcome of Alex’s story. But they also provide a variety of rewards which can help Alex.
Some of these items are small, such as an umbrella which stops the player from losing energy when walking in the rain, while others are exceptionally useful such as lithium storage.
The intention isn’t for players to “min-max” the storylines to get rewards (although I’m certain some players most certainly will), but being a good person can pay off. Sometimes.
That’s all for today! Thanks for reading! Hopefully, now you have a better idea of what gameplay choices you’ll be expected to make when DIGGERGUN launches later this year. Until next time!
- Kabloop