In Core Keeper, your avatar is dropped into a mysterious dark cavern. You find yourself in a room with a powered-down core, connected to three statues that seem to require gemstones to run. What now? Essentially, you dig your way out from the center to find food, supplies, and enemies to battle. It’s sort of like the graphics of Stardew Valley with the gameplay of Minecraft.

10+ hours in so far and 2 bosses defeated, and I haven't been pestered by the stupid bloodmoons, goblin hordes or any trash like that that happens in many other survival crafting games. I've had enemies appear around my base 2-3 times causing minor damage, and that's plenty; enough to give you a reason to think about traps and securing your base, but not so much as to detract from your main goals. So this is a welcome difference that makes me want to keep playing. If you've never played either of the abovementioned games, but think you like the idea of survival crafting and building game, it's excellent for the asking price (especially as it's 50% off on a couple stores), so give it a go. Beautiful graphics; a fun and engaging gameplay loop of exploring, collecting resources and building; easy to jump into and back out of on your own time, and great fun either solo or with a friend(s).

Image via Pugstorm Note: The only additional condition for successfully farming monsters is for you not to be on the same screen while the monsters are spawning.

Killing Glurch spawns a chest with a few random items and a crystal. Take all of the items (and the chest!), then put the crystal in Glurch's statue near the Core. This will partially power the Core and open up a few new crafting recipes at the Glurch statue.

It seems that for now this game ID is necessary. You can’t currently drop into a stranger’s game or just open your own game to other players.

can support up to eight players in a single cave system at once with a pretty straightforward multiplayer system. Co-op is online only for now, but sharing your game ID is easy enough to invite visitors to drop by.

I usually don't like darkness in games. When prompted at the start of a horror game to adjust a slider until the logo can barely be seen, I move that damn slider as far to the right as it'll go.

Keeper’s Toll places a heavy focus on slow-paced, skill-based gameplay with ARPG elements. Each run allows you to study your enemies and hone your skills while progressing through the main quest.

These three Boss fights can be attempted in any order, as soon as each boss is found. They're all pre-spawned at set distances in the world. Players may chose to prepare more by progressing through these first 4 tiers of equipment based on the materials found in the initially accessible biomes.

Screenshot by Bonus Core Keeper Gameplay Action Glow Tulips, and recipes that incorporate them, will cause your character to emit an ambient glow. It’s not super bright, but the extra light can be really useful before you can craft a lantern for a more permanent solution.

Like many sandbox survival games, Core Keeper throws you right into the action. The lack of clear objectives and demands from the game is part of what makes it good cozy fun, but it can also be a bit confusing.

After your payment has been processed, the content will be downloaded to the applicable system linked to your Nintendo Account. This system must be updated to the latest system software and connected to the Net with automatic downloads enabled, and it must have enough storage to complete the download.

The first time I saw glowing red eyes blinking in the dark in one of the more distant biomes I got so panicked I wound up swinging a berry pudding I had in my inventory instead of my sword. Tunneling into any new area, surrounded by pitch-black darkness and only clearing a path wide enough for yourself can be creepy and claustrophobic.

Create a totally unique base using a variety of different materials and customisations. From the ultimate adventurer’s lair to a cozy underground cottage, shape the underground your way.