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Subway Invasion
Game
Game2025
Drill Core
Developer Hungry Couch Games
Corporate greed meets strategic planet-mining in Drill Core! Drill to the heart of planets while managing workers, researching cutting-edge tech, and fortifying against alien attacks. Will you prioritize efficiency and risk your workers' safety, or focus on defense for survival? From the Steam store page
220 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 28, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
141 positive · 43 negative
95% range 70–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 141 | 43 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
831 of 981 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
77% recommend · 141 yes, 42 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 183 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,109 of 2,486 positive).
Many players find Drill Core an engaging blend of mining, tower defense, and roguelite mechanics. [1][2][3] Some reviewers praise its satisfying gameplay loop and high replay value. [4][5][6] A minority of players criticize bugs, repetitive missions, and poor controller support. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
"Controller supported" is borderline false advertising. It uses the joystick as a cursor and all of the control mappings are really clunky. I do not recommended getting this game if you want to play with a controller. I had to switch to mouse and keyboard because it was so bad. I feel straight up lied to. Besides that though, it a meh game. You don't really feel any player agency regarding permanent upgrades or …
- [1]
Honestly, I've hesitated for a long time before buying this game due to mixed reviews. In the end I got it on sale with the DLC, and now I can confidently say I would not mind paying the full price for this. This is a very nice game with lots of content, and it's unfortunate that it didn't get more visibility. Some of the stuff I saw in the negative reviews ended up simply misleading. (For example, claims that the …
- [2]
I'm surprised by all the negative reviews about this game, but I guess to each his own. In my opinion this is one of the most enjoyable game I've played recently, the graphics is fun, sound is great and the game mechanics is brilliant. At its core it's a very simple game, but they managed to make it exciting, challenging and fun with all the creative choices of having different platforms, different type of weapons …
- [6]
I was struggling to settle on something to play when I picked this up on sale and after unlocking the final achievement and over 100hrs playtime I'm happy to recommend. Drill core was a brilliant experience for me. It's simple enough to grasp and can be really unforgiving on the harder difficulties - I was hooked on the game loop. There is a ton of upgrades to unlock and choose from and 3 platforms to use all with a …
- [3]
Drill Core blends mining sim, tower defense, and roguelite chaos into a tense, briskly tuned loop that rarely lets up. While longer sessions can feel a bit repetitive, its taut mechanics and ever-shifting variables make it a gem in terms of replay value. 9/10.
Summarised from 34 of the 229 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Drill Core talk about fun and addictive gameplay loop with mining and tower defense; those who didn't talk about some players report bugs and AI issues. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 220 · most liked firstI liked the game a lot when it launched. But the more new things they implement, they take a turn away from what I liked about the game. I like strategy, planning and making choices. But the changes just gave stress elements and semi-hidden difficulties. I want more (much more) meta upgrades so I can farm and grow stronger and more planning rathern then stress and random luck. But it is a matter of taste, but this is not what i hoped for in the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Controller supported" is borderline false advertising. It uses the joystick as a cursor and all of the control mappings are really clunky. I do not recommended getting this game if you want to play with a controller. I had to switch to mouse and keyboard because it was so bad. I feel straight up lied to. Besides that though, it a meh game. You don't really feel any player agency regarding permanent upgrades or in-game unlocks. Permanent upgrades all fairly linear. With in game upgrades,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And definitely make sure to have a good few games that are for off-stream only, not just one or two. For example, I'll often play Slay The Spire for when I'm listening to podcasts, or recently Drill Core was fantastic for that. Similarly logistics or building games like Factorio or Timberborn.
positive · AI labelView post →Step 1 : Make a roadmap to finish the game and make a lot of content in the future Step 2 : Release it as DLC
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Disclosure: game provided by publisher] Hey folks, added Drill Core to my steam curator page. It's very, very engrossing to say the least, and I somehow already racked up nearly 50 hours before I knew it. store.steampowered.com/app/2821800/...
positive · AI labelView post →Unless you immediately fall in love with the gameplay loop in the very first mission you play, give this game a miss. There is absolutely nothing more to the game than what that first mission provides. Every mission is the exact same and the meta progress provides no material difference to the game to keep it engaging, let alone make it fun. Making us play 0.5% of a game 200 times doesn't mean we got a complete gameplay experience.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So, nearly a year after the "full release" and the first paid DLC now — it's so fun to see the game is still bugged as hell, with my units' AI completely breaking around night 20. Thank you so much for wasting 1.5 hours of my life, game, and soft-locking my very first run as none of my units work anymore. Positives? Luckily, this happened before my refund window closed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Edit: I gave the game another chance but no - the game is really boring in its mechanic. This is a 3/10 game because it is mind numbingly boring. It's a collect 13 ore to increase the turret range by +2% and then send +10 red crystal to company to be able to make the enemies go 3% slower. Then you have to collect special purple ore that, only at level 8, will allow you to start the missions with +1 green ore. It's a stat game with boring enemies, boring turrets, VERY boring buildings and only 3…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, I've hesitated for a long time before buying this game due to mixed reviews. In the end I got it on sale with the DLC, and now I can confidently say I would not mind paying the full price for this. This is a very nice game with lots of content, and it's unfortunate that it didn't get more visibility. Some of the stuff I saw in the negative reviews ended up simply misleading. (For example, claims that the game is "buggy as hell" really made me hesitate before purchase. 17h of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I hate to say it because I really want to like this game but it's not doing for me. Also, i got 17 hours out of it so far so I guess it's not all bad. anyways - It's very similar in structure to "the king is watching" by the same publisher (but different developer). You build defenses that automatically defend your base, you can pepper in some point and click abilities to supplement the defense and you play a minigame to collect resources. I could tell that going into it and I didn't mind…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game was FUN, but unless they get the FPS issue resolved, it is unplayable, a 4090 shouldn't get 22 fps on this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →09/01 -09/07 New Month! New Games! I got a few sponsorships and thought would be a good time to try out new games! Wed: The Great Villainess Strategy of lily Thrus: Drill Core 1.0 launch! Friday: Gears of War w/ @rokthereaper.bsky.social Sat: Wild West Supermarket Sim Sun: Wolfensten 2
neutral · AI labelView post →It's really unfortunate that I cannot say the game as a whole clicks together, because the moment-to-moment gameplay is actually very fun. Clearing out mines, micromanaging to work around the special block threats, making decisions on which technologies to get and which defences to set up, it all works very well. The problem is that on a structural level, there is no pressure to do all that well in any of those aspects, or to pivot your strategy in a different direction, or to care, really. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game could have been great and I really wanted to like it. After a few hours on it and really giving it a chance I cant say that I can recommend it. The game is at best shallow and repetitive, boss fights are trivial, towers are all basically the same. For the price point I expect a lot more. I would 100% avoid this title it is not a 1.0 release.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the demo one of the Steam demo events last year and I enjoyed it. It sat on my wishlist as one of my most wanted indies and recently a friend hooked me up with it. This was a great surprise. I highly recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a fun game that sucked me in, took several days of my time, and even though I didn't play everything available in it, it left me satisfied. Drill Core is simple ... get a random mission, drill to get resources that you'll either keep for meta progression, make it easier to do the mission, or to actually do the mission (like coal to go down a certain distance or resources you need to send back home early). And it is satisfying in that it has a fun game loop ... drill during the day,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We're live! Thank you to the Drill Core Dev for giving me a key to show case their game for you today! Come check us out over at www.twitch.tv/lillikatvt
neutral · AI labelView post →Don't understand Mixed reviews, as charming and fun as any other Tiny Build game, nice idea and well executed. Kinda reminiscent of Steam World dig with a (very) simple Dwarf Fortress style mechanism. I got it on 50% special, definitely a good special buy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those games that could have been a great game, but the poorly balanced game economy, the upgrades on turrets doing pretty much nothing, the slow pace of the game, and the scaling difficulty make for a frustrating play. If it was better balanced, it could have been good fun, but it falls short, and because of that, i don't recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm surprised by all the negative reviews about this game, but I guess to each his own. In my opinion this is one of the most enjoyable game I've played recently, the graphics is fun, sound is great and the game mechanics is brilliant. At its core it's a very simple game, but they managed to make it exciting, challenging and fun with all the creative choices of having different platforms, different type of weapons (energy, explosion, machine gun, etc.) and biomes. I also love that you don't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I only played a bit over an hour, but the game seems interesting and has a good premise. However, I can’t recommend it because of the save system. The game only saves when you successfully complete a stage and move the drill forward. Getting there is not trivial and can easily take a long session. There is no proper way to stop mid-run, either you commit to finishing the stage or you lose all progress. Pausing is only useful for short breaks, not for actually stopping. For a PC game, this is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →if the first level is indicative of the game: it's way too prescribed. too difficult: doesn't allow for any player Agency to try different play styles. You have to build units and buildings very specifically or you just can't survive. Can't devote 2-3hrs to play through a level all at once?? Too bad. You can't save the game mid-level, you have to start over from scratch. It's a good example of adding too many game styles together (tower defense, miner, research/growth, etc) and the developer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my favorite singleplayer games, the progression is fun, lots of replay value, and betatesting was a joy to parttake in! I'm happy to see how great the full version turned out to be, all issues I had with the beta have been solved, congrats dev team! :) If you like games where you get some metaprogression after each mission and have a large variety of difficulty modes and equipment combinations, you will like playing Drill Core! Become a shareholder today! XD It takes a long while…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really good roguelite/"tower" defense/digging game with a few unique ideas. Two big downsides, depends on you how much of dealbreaker they are: - There is a dwarven faction. This is good. They are absolutely abysmal and a microing nightmare to play. This is bad. Honestly the first game where I don't like playing Dwarves. - At least a good third of the buildings/towers are really awful. The balance is unfortunately not very good. Neither in theory nor practice does it make sense to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game just doesn't click for me, it doesn't feel like it has any towerdefense gameplay at all. Its all about managing the mine and maybe 5% going back and building towers. I like to play games in a challenging way, think about how to to play optimaly and get the most out of my situation. You can't do that here without boring yourself to death, the game speed is an issue but the speed up toggle and "fast mode" fix that. The issue instead is that you need to micromanage the mine…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →first game i will play on stream will be Drill Core just to set up audio and know if there any issue i need to fix. before playing other games
neutral · AI labelView post →A great continuation of the Dome idea. The gameplay feels completely different for each class, and the new update also adds platform customization and interesting contracts—there's always something to grind and new quests to complete.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a game with an identity crisis. A lot of things aren't explained properly, and you just have to experiment only to realize you made a poor uninformed decision about the building you just build.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't understand why this game is so lag. I can endure the lag before, but after the new version and new DLC, it become impossible to play at all. So it comes out that i spend money which makes the game stuck?That is not cool at all
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looking at the screenshots, I was expecting something akin to 2D survival crafting. That is absolutely not what this is. It's some bizarre mashup of mining for mats for tower defense set in a roguelite. It's dull and repetitive beyond measure. The game loop. Click on squares you want mined. Wait for them to drill. Wait for different guy to pick it up. Repeat until have enough to buy a tower. Build tower. End day to see if tower kills all the enemies. Repeat until that depth is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was struggling to settle on something to play when I picked this up on sale and after unlocking the final achievement and over 100hrs playtime I'm happy to recommend. Drill core was a brilliant experience for me. It's simple enough to grasp and can be really unforgiving on the harder difficulties - I was hooked on the game loop. There is a ton of upgrades to unlock and choose from and 3 platforms to use all with a different playstyle you need to consider. Clearing each level of a mine…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved this game till the most recent update. Had a lot of problems with the final few achievements for the hardest map modes but that's to be expected. It would just take me time after all. Well time was just taken away from me with the introduction of the "Race the other Platform" addition. The game went from "keep trying and figure it out at your pace, gain a bit here, fall back a bit there but eventually get to it" to "ITS A RACE!" Timers, and by extension AI Race mechanics are just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We were given a key for Drill Core, a management sim and tower defense game! Now that sounds right up my alley, let's go check it out! www.twitch.tv/merandfrog #Vtuber #VtuberEN #VtuberUprising
neutral · AI labelView post →The developer doesn't respond or fix bugs. Don't buy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Underrated gem of a game. Mine resources, build base, defend said base with turrets, repeat. Gameplay Loop Carefully manage your units during the day phase to ramp up your economy. If you don't do this properly, you can get too far behind and fail a run. It's more about micro managing a puzzle than it is a colony sim, but the unique challenges to each type of map make it varied and interesting. During night time, enemies attack, and it is very satisfying to see your turret builds come…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bug free fun miner game with a hit of turret tower defense, this game has lots of stuff to do and some funny story/etc bits. The mining portions get to be pretty repetitive and the turret section is kind of RNG based on what you get, but still fun for a bit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is so much fun! It reminds me of some of my favorite games all wrapped into one. It’s got a survival aspect similar to Missle Command, a farming aspect like Harvest Moon, and a strategy aspect like C&C Red Alert. I am really having fun with it and would recommend this as a chill-out-and-play strategy game. (Played on OG Steam Deck)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →hi. this is my second review of the first 5 minutes of gameplay of a game in the last ten minutes. i just softlocked the game. within 5 minutes. sooooooooo...... im gonna give it a downvote. a clue for future gamers. dont build 2 turrets on one side. you.... just... sit there while you lose 1000 hitpoints 1 per second apparently and theres nothing you can do about it. to avoid doing what i do. first, notice that you may only build 2 turrets and foresee that left to right distance means…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The games is a mixture of tower defense and base management. It has a similar vibe as "Ark of Charon". During the day you gather resources via mining and during the night you defend against growing enemy waves. I would give it somewhat a neutral review. The game has a lot of good things - especially considering the price tag - but it also suffers from, what I view, fundamental design flaws. I reached the maximum difficulty and also completed some of the 1% achievements, so I'd say I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got bored of this REALLY quickly, sadly not quickly enough to be able to return it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wish I could vote neutral. Needs a tutorial as the start is very obtuse. Onboarding isn't explained at all. I couldn't even figure out how to move my miners. There's a ton of popups on the screen, yet none actually explain what to do
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game. The core loop is split between mining and preparing during the day to survive the night with a tower defense style system. Great range of turrets to choose from and use. the meta progression grind is LONG and encourages staying longer in the current mission after completing the primary objective
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, wasnt expecting to like this game as much as i did. Figured itd be good for a playthrough or two instead its been addicting. At the time of writing this they are working on a major patch and a DLC so im excited to see what comes. There are 3 different "races". you start off with one(Humans) and the other 2(Dwarves, and Swarmnids) are unlocked as you level. The humans are actually decent for being a starting race and to be totally honest i prefer them to the dwarves. They are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is dome keeper/wall world on steroids. It is a very polished game, be it its mechanics or visuals. First I kind of did not like, not being able to control the guys, and basically I kept spending all the resources for the workers since they kept dying. Last night a day worm took out 10 guys out in a second, resulting with a rage quit :) If you spend a lot of resources for creating workers, you get softlocked....Then I started to pause often and it became pretty good. So if you're feeling…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is actually a fun time to sit down and relax with. Different planet types, platforms, randomize drilling setting and many other features make this game a good time. Sit back, relax and earn some profit for the company.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At its core this is a drilling game. I loved it to my core once the game mechanics had been drilled in to me. Drilliant.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My personal opinion: Game was great for what it is for the price, but new controller update made it borderline unplayable - I get it some players were not satisfied with mouse-style controller movement, but instead of making new half-baked controller scheme mandatory perhaps dev could make it optional so everyone could choose? Until it is resolved can't recommend it and seeing no proper response from the dev after a week or so I doubt it ever will.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The latest update with controller support sounds good on paper but makes it a mess playing on steamdeck, all keybinds have been jumbled so there's no familiarity nor sense of coming back to the game you remember. Having the option to switch to the pointer style and previous keybinds would've been appreciated.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Drill Core blends mining sim, tower defense, and roguelite chaos into a tense, briskly tuned loop that rarely lets up. While longer sessions can feel a bit repetitive, its taut mechanics and ever-shifting variables make it a gem in terms of replay value. 9/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Our roguelite mining strategy game Drill Core leaves Early Access today! I did a bit of Asia marketing work on this one A cool thing to mention is that the game has full voice over in a few languages including Mandarin Chinese, reminiscent of Red Alert store.steampowered.com/app/2821800/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Great digging game. I've played most of them and this one is in the top 5.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pretty good game in its niche genre of drilling rogue-like tower defense. It's similar to titles like Dome Keeper and Wall World. I'm definitely happy to see another game of that type. Had a lot of fun completing the game and getting all achievements. There are some issues, though, that I want to point out: -Game crashes a lot and gets laggy in longer runs (or just by having the game opened for long), and the workers sometimes teleport when having higher movement speed - it looks like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is ok micromanagement+autobattler merger. Different scenarios and missions adds some differences to the runs. But it gets pretty repetative and you start to feel as routine as these miners. Additional minus for metaprogression, ew.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will give a no to this game. I gave it a fair shot, it's too late to refund. IT IS INCREDIBLY TEDIOUS. The entire gameplay loop is to count your miners/haulers every 30 seconds and replace who died. You lose a few every minute. They just keep dying in the mine for no reason. Heading into a lava block or mining a boulder from under it, when there is a better approach. It's insane how fragile and stupid they are. MAJOR ANNOYANCE: END OF DAY RECALL SHOULD BE AUTOMATIC start of day -> all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, it's not perfect, and the pure amount of buildings and turrets really often leads to some runs where you either get crushed fast, or you become extremely powerful. But gosh, there is something addicting about this game. Digging cleverly underground Boulder Dash-style, trying to avoid falling rocks and trying to extract as much resources, while playing a normal but fairly unique Turret Defense game on the surface is kind of good. The mixture of genres is real good. It's like part…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay ★★★☆ – Good a very unique twist of tower defense, resource management, and harvesting Performance ★★★☆ – Good No issues. Loading screens are fine. Should be toaster capable Value ★★☆☆ 2 – Ok My $1=1hr rule is a close one here. While I can see myself playing 20 hrs. I doubt I ever will. ──────────────────── Review I enjoyed every moment I played this game outside of using the dwarves. Nothing against the dwarves but they are NOT for me. I really like the multi facet…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Way too slow, for a tower defense game. Many debuffs that slow your workers down ever further. There's only two speeds in the game Slow and Very Slow. Without worker speed, game is pretty much unplayable unless you like watching workers mine one block for 30 seconds.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game especially in harder difficulties is heavily influenced by RNG to the point you would be unable to complete them unless every star aligns and you get everything at the correct time while making every correct decision. If this is your type of thing go for it, if u like replaying the same stage over and over essentially banging your head in the wall by all means, otherwise there are better games of this type to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Drill Core, developed by Hungry Couch Games and published by tinyBuild, is a cleverly designed strategy hybrid that merges base management, roguelite progression, and tower defense into a cohesive and highly engaging gameplay loop. Set within a corporate-driven sci-fi universe, the game casts players as overseers of a mining operation tasked with extracting valuable resources from dangerous alien worlds. What initially appears to be a straightforward resource-gathering objective quickly evolves…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is boring in a strange way. Game feels slow. You have speed up button but then you need to constantly pause because of dangers, weird stones which you need to keep eye on etc, so ultimately it's just dragging. There are difficulty levels but I don't know what they do. There are some meta-updates but they are locked by some level cap, so gathering resources for them don't make sense. You either get level and then you will have enough resources or you don't get level and need to play…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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