Deep Rock Galactic is free to play for the weekend

To mark the launch of its third season, the dwarves-in-space shooter Deep Rock Galactic is going free to play on Steam for the weekend.

Deep Rock Galactic struck me as a silly idea that was probably doomed to fail when I first heard about it: You play as dwarves, delving deep—as dwarves are wont to do—but in space, which also happens to be overrun with alien creepos who for whatever reason take serious exception to your industrious activities. Extraction shooters are fun, sure, but space dwarves? Really?

Yet the whole thing turned out to be rather good: It's not the easiest thing for newcomers to get into but we called it “a clear and distinct spin on 4-player co-op FPS with atmosphere [and] ingenuity” in our 79% review, and it's rocking an “overwhelmingly positive” rating across nearly 122,000 user reviews on Steam. Player numbers have held up very well in the two years since Deep Rock Galactic went into full release too.

The third season of Deep Rock Galactic, Plaguefall, kicked off yesterday, bringing a new contagion to the game in the form of “the sinister and highly transmissible Rockpox,” plus new grenades—always handy in the mining biz—”unique beards,” and a new, free 100-tier season pass. 

To get the ball rolling, Ghost Ship Games has made DRG free to play until November 6: Just pop over to Steam and click the “play game” button, and the magic will happen. If you dig the experience and want to carry on, the game is also on sale for 67% off—$10/£8/€10—until November 17.