Bore Blasters and its mix of Vampire Survivors meets Dome Keeper is, dare I say it, a blast

Many a Survivors-like has come and gone over the last couple of years, but Bore Blasters might be the first one that's really struck a chord with me. Or maybe that should be struck gold, as this mining roguelike is all about collecting little gem-like nuggets while boring deep underground for treasure and fending off all manner of flying eyeballs, bats and other unmentionable horrors with wings. I've been playing its Steam Next Fest demo this morning, and my initial impression is that it's a little bit Dome Keeper, a little bit SteamWorld Dig, and very, very good. Even better, developers 8BitSkull have just announced it's coming out in full next month.

BORE BLASTERS - Release date announcement trailer

Launching on March 8th (with native support for Steam Deck in tow, too), Bore Blasters gets three things absolutely right. Its sound design is impeccable, with the low grumble of your gyrocopter's guns tearing through rock meshing perfectly with the satisfying blp blp blp of sucking up gold and crystals and the rocky, almost Doom-like guitar wails of its underlying soundtrack. I also love the rush of your special ability, which lets you rip through all manner of rock tiers in timed blasts like a jet-propelled shark. It only lasts a couple of seconds, but really lets you make some headway in getting down to the level's maximum depth while conserving your limited amount of fuel (which can be topped up by blasting little fuel cannisters along the way if you spot them).

The thing I like most about Bore Blasters, though, is all the lovely chunky numbers. It's like Borderlands on steroids, and the sheer amount of quantified destruction on display is just, yep, that's the good stuff right there. Your gem counter is constantly racking up as well, with later upgrades letting you earn more each individual nugget, and at the end of each level you get a full rundown of your earnings, the depth you achieved, blocks destroyed, gems collected, and enemies defeated, all to the tune of chain-like crankings as the numbers tick up in front of you. It's glorious, and makes every completing a level feel like a real achievement.

Admittedly, the Next Fest demo doesn't really tap too deeply into its Vampire Survivors-like vein just yet. The levels which do have enemies are reasonably tame by Poncle standards, and since each level ends when you reach its respective treasure, the stakes never escalate to the point where you really need to start thinking about which upgrade you're going to choose next. Still, as levels get deeper, darker and trickier to navigate, I hope this will come into play a bit more in the final game. I do love how levels start out with great visibility but increasingly rely on your copter's torchlight to see where you're going the deeper you go, and I can imagine things getting quite hairy when you're trying to cut through rock, fend off baddies and not deplete your limited number of shields by crashing into things all at the same time.

Still, Bore Blasters' 30-minute-odd Next Fest demo is great fun even without all that, so do give it a go when you get a chance (along with all our other Next Fest recommendations). Here's hoping its full release on March 8th will deliver the goods on this promising first impression.