In a stroke of dwarven genius, this cutthroat roguelike combines Terraria with Deep Rock Galactic for one of my favorite Steam Next Fest demos yet

gamesradar.com:

I've had my eye on dwarven roguelike Below the Stone for several months, so I was eager to give its Steam Next Fest demo a play. Folks, I'm pleased to report that the Terraria and Deep Rock Galactic vibes I was picking up were dead-on. This is shaping up to be something really special, and handily one of the best Steam Next Fest demos to play this week. 

Below the Stone is an isometric action roguelike where you, a promising dwarf explorer generated and customized almost Rogue Legacy-style, dig and fight your way through caves in search of ore and treasure. Armed with whatever tools and supplies you brought from base, perhaps with the help of the game's many vendor NPCs, you head into the procedurally generated underground with specific mission goals. Kill a certain type of enemy, get enough of a particular ore, and so on – then call in a drill pod to return home once you accomplish at least one of the missions you chose. 

The crafting system, user interface, and digging animation immediately brought me back to Terraria. Combat feels similar, too, even with the shift in perspective. It's a lot of kiting around while swinging your pickaxe – or axe, sword, or whatever you have to hand – like your life depends on it, because it does. There are also ranged weapons like crossbows, giving the game some toned-down Enter the Gungeon energy, and the game's trailer shows a hugely varied arsenal to discover. Down in the caves, the ore gathering missions and frantic extraction phase – which sees enemies pour in as you count the seconds to the drill pod's landing – tickled the Deep Rock Galactic receptor in my brain, which obviously every human being has. 

There are familiar, engrossing elements here, but the balance, presentation,