-No microtransactions
-No gambling
-No predatory matchmaking (it's all peer-to-peer)
-No psychological manipulation designed to get you to spend
-No obscene "you will own nothing and be happy" EULA

What more can you ask for?

It's not a game made by ultra-wealthy executives hunting for whales to feed their shareholders. It's a game made with passion. Passion which was used to create a very compelling game, not a bullshіt in-game store, or bullshіt legalese terms and conditions, or bullshіt telemetry, or bullshіt psychological tricks. While Deep Rock Galactic stands out as unique for not being overwrought with such things, it's a wonderful game in its own right, which I'm sure the loads of other positive reviews will do a better job at highlighting what makes it so wonderful.

One of the best games I was ever given to play, it's worth your time.

I bought Astroneer in 2016. I've seen its ups and downs, I've greatly enjoyed playing this game.

In 2023, Devolver Digital made a "strategic acquisition"[investors.devolverdigital.com] in the form of System Era Softworks, this game's developers. Devolver Digital is a publicly traded company, and with that comes shareholder expectations.

If you've ever seen large studios ruin or kill beloved games or series, this exact thing is the big reason as to why they die; when studios are subject to shareholder expectations, the players, the paying customers are no longer a studio's priority or main concern - the shareholders are.

Fast forward to 2025, this exact pattern becomes materialized; the Megatech DLC very conveniently comes out in time before the end of Q4 2025, so Devolver Digital is able to boast about a return on investment in their shareholder financial meetings and reports. Unsurprisingly, this DLC shows the hallmark of being very rushed, being full of game-breaking exploits (softlocks) that brick save files that have been active for a decade for the most dedicated players.

In the aftermath of this terrible release, System Era pushed an abhorrent announcement, making a very large show of dozens (DOZENS!!!) of discord reactions to unrelated fan art, sales figures and a "Mega Launch". If this sounds utterly nonsensical, there's a very good as to why; you are not the actual intended audience for this announcement, Devolver Digital's shareholders very clearly are. Shareholders never need to play the games they invest in, they wouldn't know any better about the reality of what was put up for sale.

With the release of the Megatech DLC, both System Era Softworks and Devolver Digital have showed themselves to be disrepute companies.

They do not deserve your business, do not give either of these companies your hard earned cash. Your money is better spent on games by developers who demonstrate to have a track record for treating their audience with respect. By prioritizing shareholder expectations over their existing audience, they have both set a precedent for engaging in the same behaviour in the future.

In short, game company is acquired, it becomes subject to shareholder expectations, and enshіttification follows very soon after. I used to love this game, but I don't exactly have a shіt eating fetish.

Both System Era Softworks and Devolver Digital have irrevocably damaged their brand in my eyes, and I will not purchase another game that has direct involvement with either of those companies.