SELECT: Core Keeper

Core Keeper is the love child of Terraria and Stardew Valley that got lost in a cave and never found its way out. The early game is a dopamine factory—exploring, mining, and first boss kills have players mainlining copium about how it's the next big survival crafter. But the honeymoon phase crashes hard mid-to-late game: the community is sharply divided between those still vibing to the pixel art and music, and those screaming about unbalanced classes (mage/summoner are memes), tedious grind walls, and a gameplay loop that turns into a repetitive chore list. The consensus? It's a fantastic 15-20 hour game that overstays its welcome, with a vocal minority loving the automation and co-op chaos while the majority review-bomb the late-game difficulty spike and lack of meaningful progression rewards.