Developer: BitBorne Studio
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Action, Adventure
Publisher: BitBorne Studio
Goblin Company is a co-op mining adventure developed and published by BitBorne Studio. Supporting up to four players, it combines exploration, resource gathering, progression systems, and railway building as you venture deep underground in search of valuable crystals. The game is currently available on PC only.
As for Goblin Company, this game is a decent one for you and your friends to dive into. Personally, I wouldn’t find myself playing it on my own, as I think it’s much more fun with friends. You can play with up to four people, and the game features an in-game voice chat that works really well. What’s even more amusing is the goblin voice changer, which was honestly too good. I also liked the feature where you would get a new goblin name every time you died, and pronouncing those goblin names in the voice changer was absolute gold.
This game is intended as a co-op mining game, and it does exactly that. You play as a goblin tasked with venturing into the mines to collect crystals that can be used to upgrade items and perks, helping you gather even more crystals. When starting a game, there are two difficulty options: Chill and Hardcore, with the main difference being that Hardcore gives you a limited number of lives.
We chose to play on Chill mode, and I’m glad we did because we ended up dying a lot more than we thought we would. The main issue that arose from all the dying was that the movement didn’t feel as smooth as it should have. Parkouring across platforms and making jumps to avoid falling felt less impactful than expected. For me personally, the movement was just a bit clunky.
Before you even begin, you’re introduced to a tutorial section, which seemed extremely buggy on our end. We were trying to build the rail and get the flag to spawn, but it just wouldn’t work, so we ended up starting the game without the tutorial or instructions. Honestly, though, the game is very easy to understand and adapt to, so missing the tutorial won’t be an issue. The hub where you buy items and deposit crystals is filled with illustrations that help explain everything anyway.
The map itself is pretty large, and you can do an endless amount of digging and railway building while completing quests. Throughout the mine, you’re given points of interest to work towards. One of the highlights of the game for me was definitely building railway systems. As you mine, you collect crystals that can be deposited at the hub and spent on essentials such as rails, drinks, and torches. You also have two tools that you can switch between: one for mining and one for dealing with enemies, both of which can be upgraded over time.
Railway systems allow you to purchase carts for transporting items, but you can also ride them yourself for faster travel. Riding the carts was extremely fun, especially when you had a railway network stretching deep into the mine. The game also creates plenty of funny moments, such as someone getting absolutely flattened by a returning minecart.
The mining aspect as a whole is very good. If you spend too much time in the darkness, it slowly begins to consume you, making torches essential. Because of that, it’s important to keep a steady supply of crystals coming in so you can maintain your equipment and supplies. This is a mining game after all, and it handles that gameplay loop really well. The more you mine, the better your upgrades become, and the more efficient everything feels.
I also like the fact that you can customise your goblin, and you’ll occasionally find cosmetics while exploring the caves. What’s even more hilarious is that when you die, you’re replaced with another goblin. Reading out the randomly generated names never stopped being funny.
However, I do feel the combat is a bit underwhelming. I wish there was a greater variety of enemies and that they were more aggressive. For example, the larvae-like creatures are easy enough to deal with and don’t pose much of a threat. Combat mainly involves pointing your laser at enemies, and there isn’t a whole lot of depth or reward to it. I think this is an area that could use some reworking. Maybe in the future they could add more dangerous zones, similar to the maze area, where you discover abandoned settlements filled with tougher enemies and better rewards.
Personally, the game does what it’s intended to do. You’re mining crystals, slowly building up your wealth, unlocking upgrades, and creating railway systems, and these are the things the game does really well. I enjoyed playing it with friends because it feels different from a lot of other co-op games and is easy to jump back into whenever you want something a little different.
The game currently features three distinct biomes, and the visuals have a cartoony, old-time aesthetic to them. If you’ve ever watched Trollhunters, it kind of reminded me of that for some reason. I like the lighting, the goblin designs are great, and the world feels full of personality. Even the sound effects are funny, especially hearing goblins grunt away as they fall into lava and burn to a crisp.
I would still like to see more things to explore within the mines and additional points of interest to discover. That said, the progression system is excellent, and the co-op experience is where the game shines most. If you’re looking for a fun mining game to play with friends, Goblin Company is definitely worth checking out.
We are very thankful to have received a few codes to play with a full squad, who had the following to say about Goblin Company. First, Vroggo said the following, “Having played Goblin Company with my friends was fun! Players focus on building and branching out a railway system throughout the cave to mine resources, upgrade gear and perks, and complete tasks.
The music and visuals go hand-in-hand to deliver a retro-esque feel to the game. The music can almost be described as being ghostly or haunting in an upbeat manner. It gives off a certain hint of adventure and wariness as you explore deeper into the caves. The visuals, meanwhile, certainly achieved the gloominess of a cave with the many mushrooms and little light. Not even the lava emits much, if any, light at all! I have died multiple times from falling off, which I thought would be a small crevice but instead was a pool of lava. I honestly cannot tell where the lava is unless I see it directly.
Furthermore, the inventory could use some improvement. It acts like an item/scroll wheel, and using it feels slightly inefficient as a keyboard and mouse player. Some common items like the rails, torch, and energy potion seem to be locked to certain key binds, which kind of makes up for the inefficiency, but other items don’t. It would just be nice to have an on-screen visual of the items and manage the items myself, so I know which inventory key bind to just press on.
Overall, there is a certain charm to the game, and the multiplayer experience was great. Although there is still room for improvement, I find the concept behind the game interesting. I’d rate my overall experience as a 7/10.”
Secondly, Moody said the following, “Goblin Company is definitely a unique game. The game is truly enjoyable with friends. I love the idea of the game and the way it has come to life. The concept of mining ores, creating railways, and everything in between is truly interesting. Something I also loved is that once you die, another goblin gets hired with a different name and all. I do wish the graphics were a bit cleaner, and the movement felt a bit laggy, but other than that it’s truly a fun and enjoyable game.”
Goblin Company delivers a fun co-op mining experience packed with exploration, progression, and plenty of goblin chaos. While the combat could use more variety and the movement feels a little clunky at times, the core gameplay loop of mining, upgrading, and building railways is highly enjoyable. If you’re looking for a game to play with friends, Goblin Company is definitely worth checking out!
Overall: 7/10
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3864450/Goblin_Company/
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
