There are countless survival games worth trying, but the freedom they provide to explore can sometimes leave players feeling unsure of their next move. This month, one of the top survival titles in recent years joins PlayStation Plus—featuring a distinct underground setting that brings much-needed structure to its open-world exploration.
Following a stint in Steam Early Access, Core Keeper officially launched in August 2024—and even then, it stood out as one of the finest base-building games available. The game begins with your character (or characters, if you opt for its excellent co-op mode) being whisked away to a vast underground world with no path back to the surface. To advance, you must tunnel through cavern walls, uncovering abundant treasures and exploring various biomes—each topped with a boss that holds clues to the underground’s secrets.
Core Keeper was already a must-play when it launched, and it’s only grown more engaging in the months since. Over the year and a half following its official release, developer Pugstorm has polished nearly every facet of the game via regular patches, while major updates have introduced even more content: new biomes, additional bosses, combat-assisting pets, an upgraded inventory system, explosive weapons, and seasonal events.
While these updates have been fantastic, they’d be meaningless if the base game wasn’t already enjoyable. Luckily, Core Keeper is a standout in its genre. Unlike many games, there are no predefined paths—everywhere you go requires tunneling through stone to carve your own way. The caverns are dotted with fertile clearings, ancient ruins, and unexpected surprises, which often hide enemies or even a handful of friendly creatures. Each discovery feels authentic, as you can only find them by choosing a direction and trusting your gut.
In other games, this level of freedom might feel directionless, but Core Keeper masterfully balances openness with structure. Right at the start of your journey, you’ll find a shrine that asks you to return an unknown artifact—giving you a cryptic goal to pursue from the get-go. As you explore further, you’ll encounter bosses, each carrying items essential for your continued exploration. Chances are you won’t defeat them on your first try, so they act as both a roadmap for progress and a target to build your character up to.
The sense of character progression in Core Keeper is equally impressive. You begin with basic wooden tools, but it doesn’t take long to find better materials and more powerful gear. The game offers a surprising degree of customization for your character: you can choose weapons that specialize in melee, ranged, or magic attacks, or even summon minions to fight alongside you. A single new piece of equipment can completely alter your playstyle, and collecting full gear sets adds another layer of challenge to work toward.
Shortly after Core Keeper’s arrival on PS Plus, it’s set to get another big update called Void and Voltage. This update will introduce exciting new gear (including a flamethrower), along with mechanical monsters and an eerie new biome outside the current map’s boundaries. This makes now the perfect time to dive into Core Keeper if you haven’t already—start building your underground base and get ready for the upcoming challenges.