To The Core is a game that can easily consume hours of your time. It presents itself as an incremental game focused on extracting and utilizing resources from planets to purchase upgrades. From the moment I bought the game, I found myself hooked by its addictive progression curve.
At the beginning, you control an ineffectual mining ship that can only chip at the surface of a single planet. Despite its limitations, the game manages to captivate with its slow progress. However, this initial powerlessness is short-lived, as you soon find yourself leading a swarm of bomb-dropping drones and aerial bombardment lasers capable of devouring any planet to its core in seconds.
From Ineffectual to Invincible
The gameplay of To The Core combines elements of idle games and Vampire Survivors. In the early stages, your ship’s capabilities are limited to rotating and pointing your drill. Steering is impossible, except for obeying gravity and angling bounces off the planet’s surface. This lack of control makes progress frustratingly slow, often resulting in your ship’s explosive demise.
After each explosion, you have the opportunity to take your meager haul and unlock upgrades in the skill tree. Initially, you gain the ability to prevent bouncing by holding the shift key, followed by the ability to steer using WASD. As you progress, you can increase drill damage output and reduce fuel consumption, making each expedition more profitable.
With every unlock and maxed-out node, the branches of the skill tree expand, highlighting the stark contrast between your humble beginnings and your remarkable ascent to power. Different materials found on planets contribute to various upgrades, making your drill diamond-plated and providing passive buffs that yield extra resources with every block mined.
At my current power level in the game, I am armed not only with a drill but also a mining laser, regenerating grenades, auto-firing missiles, auto-firing electricity bolts, and a plethora of drones and aerial bombardment lasers. Each attack triggers a cascade of secondary and tertiary projectiles and explosions, transforming the once-small mining ship into a chaotic swarm of pixelated destruction.
The Mindless Spectacle
The addictive nature of To The Core lies in the mindless spectacle it offers. Overcoming each new planet poses no real challenge; it is merely a matter of time. The gameplay introduces various idle elements, including crafting and farming menus, where you can set eternal production tasks in motion. The skill tree, while visually appealing, does not require any strategic decision-making, as eventually, all upgrades will be unlocked.
Even the mining expeditions themselves can become akin to idle gameplay. With my current power level, I simply let my mining ship descend toward the planet’s core while my army of drones does the work for me. One of the simplest yet most satisfying pleasures is spinning in the gravity well left behind after destroying a planet core and patiently watching as the remainder of the planet is consumed from the inside out.
Despite the mindless nature of To The Core, there is a part of me that feels compelled to condemn it. It lacks substance and is purely indulgent entertainment. However, I firmly believe in the philosophy of embracing pleasure without guilt. To The Core may be shallow, but it undeniably brings joy to those who play it. In a way, it is the Jupiter Ascending to other more profound space exploration games’ 2001: A Space Odyssey.
If you’re looking for a game that offers mindless pleasure and addictive gameplay, To The Core is worth considering. With its 30% launch discount, it is currently available on Steam for £4.68/€5.45/$5.59. Give in to the allure of this captivating incremental game and experience the thrill of steadily ascending from an ineffectual miner to the leader of a devastating swarm.
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