One of the best surprises of 2022 was the launch of co-op survival game Core Keeper, a mining and crafting sandbox for up to eight players. Set deep underground, Core Keeper's sprawling subterranean world is filled with hidden dangers and brutal boss monsters but also manages to pull off a cozy, comfy, Stardew Valley-like feel. While the rest of the PC Gamer staff were dodge-rolling through Elden Ring back in March, I was happily digging my way through the various biomes of the underground world.
I wasn't alone: Core Keeper became a hit on Steam with half a million downloads in its first two weeks of Early Access. Since then developer Pugstorm has been busy expanding the sandbox with an undersea update in June, a crossover with Terraria in September, and a Halloween event last month.
On November 10, Core Keeper is getting another update, and it's the biggest yet. The Desert of Beginnings is a sandy, scorchingly hot new biome being added to the underworld, along with a new sub-biome called the Molten Quarry. It's already looking like there's lots of new stuff to do and a fun new way to get around in the world: It has go-carts, y'all. Go-carts!
In the new desert biome players will be able to find and mine Galaxite ore, a new resource, which will allow them to build a new type of workbench. There they'll be able to craft three different kinds of go-carts to use for traveling the underworld, speeding away from enemies, or racing other players.
And when you're done offroading, there are two big new bosses to tackle, Igneous the Molten Mass and Ra-Akar the Sand Titan. Like the rest of the Core Keeper bosses, these fights are always brutally tough and it'll be fun seeing players come up with strategies to defeat the new behemoths. The update also contains some new base-building options, and a new insect-catching net will allow you collect 12 different bugs including beetles and fireflies to display in your home.
Below you can get a nice look at what's coming in a trailer showing off the new biomes, one of the bosses, and those fun-looking go-carts:
Along with the new biome and bosses, Pugstorm says there are other features in the update, such as "the ability to fish from boats and minecarts; clickable recipes to add ingredients to the cooking pot automatically; and the option to destroy, pick up and place a selection of larger world objects," like those big chunks of ruins that can be found in the world. More Caveling enemy types are also being added, and the soundtrack is expanding with new music, too.
Core Keeper is available on Steam, and you can read more about the November 10 update right here. There's a little gallery of screenshots below as well.
