How to play DEEPER
Sterium AI · · Updated
DEEPER is a mining colony sim about giving orders and keeping autonomous miners alive. You plan the tunnels and settlement; the colonists find work, eat, rest and react to danger.
The free browser demo needs no installation and reaches the Crystal Hollows. The full game is available on itch.io for Windows and Linux, from $5 USD. It adds a huge map, more creatures and a greater challenge.
Start with reachable mining orders
Mark the rock you want excavated instead of steering every miner. Colonists choose reachable jobs and make their own way to them. Begin with a modest working area, then expand it as you establish supplies and access. A large mining order will not help if nobody can reach it.
When work stops, check the route before adding more orders. A blocked passage can interrupt several jobs or leave part of the colony stranded. Digging in stages makes it easier to see which new opening needs a ladder, light or defense.
Build ladders and carry light
Connect levels with ladders and keep a clear way back to the settlement. Think about the return journey as well as the next deposit: miners need to reach food and beds after working underground.
Light the tunnels as you expand. The gameplay scenes show that light affects some creatures, but it is not a universal defense: the crystal golem encounter includes an enemy that ignores it. Keep routes usable and prepare defenses before opening another chamber.
Put food and beds near the work
Your colonists have needs as well as jobs. Hungry miners look for food and tired miners seek an available bed. Keep farms, supplies and sleeping areas accessible from the active tunnels rather than treating the settlement as an afterthought.
Arrange a clear sleeping area and maintain its connections while the digging front moves. The website’s colony scenes show excavation, bed construction, farming and defense happening together. Watch how these jobs share the same space: expanding the mine also means maintaining the colony that works it.
Plan around fearful miners
The miners are not fearless soldiers. They may flee combat and abandon their friends to survive. Do not assume that an exposed worker will hold a passage just because you need that route open.
Prepare the approach to dangerous areas with lighting and defenses. Watch the colony’s behavior during an encounter, then reconsider the route or work area. Strategy means creating conditions the miners can survive, not relying on bravery they do not have.
Choose the difficulty
The current build offers Easy, Normal and Hard. These modes change starting supplies, hunger, creature strength and how frequently threats appear. Start with Easy if you want a gentler introduction to mining and colony needs; choose a tougher mode when you want more pressure on your planning.
Read the underground terrain
- Fungal Depths: glowing mushrooms, new resources and creatures in the shadows. Extend lighting and access as you explore.
- Crystal Hollows: valuable crystals reward exploration, but need a safe route back. This is the region where the free demo ends.
- Sunken Ruins: ancient halls hold treasure and threats. They appear in the gallery, beyond the demo’s scope.
- Magma Core: rich ore, narrow routes and moving lava make tunnel placement risky. This region also lies beyond the demo.
What to check when your colony stops working
Why are my miners not digging?
Before marking more rock, check for a usable route from the settlement to the work area. Look at changes in height, ladders and passages you closed while building. Try a small excavation nearby so you can see where the route breaks down.
Why do colonists leave their jobs?
Eating, resting and fleeing danger are also part of a colonist’s behavior. Check whether they can reach food and an available bed, and whether creatures are near the mining front. More orders cannot fix hunger or create a route home.
How do I avoid stranding my miners?
Dig in stages and connect each change in height before advancing. Keep a continuous route to the settlement and consider what would happen if a creature or lava blocked the next passage. Revisit ladders and lighting and food and beds if you need the basics.
Know which descent you are playing
The game’s full descent aims for the Heart of the Deep, 1,500 metres below the surface. That is not the demo’s endpoint: the free demo stops at the Crystal Hollows. The full game adds a huge map, more creatures and a greater challenge.
Play the free demo, revisit the colony in action, or read the development updates to follow what changes.