Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor’s shiny snail keeps betraying me

I play as a solo dwarf in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, armed with weapons, running around the mines of Hoxxes IV in search of valuable minerals. I gun down hordes of monsters, dig out supply caches, and upgrade my weapons so they fire even more hot death. But there’s one thing that always catches my attention and turns me into a homing missile. It’s a goofy little snail, and it brings me so much joy.

Known as the Huuli Hoarder, the snail operates much like the Treasure Goblin from the Diablo franchise. It shows up without warning and its presence can be the highlight of a run. The snail, upon spotting a dwarf, gives a high-pitched little shriek, wiggles its butt, and flees off-screen. There’s a built-in risk/reward ratio here; chasing and killing the snail rewards a huge chunk of experience and a random upgrade. But the snail flees where it pleases — often towards environmental hazards, big masses of monsters, or a tiny corner of the map.

Each level only lasts so long; the time spent chasing down a snail could be worth it… or it could lead to an overall loss in resources as you leave mining nodes and experience around the map. You are, after all, a corporate worker delving beneath the crust of a hostile planet to kill aliens and make profit. It’s a fairly confined situation, and positioning is very important if you want to stay out of reach of the endless alien swarms.

This video by YouTuber RubyWeapon shows the Hoarder in action, and I hope its little scream and wiggle brings you as much delight as it does me. It can’t even attack! It’s just a scared pacifist in a lonely cave who endlessly tries to run away.

Players have been bullying this little snail for years in Deep Rock Galactic, but I find the solo nature of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor makes the process of hunting a snail more personal than the original, four-player game. Sorry, buddy, I’m not trapped in here with you — you’re trapped in here with me.

Sometimes, it’s tactically viable to prioritize chasing the Huuli Hoarder because it can give augments or a huge amount of resources. But unfortunately, I’ve ended many a run overcome with snail-lust, chasing the thing into a choke point where I am subsequently swarmed and murdered. I have to admit that I’m not always thinking about the long game. Sometimes, just catching a glimpse of a Huuli Hoarder activates part of my primal lizard brain and I lose all control. I must go after it. I must secure the snail.

The Treasure Goblin-style monster is not super rare in games; it’s more of a fun curveball to throw at players. But there’s something so pathetic about the Huuli Hoarder that it lives in my mind, rent-free. Its little shrieks, its useless wiggling, and its utter cowardice speaks to me. In many ways, I myself am a Huuli Hoarder.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor has been quite successful as a spin-off, and it helps that there’s already a full rogues gallery of beasties from the core co-op game. I haven’t been able to reliably hustle up a full squad of four players, but I can always fit a round or two of Survivor between other obligations. It’s a simple pleasure, punctuated by delightful highlights — like running into, and cracking open, a silly little Huuli Hoarder.