This is the culmination of all of the past Mr Driller games into one updated collection. There is the classic game mode, a drillstone based one, an item based one, and two new game modes all wrapped up in an appealing UI and OST. Ultimately though the classic Mr Driller game mode remains the best which is why i have to score this game relatively low. Classic game modes like endless or time attack are locked behind grinding out and completing the other game modes meaning if you dont like them I cant even recommend this just for the classic game mode. The controls also feel ever more so sluggish compared to the OG which makes it hard to recommend at full price.

This game is incredibly simple, but very fun and has a ton of charm to it. However, it falls short in terms of length & not having enough bones to carry me on doing the completion stuff.

Moreover, the absence of online play with friends is a drawback. It's hard to recommend at its current price, but if you come across it on sale, it's definitely worth giving a shot.

Nonetheless, I'm very happy to see this hidden gem out of the Japan-only cage.

Really tried to get on with this game, but just didn't end up clicking. Too tough for me, and I never felt much motivation to get better, only felt like I was trying to push through again and again just to say I'd done it rather than for the enjoyment of the journey. Sometimes in those situations, you just have to realise it isn't worth it and your time would be spent better elsewhere.

Gorgeous presentation and killer soundtrack, but the gameplay loop didn't keep me hooked enough to help me persevere through the onslaught of challenge.

GOTY 2020 - NUMBER FIVE
Video version

Right, we’re through the iffy half. Now I’m just talking about games I really like. Here’s a belter.

Maybe you saw this on the eShop and thought, “Oh, that’s nice. Mr Driller’s on the Switch. I’m sure the fans are happy”. No! This is far more than that. This is the game that delivers on the potential of Mr Driller.

DrillLand doesn’t feel like it was meant to spend 18 years as a Japan-only Gamecube game. It’s a much bigger deal than that. It’s Namco, reflecting on their key strengths in the arcade scene, and figuring out how to utilise that in an industry that had shifted focus towards home consoles. These kinds of welcoming, attractive, high skill-ceiling games have been a bedrock for Namco in Japan, both in arcades and on console, but apart from Tekken, and perhaps Soulcalibur, Namco hadn’t really managed to convince most western console-owners that these games justified their prices. It’s a side of the company that has become much quieter since those days, as they’ve got through the last decade or so on the back of Bandai licenses and handling international publishing duties for smaller Japanese companies like Level-5 and From Software. The Nintendo Switch has given them much more confidence to explore their roots though.

With Katamari Damacy Reroll and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun, Europe finally became acquainted with two quintessentially “Namco” Namco games. Unique gameplay concepts explored through colourful, attractive visuals and backed by top-tier soundtracks. Mr Driller is one layer closer to the core of Namco. A sort of sequel series to maybe my favourite Namco game – Dig Dug – Mr Driller is born of 80s arcade design philosophy.

It’s a skill-based score attack game that rewards quick decisions and skillful action, and presents a concept that’s entirely its own. A cute wee game about drilling down through sets of coloured blocks without wasting too many actions, or you’ll run out of air. It’s a simple and inviting concept, but I didn’t really know how good it was until DrillLand explored all the different dynamics through its 6 main modes. Creating big block groups, navigating your way to alluring items, and avoiding overhead threats. It’s all stuff that gets richly explored in their own modes and develop your skill as a player. They’re not tutorials. They feel every bit as rich as the main game, and the ludicrous difficulty of the harder levels show how much there is to learn. Drindy Adventure is a personal favourite, bringing over Susumu’s dad, Taizo Hori from Dig Dug and presenting an Indiana Jones-inspired dig site filled with treasures and rolling boulders. It’s tense, cautious and thrilling, and it’s just one wee aspect of the game.

And the soundtrack? I’ve celebrated the mid-2000s Namco soundteam before, and the DrillLand music is every bit as good as anything you’d get from a Taiko no Tatsujin or Katamari Damacy game. It’s fantastic and shouldn’t be overlooked.

DrillLand is so far beyond the rest of the series. It’s the only Mr Driller game worth talking about now. Maybe you’re a little nervous, and you think you won’t get enough out of it. Want my advice? Dig a chance.

uh yo????? Out of all the "Encore" releases that Namco has done (Katamari reroll, mojipittan encore, mr driller drill land encore, and the more recent klonoa 1 and 2 encore), I had definitely slept on this one the most. I had played a little bit of mr driller in the past, but never really understood the game mechanics properly and didn't know if i was playing the game right, so because of that I never really was motivated to try out the other titles. BOY WAS THAT A WRONG MOVE! This game kicks ass! The UI and visuals are so stylish, the cutscenes incredibly charming, and the music is my boy Go Shiina going OFF. The gameplay involves 5 different variations of the main Mr. Driller gameplay that you can enjoy, each with their own unique gimmicks which keeps the game interesting and fun. Don't sleep on this game like I did bro!

I think just seeing gameplay of Mr. Driller undersells how much quick thinking and caution is required to be successful at it. It makes sense that Dig-Dug's protagonist is the father of Susumu Hori, the titular Mr. Driller, as this is essentially a puzzle game that requires the kind of sharp thinking and adaptability that the best of Namco's classic arcade titles required. Yet at the same time, you can mostly keep it at your own pace, as everything is mostly stationary until you use your drill, hopefully getting the chain reaction you wanted while also most likely being faced with all kinds of unforeseen consequences.

It's funny to me that when the game starts, the mode you are faced with is Hole of Druaga, as it's possibly the most complicated of all the modes, but also the most engaging. The dristone mechanic is so good I wish it was in every mode (apparently it is in older entries in the series), and every move made me feel the weight of everything I had done leading up to it. All the other modes are good, but this is the one I'm going to be sinking hours into, you could make a whole game out of it.

The presentation is exactly my shit. Love the art style to pieces, and I was shocked by how good the soundtrack is, and how unreasonably hard it goes in. And how about that credits music? It's another one for the list! As a side note, I love the way that the Mr. Driller series ties into Galaga, Dig-Dug, the Ace Combat series, and several other Namco arcade games. It's all done in a way that's endearingly complicated and not too in-your-face about it. (are there Mr. Driller fans who talk about "the deep lore" as obsessively and annoyingly as Kirby fans? If not, I'll start)

Really, the thing I'm most disappointed by is the fact that this isn't actually a new release, but instead a re-release of a Gamecube game that only came out in Japan. It just feels like a shame that the last truly new game in this series was a phone game released only in South Korea. Hopefully, this sells well enough to convince someone to make a new one (look, I hate the whole "buy the old game again so we'll make a new game" thing just as much as anyone but at least this is a game most people outside of Japan haven't played before).

Mr Driller rules and I suck at it. I cannot play this game that requires things like "thinking" and "patience" I just go damn Dig Doug has the fastest drill I'll pick him and get wrecked. So then I say I'll pick the robot and get double lives. Doesn't help, I'm too godawful.

This game contains many different variations on me getting destroyed at Mr. Driller and they're all neat. One of them is Tower of Druaga except it's called the Hole of Druaga which is a very funny name. There's also a guy named Dr. Manhole in it. Like obviously being a game about digging the hole puns make sense but it's 2022 now and I am a big child with a filthy mind it's not my fault I can't be trusted with seeing the word hole.

Great game. Good stuff.

Mr Driller DrillLand is kind of an odd duck, having a very broad selection of ways to play some Mr Driller good times, including a VERY enjoyable Tower of Druaga tribute, and I don't think there's a better way of playing Mr Driller out there. But it's presented very poorly, with a very cheap feeling to the localisation, cutscenes, and bonuses that are all just the absolute bare minimum, save the fun ending cinematic.
But I mean.... it's all in service to one of the best puzzle games out there, so can't complain.

There's hardly any motivation to keep playing after the main story is complete (thereby making the game quite short) and it doesn't help that the difficulty hits a massive spike right at that point. The various gameplay styles are also hit or miss. But perhaps the worst thing of all is that the story doesn't involve Undergrounders, which is like 50% of the series's charm.

EDIT: After revisiting the game I've started to realize how much it is bad and I hate it. All the menus from the title screen to the world map to the attraction specific screens are outright terrible not to mention slow. The concierge that greets you at every attraction is super obnoxious, always making me instantly regret deciding to get back into the action. What's more is that this screen doesn't even seem to lay out clearly (if at all) whether you actually completed the attraction, only whether you've attempted it. (meaning, it will display your best score, but that doesn't tell you much, since that score could have been a failed run.) I am absolutely repelled from playing the game any further. I've begun to strongly suspect that the game was never actually good, but happened to be easy enough so that there wasn't much stopping me from breezing through the main story before the flaws and lack of charm began to take their toll.

I like Mr. Driller, but this entry is not a good example of it. I'm honestly shocked by this because I always assumed this one to be the holy grail of the series.

While I've always enjoyed the Mr. Driller series, they were never the kind of games that I would play for hours at a time. That all changed when I played Drill Land. Originally a Japan only Gamecube game released in 2002, Bandai Namco decided to localize and remaster this game in 2020 as part of its Encore series.

For those unfamiliar with how Mr. Driller plays, your goal is to drill your way to the bottom of the stage while avoiding any falling blocks from above that will crush you if you’re not careful. Your oxygen meter will also deplete over time so you need to collect air capsules to replenish it. Where this game really shows its depth is in its puzzle mechanics. When 4 or more blocks of the same color connect, they’re cleared from the board. Skillful drilling can result in massive chain reactions which lead to big point bonuses. It’s a simple, yet addictive game that is easy to learn but hard to master.

Drill Land consists of five unique gameplay modes presented as theme park attractions:
First up is Drill Land World Tour, the standard Mr. Driller gameplay mode with 6 playable characters to choose from, each having their own unique abilities. Then there’s Star Driller, which adds power-ups to the mix, ranging from screen clearing bombs to black holes that suck up everything in its path, including you if you’re not careful. Drindy Adventure is an Indiana Jones inspired mode where you must collect a certain number of golden idols before reaching the goal, all while avoiding spike traps and rolling boulders. Horror Night House has you hunting for ghosts hiding in blocks. To capture them, you first need to collect holy water and then inject the blocks containing the ghosts; otherwise, all of the ghosts on screen turn into a swarm of bats and hurt you. Last, but not least, is The Hole of Druaga, my personal favorite. This mode basically turns Mr. Driller into a dungeon crawling RPG complete with side rooms to explore, an item inventory system, enemy encounters, and boss battles. This one mode is so feature rich, it could have easily been its own game.

In addition to the story mode, there’s also two multiplayer modes that are playable for up to four players. Race mode is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a split-screen game where players race to the goal. Battle mode has players competing on the same screen as they search for hidden medals. Your controller will vibrate when you’re close to one. These modes are fun, but they’re not really games that you’d want to play for more than 20 minutes. It’s a shame that none of the main Drill Land modes are playable in multiplayer. The Hole of Druaga is really the only mode that might be considered too complex to turn into a multiplayer game, but all the other modes could have easily been playable in split-screen. The barebones multiplayer is the only blemish on an otherwise stellar game.

Drill Land is widely considered to be the best game in the series, and I totally understand why. It takes the simple gameplay formula of the arcade original and over the course of its five game modes, explores every possible way to expand and build upon that groundwork. Add to that a stylish presentation with fully voiced animated cutscenes, a catchy and diverse soundtrack, and a charming art direction and this game is the complete package.

While some of the modes aren't as good as others (Hole of Druaga is kind of a slog on the higher difficulties), I genuinely think the World Tour mode is absolutely adrenaline pumping, with high paced and dense gameplay that keeps you coming back over and over. You absolutely need to be on your toes and making quick decisions all of the time. Heavily overlooked, in my opinion, probably my favourite arcade puzzle game after TGM (which I'm a lot worse at).

Just keep in mind that in order to get to the harder content you need to beat all of the easier content. If that doesn't sit well with you, maybe look at Mr Driller G instead, which is just as good and only focuses on the core gameplay. If you enjoy the variety of this package though then there's few downsides here.

Also this soundtrack goes from like 0 to 100 a lot it is very very strange but extremely memorable and I love it

Gut reaction having never played Mr. Driller in my life: this might be a perfect game.

What initially seems almost mind-numbingly simple (there's only one button past the d-pad) reveals its ocean of thrills and depth of thought within 10 minutes of playing. There's such an elegant, beautiful blend of control and chaos here that has your brain working overtime planning combos and positioning while an avalanche is constantly centimeters away from smashing you to dust. The feeling of escaping the mounting insanity above you by the skin of your teeth? Second to none. Sometimes it all gets so crazy that I start laughing like a maniac when I die.

And that's only the classic Mr. Driller mode! Five or so other modes also exist to carefulyl twist and invert the basic mechanics in awe-inspiringly clever ways. Suddenly it is a measured RPG, a tense game of chase, a chaotic roguelike. Playing all of them is to fully explore the potential of even the most simple ideas. The whole world is contained in those little colored blocks, I swear.

AND on top of that, this is Namco when they were at their peak! The menus! The UI! The music and style and design! Literally can't get better!

The whole package just expresses a pure joy and a celebration of play. Distilled video game goodness. A constantly blooming garden of fun.

Also I love holes. So bonus points for that.

I’d rate the 2000 Mr. Driller as a 4/5 for a start, and DrillLand includes a version of it as a single one of its 5 modes. This is a very creative take on a puzzle game compilation, with each mode tweaking just enough of the core gameplay as to require that the player adjusts their approach. All of that is wrapped up in a story that’s just as much fun as that height of the anime puzzle genre, Puyo Puyo Tetris. And like PPT, MDDL is fantastically replayable. It’s the Kirby Super Star of Mr. Driller, which makes it a very good time. Here’s hoping that people enjoy this port of the 2002 edition and that we get some new Mr. Driller in the future.

I've heard that Drill Land was the best game in the series, and I have no reason to not believe that even if I have only ever played Mr. Driller 1 before this. The cutesy characters of this game go to a theme park, and each attraction is a different variation on the Mr. Driller gameplay. It's all pretty fun, especially the oddly named "The Hole of Druaga", a attraction that adds items and boss battles, along with trading the time-based gameplay of the other modes with something more turn-based. Saying I had more fun playing that over the game it was named after is an understatement.

However, the difficulty has a really steep curve; the main story, which consists of the first levels of each of the attractions, may as well be the tutorial for a deceptively hard game. I still go back to it, but I probably won't be completing it anytime soon.