Coal LLC takes Terraria's mining to the ultimate extreme, and I'm hooked

Terraria offers a veritable wealth of activities to pursue, yet the simple act of mining remains my favorite. There's something unbeatable about the allure of cracking through dirt, stone, and marble, spying that glint in the distance, and unearthing a valuable prize. Whether you're simply carving out raw resources or hunting treasure, however, it's always a little faster with a helping hand or two. But what about a hundred of them, or a thousand? Coal LLC takes the task of gathering to its ultimate extreme, reimagining your little project as a hyper-capitalist industrial operation, and I can't stop coming back for more.

"Fill your quota or die." That's quite a brutal pitch, but Coal LLC isn't wasting time with pleasantries. You've got to hit your daily coal goal, or you're outta there. To start with, it's just you and a simple, shoddy pickaxe. Tink, tink, tink your way through the earth square by square and grab as much as you can, but be sure to get it back to base before the clock runs out; anything not stored by end-of-day is effectively lost. Developer Bye Bye Ocean has distilled the best sandbox games down to a delicious syrup. However, it's then injected that with a fresh shot of run-based progression inspired by the best roguelikes.

Day one closes, and you've enough money to hire an assistant. A lowly intern, they don't work nearly as efficiently as you, and they won't actually gather and return the resources they dig out. But it's a start. As a bit more cash starts to flow, you're able to bring on a collector or two that will ferry materials back to storage. Depending on your needs, you can either upgrade them to be faster, or to carry more inventory at once.

What about some more equipment for yourself? Emergency ladders and platforms, for the times you dig too greedily and too deep, and need a way back. A stronger pick, or perhaps a few sticks of dynamite to get the job done faster. Soon, hundreds of gold turns into thousands, and more: now you're buying a jetpack, and hiring workers that can deliver pinpoint artillery strikes, cleave through large stretches of land in a single swing, or buff other miners around them with support skills.

Things don't stop there. What if you could go to town on the map with a minigun, then induce a mini-earthquake to demolish any tile that has taken even a single hit of damage? Or perhaps, in a slightly more cute approach, bring a team dog into the fold that's capable of sniffing out the rarest ores nearby. And yes, you can pet them. Coal LLC really does have it all. The loop is simple, but compelling, and with a wide range of different starting miners (with various modifiers) and maps, the replay value will keep you coming back for more.

Coal LLC is out now on Steam, with a 10% launch discount available through Thursday September 25 that means you'll pay just $13.49 / £11.51. There's also a free demo you can download from the store page to try it out before you buy.

Craving more ways to unleash a horde of minions to do your bidding? We've rounded up the best management games for just that. Alternatively, take a look through the best indie games in 2025.

Stop by the PCGamesN community Discord server and let us know what videogame activity will always have you coming back for more.