Deep Rock Galactic auto-shooter nixes upsetting 'die like your mother did' voice line so as to not 'remind some players of tragic events in their life'

Deep Rock galactic survivor character in a jump ship solo — (Image credit: Funday Games)

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor—DRG's dwarf-themed Vampire Survivors-like—is yanking out one of its more ah, questionable voice lines. In patch notes for the game's 0.2.146d hotfix, released Tuesday, the gang at Funday Games announced they'd be nixing the "Die like your mother did!" line that dwarves sometimes shout as they mow down enemies.

"We think it's out of place and don't want to remind some players of tragic events in their life when they want to relax with a video game," go the patch notes, adding that the devs "might add a voice line filter in options down the line if enough people want it."

The "Die like your mother did" line exists in standard Deep Rock Galactic and has done for years, so it might seem a little odd for Funday to decide to pull it from their spin-off. I think it makes sense, though. It's not hard to find examples of DRG players asking for the line to be excised because it brings up traumatic memories. There's even a mod to remove it from the game if you just can't stand it being in there.

You've gotta admit, the line is oddly specific for a generic bark your dwarves will occasionally shout at standard enemies, and as much I've looked I can't find a single explanation for what it means. Some theorise it's a reference to the film Aliens, others that it's a hint at DRG's deeper lore, and still others just think it's a kind of violent, dwarfish your momma gag. Given that no one seems able to identify what the line even means, it doesn't seem like a massive loss to yoink it from Survivor entirely.

Reactions, as you'd probably expect, are split. On the one hand, some players are pointing to the line's continued presence in standard DRG to suggest a mountain is being made out of a molehill. One comment on the PCGaming subreddit, from a user named Taldirok, says that "... the original DRG still has this line, has had it for years without any issues whatsoever," and has around 1,300 upvotes.

But others disagree. Not far beneath Taldirok's comment is one from notandvm, who says "I do think a toggle would be better than outright removal, but I understand their angle. It's always been the most out of pocket line in DRG; going from 'spacey meatball!' to 'die like your mother!' is a pretty sharp shift—sharper still if you recently lost a loved one."

I can't help but agree. I don't really see a reason to dredge up traumatic memories for players for the sake of what is, ultimately, a throwaway combat bark. And hey, if enough people miss it, I suspect a future hotfix will implement that toggle Funday spoke about.

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.