Rising Hell

Rising Hell

If you’re browsing reviews and trying to figure out if this game is worth your time and money then here is a quick answer for you: YES. It’s a must have game for anyone who enjoys action packed platformers!

What attracted me when I first saw this game was its overall concept. I will keep it simple for you: you control a demonic creature who’s mission is to escape Hell. And you gotta love the devs take on Hell in this game. It’s basically a vertical tower-like place which you have to ascend in order to make your way out of this demons infested nightmare. Pretty creative in my opinion. So I guess that makes it a vertical action platformer where you fight through hordes of demons trying to ascend higher and higher.

Real player with 115.2 hrs in game


Read More: Best Roguevania Roguelite Games.


I’ve been eyeing this game for a while, waiting for it to enter full 1.0 release. I bought it immediately, and so far, I am so, so impressed.

The core controls are simple: you have your attack, you have your jump (which doubles as a cool aerial finisher), and you have your i-frame dash. It’s simple, but it works; movement and attacking is buttery smooth, and opens up the real core of the game: the platforming and movement. The platforming and environmental design is simply wonderful. You’ll be double-jumping and wall-clinging around as you endlessly climb upwards, using enemies to bolster your height as you dodge saw blades, spikes, and burrowing thorns. As a huge platforming fan, I’m very pleased to see it have such a strong place in the core game design, especially on special zones like the Slaughter Spire, which has you rushing upwards using enemies as platforms while a row of saws rises quickly beneath you. It’s challenging, it’s frenetic, and, most importantly, it’s a ton of fun. It’s also worth mentioning the aesthetic is great, too - backgrounds, enemies, and traps are very detailed without becoming cluttered or unclear.

Real player with 8.9 hrs in game

Rising Hell on Steam

Abalyte

Abalyte

This is a wonderful game, its small but tough.

Info I have discovered via playing, beyond this point.

If you don’t mind game overs, a terrific amount of game overs, then its the right game for you. You can get pretty far, and have great runs at the Three collection levels and Three boss levels (1). There are a great many weapons to discover (2) as you battle vicious creatures (3).

(1) (a) SlimeBall (HP 50) ; It releases hordes of Slimes and punches you for a cross map knock-back and deals 5 damage.

Real player with 84.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Roguevania Free to Play Games.


EDIT:

The devs seem to be listening to the community really well. Lots of improvements have happend, the sarcastic remarks are gone, the tree is possible and theres some actual progression to look forward to and plenty in game where you can see that effort is being made.

This game went from a disaster with no real direction to a playable and enjoyable experience

For a free game id give it 7/10 now. Once we see more levels in play, more weapons to choose from, more stats or even spells i think this’ll be a decent semi-rouge like. Id like to see more chances for healing, more combat than just watch the enemies drop and fight carefully. The bigger maps before were nice, but i think a healthy medium would be perfect.

Real player with 3.0 hrs in game

Abalyte on Steam

An Amazing Wizard

An Amazing Wizard

Gameplay

What do you get when you combine a roguelite with metroidvania? A RogueVania!

Explore procedurally generated levels with over 250 Artifacts, more than 100 Spells and dozens of Magic Weapons to unlock and use. After every death you’ll respawn in one of the four nature-inspired magicial worlds.

Story

A bad Necromancer has placed you in his Magic Realm. Because of that few Magic Hands started to follow you. They are able to cast powerful spells. Find items to make them stronger and free yourself!

Key Features:

  • Procedurally generated world - Explore a unique world every time you play.

  • 5 Nonlinear Levels - Only 5 levels? Yes, but each time you die you’ll respawn in one of the four nature-inspired worlds and face other enemies based on current biome.

  • Few Difficulty Levels - Every time you kill the end boss, you’ll gain possibility to change the difficulty level and face stronger foes.

  • Many Bosses - After every level you’ll have to face a merciless boss.

  • Action RogueVania - This means permanent deaths where you lose every item you’ve found, but there are some permanent upgrades available.

  • A lot of Secrets and Mysteries to discover - No spoilers!

  • 250+ Unique Artifacts - Every artifact has it’s special use. A lot of them change your Basic Spell behaviour or add special abilities. Literally countless combinations.

  • 100+ Spells - Cast Fire Balls or Tornados, Summon Creatures, Slow Time, Create Gravity Zones and many, many more…

  • Dozens of Magic Weapons - Use one of many Magic Weapons to help you survive!

  • Dozens of Upgrades - Upgrade your starting items or statistics. Add more elements to the world, increase your chance for finding better items and many more!

  • Hours of fun - This one depends on your skill. Something about 30-60 hours or even more.

  • Multiple Save slots


Read More: Best Roguevania Side Scroller Games.


An Amazing Wizard on Steam

Aura of Worlds

Aura of Worlds

I have been playing video games all my life, throughout the 80’s and 90’s the video arcade was my second home.

Playing Aura of World brought back a lot of memories from those times. It is a game that is reminiscent of many games from the golden age of video arcades. Games like Rygar, Black Tiger, Ghosts n Goblins, Wonderboy and others.

This game does not tell an epic saga and it doesn’t have AAA graphics, BUT what it does have is engaging gameplay, great mechanics and features and the sounds, music and effects all combine to make a game that is engaging, fun and easy to get into. Also it does not require a huge investment of time, the Rogue-Like nature of the game means you can play for 10 minutes and put it down, then come back to it later for a slightly different adventure. Play a different way, use different gear, get further and further every time you play.

Real player with 12.7 hrs in game

I will try to review this game from a Game Developer point of view and from a 40 years old player that has grown up playing arcades and early computer/console games.

GAME DEVELOPER POINT OF VIEW

I develop video games and being part of many communities I have noticed this game and its progress through the time. Its many features and approach to solving the same problem has caught my interest and pushed me to purchase it to investigate more.

I usually don’t develop platform games, actually, they aren’t even my favourite kind of games to play, aside for a few exceptions. However, I work also as a freelancer and there are many potential customers requiring a platform game. To me, this game is a great source of ideas that are well blended together.

Real player with 10.4 hrs in game

Aura of Worlds on Steam

Koboo: The Tree Spirit

Koboo: The Tree Spirit

#### 🔗 Discord Server Link

Recruit a unique combination of Spirit Animals giving you a fresh set of abilities each run and acquire the right upgrades to help you defend against a specific human faction.

Befriend animals, go friendly fishing, take care of plants in the forest to unlock new Spirit Animals and upgrades making every run feel fresh and rewarding you after each run so you don’t have to worry about lost runs.

Koboo can dash to dodge enemy attacks, hit enemies' weak spots for bonus damage, throw sharp leaves during vulnerable moments, and combo aerial attacks to stay in the air longer. Mastering all these skills will make defending the forest a breeze.

Unravels the secrets of the mysterious forest and uncover the warring human factions' plans to industrialize the forest.

Koboo: The Tree Spirit is being made with the help of the community so you can follow its development, be a part of testing the game later during its development and talk to me (Jerome) live on Discord. Thank you to those who have already supported Koboo to help make this game possible! ❤

Koboo: The Tree Spirit on Steam

Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition

Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition

Nongunz at first just looks like your everyday shooty-platformer-roguelike but… it does very interesting and unique things that change the usual dynamics for these games, e.g. it uses some kind of idle economy that lets you buy stuff before starting a run based on the amount of prisoners you have liberated on previous attempts or it lets you bail out in the middle of a run while keeping the items you’ve found so you can start over with them, encouraging farming…

It gets weirder though and the more you look at it the weirder stuff you are going to find, especially since it’s intentionally very obscure and it takes time to decypher some of the stuff that is going on. I think it’s definitely worth a shot if someone is interested in how this kind of mash-up can affect a pretty known genre like the roguelike and it definitely becomes its own thing with these additions. I enjoyed it a lot.

Real player with 46.5 hrs in game

Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition released recently, and I wanted to post a positive review about it. I dont actually have much more to say other than I feel like this version is more fine tuned than the original in a few different ways. The game seems at least a little bit more accessible, even if this new version does have a bit more bugs than the original release.

The things id like to point out specifically in why I like the game are mostly style choices, sound and visual design seemed dark and unique at the time, and very minimal game systems in play made for a unique experience for this indie title when it first released years ago.

Real player with 29.2 hrs in game

Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition on Steam

Rift Keeper

Rift Keeper

I really enjoyed this game. For 2,50€ I got a lot out of it.

I like the simplicity of it and that you don’t even need any items to beat all the stages if you get good enough.

The music is so damn good, I wish the levels would be longer.

The problem with this game tho: It gets to easy if you get good at it.

On my first runs, I didn’t get very far (stage ~5). Then I kinda got the hang of it and got to stage 15 easily. After I really got the hang of it I proceded to kill the two new bosses easily and went to stage 57 without problems.

Real player with 8.1 hrs in game

OVERVIEW

I saw footage of this game over a year ago and was hopeful what it could turn out to be. I saw it on sale a few weeks ago and hoped it had progressed so I picked it up. Unfortunately I didn’t find it to have made much development. Overall, the experience has been slightly lacking, but I think that the game could be salvaged.

PROS

  • Music is pretty cool

  • There is an Aesthetic that I like, but it needs developed

  • Easy to pick up, within an hour of playing I already felt in tune with the system

Real player with 2.9 hrs in game

Rift Keeper on Steam

Sundered®: Eldritch Edition

Sundered®: Eldritch Edition

After a few day’s worth of playtime on this game, I feel like I’d like to toss in my two cents on it. By two cents, I should clarify that I mean many paragraphs. this review will not be short, and I apologise. Sundered, on the whole, is a good game. There are several elements that merit critique in my eyes, though they didn’t detract from the game so much as to merit a negative review. With that out of the way, let’s dive in to some thoughts and ramblings.

Firstly, I should say also that this game has quickly become one of my all time favorites. The atmosphere, the artwork, the enemy design and storytelling all are favorites of mine, and I think they’re exceedingly clever and engaging. However, even when you take away my biased opinions, the game stands up to scrutiny, with well designed gameplay and mechanics (as well as story and the other previously mentioned aspects).

Real player with 82.7 hrs in game

Well, you can tell by my hours of gameplay that I really enjoyed this game and got the most out of it, even the bad out of it.

The harshness of the reviews left me really unsure, in the first few minutes, no matter how much I was enjoying, the game design made me fear for what people have said, so let me clarify a few things.

TL:DR

Great game, very challenging, beautiful animation, exploration is rewarded, so is proper strategy (Change your routes and upgrade luck early, please). The randomness is not unfair, it is not unfair, your skills matter. Bosses are great, minibosses often suck. The major flaw is making the “good” path so poor, but the rest is brillant. If you want to have 1 run and the best experience, I’d say “Put the hardest difficulty and fully embrace”

Real player with 58.2 hrs in game

Sundered®: Eldritch Edition on Steam

A Robot Named Fight!

A Robot Named Fight!

There are a bunch of titles out there that throw around the words “metroidvania”, “roguelike/lite”, and “procedurally generated” while trying to appeal to the people who grew up on SNES, TG-16 and Genesis classics with pixelized 8/16 bit graphics, but so few are able to pull them off and still manage to hold its own identity in the way A Robot Named Fight does.

When first hearing about the game, I was skeptical in the way anyone should be when someone starts throwing around those aforementioned terms as buzz words; especially with how a lot of the Metroidvania style games out there seem to lean much heavier on the “vania” side of the fence. As a big lover of Super Metroid and the almost 16-bit action adventure exploration perfection it brought to the table all of those years ago being a bastion of non-linarity and mechanics driving gameplay, I have long awaited something that would scratch that itch in the same way.

Real player with 156.8 hrs in game

A Robot Named Fight is a smooth translation of the 2D-era Metroids into a roguelike format. I’m not really sure why there aren’t more games like it, in fact.

On a world of machines whose gods have long since departed for parts unknown, a catastrophic attack by a moon-sized abomination of meat and teeth has brought robot civilization to its knees. The only hope to defeat the moon and its fleshy minions is, well, a robot quite literally named Fight, who must descend into the forgotten catacombs beneath the surface world and retrieve artifacts of war to have a chance of success.

Real player with 43.1 hrs in game

A Robot Named Fight! on Steam

Abyss Odyssey

Abyss Odyssey

score: 2.5/5

tl;dr: clunky combat married with splendid art direction and severe lack of content

| difficulty: | 3/5 | time to finish: | 5-10h |

| fun-factor: | 3/5 | presentation: | 3.5/5 |

achievements

| difficulty: | 3.5/5 | time to 100%: | 20h+ |

| DLC: | - | multiplayer: | Online Champion |

| date-based: | - | glitched: | - |

Real player with 27.9 hrs in game

I’d like to break the game down for you in this review. I’m gonna talk about the combat mechanics, the visuals, and the various features that make it stand out as a platformer/fighting game. When reading about this game you see it compared to Super Smash Brothers, Dark Souls, ect. The truth is that with its combined features, Abyss Odyssey does not at all play like any of the games anyone is comparing it to. So, in an effort to give you a realistic perspective of what you can expect in this game, lets get started.

Real player with 25.9 hrs in game

Abyss Odyssey on Steam