Early access builds of Rogue Stormers were not very good, and notably did not have a cast of varying characters. This release build? Much improved, though at some level I lament the loss of weapon-customization, which was never actually implemented to my knowledge. I first became aware of the game during its initial kickstarter campaign, when it was still called DieselStormers. I purchasedEarly access builds of Rogue Stormers were not very good, and notably did not have a cast of varying characters. This release build? Much improved, though at some level I lament the loss of weapon-customization, which was never actually implemented to my knowledge. I first became aware of the game during its initial kickstarter campaign, when it was still called DieselStormers. I purchased it from the humble store and didn't have a chance to finally play it until about a year ago, when it was still in a very rough and bland state.
Now what we've got is a tactical, side-scrolling run-and-gun platformer with rogue-lite level and item randomization, and a stylish medieval-meets-dieselpunk presentation. The city of Ravensdale is coming apart at the seams thanks to the rampaging orcish hordes of the corpulent high priest Hector von Garg. The populace faces opression, indiscriminate violence and horrific mutation thanks to the mysterious "Goop" drilled up from deep below ground. But there is hope: the Rogue Stormers, five playable rocket knights: Brecht carries a Contra-style automatic rifle and can buff the team's fire rate, Presto has a flamethrower and can throw up a shield that also doubles his flamethrower's range, Camille has a rocket launcher and can fire a swarm of missiles, Stabbygale has a shotgun and can throw a glaive and pulls in enemies, and El Cazador has a sniper rifle and can fire a huge round that pierces through enemies. You begin with only Brecht, and unlock the others after finishing the second, fourth, sixth and the seventh and final stage, respectively. You also unlock new upgrades that can drop after completing certain challenges.
Your Stormer's primary weapon has infinite ammo and does not need to reload, and you can carry a secondary weapon that recharges over time. The variety of secondary weapons is considerable: Contra-style spread shot, rapid-fire volley gun, mines, attack drones, the rare health grenades, plasma shots, a melee-range claw, sentry guns and even an orbital strike, among others. You can execute a short dash that allows you to go through enemies and dodge their shots. Combat is less fast-paced then other platform shooters, instead rewarding the careful and thoughtful shooter. Enemies and their shots are mostly avoidable, and you are rewarded for conserving your health as much as possible.
Enemies are aggressive, numerous and at times tiresome to kill, but you are rewarded not infrequently with gold, XP orbs, and precious, precious health pickups. Gold can be used to roll at vending machines for health, gold, keys, upgrades and secondary weapons, and also to purchase upgrades directly from shops. Aside from the vendors there are also treasure chests. A few aren't locked, but often will only contain gold or keys instead of an upgraded, but the locked ones, which require a key, 500 gold or 30 health and are color-coded accordingly, always seem to contain an upgrade.
Said upgrades are similar to those found in other Rogue-lites such as Binding of Issac or Starward Rogue, or the perk cards of Ziggurat. They provide significant boosts to your stats, adding anything from additional maximum health or secondary weapon recharge speed to extra jumps and various abilities that trigger when you take damage, but are lost when you die. However, pick up enough experience drops for a level up, and after finishing a stage or dying, you are given a choice of two random perks, such as a small boost to your damage or movement speed, or a small amount of health restored whenever you purchase something. These perks are incremental compared to the dropped upgrades, but notably, these perks are retained after you die, making subsequent runs just a little bit easier- a welcome addition, considering I have finished only one of five runs thus far. Completing said run rewarded me with a token that can be used to re-roll a perk choice, and presumably you can earn additional tokens for more wins.
I should mention there are some technical problems. The few times I tried online coop the host lag was significant, and there was a persistent issue with enemies getting stuck in walls and items spawning in them so they can't be picked up, that has since been fixed. I just wish there were more people playing it!… Expand
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