Ruiner

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 212 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 129 out of 212
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 212
  3. Negative: 20 out of 212

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  1. Nile3
    Nov 25, 2017
    8
    Video game is like porn sometimes: It's not about the story, it's about the pleasure.

    This game is fun overall but unrewarding at times. New game plus or hard is the way to go. + Gameplay + Art and Style + Setting + Music - Story Too many loose threads in the story. Some parts are nonsensical. If girl is not under control of boss then why trust her? Boss always look for power    Video game is like porn sometimes: It's not about the story, it's about the pleasure.

    This game is fun overall but unrewarding at times. New game plus or hard is the way to go.
    + Gameplay
    + Art and Style
    + Setting
    + Music
    - Story
    Too many loose threads in the story. Some parts are nonsensical. If girl is not under control of boss then why trust her? Boss always look for power except on this one?
    Akira and Evangelion were better at symbolism in stories. They should have studied them instead of banally recombining the artistic scheme. Still a good effort. I liked it.    … Expand
  2. themrchook
    Oct 12, 2017
    8
    Tough but fair game play that gives you a great feeling when you figure out each fight's answer, GREAT soundtrack, hits the tone of the game right on the head and sounds like nothing else. The characters and the world had a lot of effort put into them but it is the sound and visuals that carry this game forward. Audio: 9 Visuals: 8 Gameplay: 8
  3. Mandulum
    Mar 11, 2018
    7
    Five Word Review: Fun, intense twin-stick shooter.
    Favorite Thing: The action is pretty intense.
    Least Favorite Thing: Cliffhanger is just another word for incomplete and an incomplete story is always a black mark for me. Games should be tagged as such! Date Completed: 2018-02-20 Playtime: ~ 5h Enjoyment: 7/10 Recommendation: I enjoyed it. Don't know the last time I played a    Five Word Review: Fun, intense twin-stick shooter.
    Favorite Thing: The action is pretty intense.
    Least Favorite Thing: Cliffhanger is just another word for incomplete and an incomplete story is always a black mark for me. Games should be tagged as such!

    Date Completed: 2018-02-20
    Playtime: ~ 5h
    Enjoyment: 7/10
    Recommendation: I enjoyed it. Don't know the last time I played a twin-stick shooter so I have nothing to compare it to.    … Expand
  4. Underpants158
    May 9, 2018
    8
    Pros:
    -Well paced. Breaks between intense fights helps a lot.
    -Cool story even if a little on bare side.
    -The hubworld is cool to walk around even if there isn't much to do
    -Easy to get into. Difficulty on normal is right where I like it.

    Cons:
    -The way the game constantly reminds you of the mission is overbearing.
    -Absence of voice acting makes some parts feel flat.
  5. Nokhal
    Oct 12, 2018
    8
    Pros:
    -Very well balanced difficulty. Playing on hard will make you die from time to time until you get the right pattern without having any "wtf this is unfair" moments that so many badly balanced games create.
    -Nervous gameplay : mobility over the tank and spank of some other popular hack&slash -Great Atmosphere and Ambiance -Mindless Fun -Very good music -Optimized for speedrun if    Pros:
    -Very well balanced difficulty. Playing on hard will make you die from time to time until you get the right pattern without having any "wtf this is unfair" moments that so many badly balanced games create.
    -Nervous gameplay : mobility over the tank and spank of some other popular hack&slash
    -Great Atmosphere and Ambiance
    -Mindless Fun
    -Very good music
    -Optimized for speedrun if that's your thing

    Neutral :
    Can't remap control, but if you are not impaired Keyboard+M works well enough

    Cons
    -Not super clear on what hits you, and your hitbox is large.
    -If you are not going multiple playtrough, the game is rather short. I finished the game in a bit over 4 hours. Due to the game low price, this is not that much of an issue though
    -Not fully voiced
    -Some boss are easier than trash mobs waves. The final boss was too easy for my taste despite having an awesome artistic direction an number of things to care about on the screen.

    Overall the gameplay itself is worth maybe a 6 (Cheap, Enjoyable but not memorable), but the artistic direction and soundrack are enough to earn one extra points each.    … Expand
  6. Enderborn
    Feb 1, 2020
    10
    The perfect dark violent cyberpunk experience. I've seen people complain about the story but it isn't even half-bad. And while the story isn't anything to write home about, the world-building, setting and art-style 100% make up for it and create a universe that feels rich, deep and beautiful. This game's only flaw is that I desperately want more of it. 10/10, absolute masterpiece. Can'tThe perfect dark violent cyberpunk experience. I've seen people complain about the story but it isn't even half-bad. And while the story isn't anything to write home about, the world-building, setting and art-style 100% make up for it and create a universe that feels rich, deep and beautiful. This game's only flaw is that I desperately want more of it. 10/10, absolute masterpiece. Can't wait for more.… Expand
  7. Traxillion
    Sep 26, 2021
    7
    This is a great shooter that is well worth your time due to the amount of fun and adrenaline it produces.
    Despite this, the score isn't higher because although the length is short it still somehow manages to overstay its welcome by a bit
  8. Glint
    Sep 30, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Cons:
    - You might struggle with the controls, especially if you use m+kb. They are unconventional even for twin stick shooters. (I used an Xbox One controller and had no problems however.)
    - It's a little short, and there are many NPC sub-plots that go nowhere.
    - While the game has an excellent style, there's a bit too much on the side of underground mechanical dungeons. It needed more environmental variety.
    - Some bosses are weaksauce, like Hongshi, which is a shame because I thought he had a very cool design. There were a few like him that I took down with no sweat, very underwhelming.
    - It lacks endgame content. It really needs something like NG+ or some kind of endless or pvp mode with a leaderboard.

    Pros:
    + The art and style are excellent.
    + The soundtrack is excellent.
    + It's fast paced and never feels like a slog.
    + Some bosses are really good.
    + Once you get past the controls, the mechanics work incredibly well.
    + I personally really liked the story and writing. It's simple, but feels nuanced and definitely cyberpunk.

    Overall, it's a good game and I recommend it. I look forward to seeing more content for the game.    … Expand
  9. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 30, 2017
    8
    Ruiner
    Twin stick greatness
    Ruiner is a cyberpunk styled twin stick shooter set in the year 2091, you play as a sociopath out to save your kidnapped brother... This game was designed to be brutally difficult and has even gotten flak from other reviewers for being so tough… But this game actually has difficulty settings... and if you set your ego aside and play on the games easy mode    Ruiner
    Twin stick greatness
    Ruiner is a cyberpunk styled twin stick shooter set in the year 2091, you play as a sociopath out to save your kidnapped brother...
    This game was designed to be brutally difficult and has even gotten flak from other reviewers for being so tough…
    But this game actually has difficulty settings... and if you set your ego aside and play on the games easy mode which is designed to be just the right amount of challenging...
    This 5 hour game can be insanely fun, satisfying and hard to put down…
    This game features 16 levels total and each level really looks and feels the same…
    But the game is so fun to play that you hardly notice as you’re going batman on the enemies surrounding you to this games amazing soundtrack…
    Enemies have a variety of weapons they carry all of which you can pick up and use on the fly…
    at first you have a shield and you’re able to dash as well as use a melee weapon and a ruiner gun with infinite ammo, and of course enemies are all carrying better weapons…
    getting used to combat can take a little while, but once you do you feel like a superhero, snatching up new weapons and looking at your surroundings while the game briefly goes into slow motion
    defeating enemies will award you karma, which can also be found in chests, and extra weapons laying around after a fight can be put into a weapon grinder for karma as well..
    This is essentially your experience…
    and you level up in ruiner at a very satisfying pace, the game doesn’t feel grindy once…
    Managing your skill points and crafting your ruiner around your playstyle is where the greatness of this game comes in...
    You have a variety of choices on where you can dump you skill points into and if you’re not happy with your choices you can take skill points back at any time... you’re not stuck dealing with it…
    a lot of your skills such as grenades and your shield use up your energy, but you can unlock the ability to spend your energy on health regeneration, you can spend your health on energy regeneration…
    by the games end my character felt like a tank as id be using energy for grenades and health but I had the perk of shooting refilling my energy…
    this came really late in game, the final couple of levels.. but I felt unstoppable with this chain of abilities I worked my way up to…
    there are also robots that will drop in with gifts like energy, health, and weapon drops…
    where the real challenge comes into play is with this games bosses.. It’s filled with mini and main bosses that definitely take effort to defeat... but this game is great with its checkpoints… letting you hop right back in with all of your health and ammo back to give it another shot…
    The game on its easy mode felt perfectly balanced.. I was challenged and I was having fun…
    but of course you can go into a hire difficulty If you’re more about frustration... the point is the option is there to play this game the way you want…
    Ruiner is a tad underrated..
    If you’re a twin stick shooter fan don’t skip it...
    I give Ruiner
    an 8/10    … Expand
  10. King008
    Oct 7, 2017
    10
    Dynamic gameplay and a great soundtrack. Stylization of cyberpunk, aggressive red tones. Merciless level of complexity. I think this game is a breath of air in the game industry. I love it so much!
  11. TZT
    Nov 18, 2017
    9
    This game really painfull to play on hard, but only so you get the maximum pleasure from the victory over every boss
    + Gameplay
    + Setting
    + Music
    - Story
  12. EnforcerJoe
    Sep 27, 2017
    10
    The perfect cyberpunk adventure you are looking for. The shooting feels great, the difficulty is well balanced and there is even an Easy Mode for you wimps out there.
    Art Music Combat Story all blend perfectly. Only problem I have with this game is that i want MOAR of it!
  13. Zer0TheHer0
    Sep 30, 2017
    0
    keyboard controls aren't redefinable.....if you don't play with wasd you're screwed....if you don't like the control setup you're screwed.....this is absolutely unacceptable in this time and age
    pathetic
  14. warkermod
    Oct 10, 2017
    4
    Excellent style, amateurish execution.

    The hitboxes are insanely large, and it's super easy to get killed when it's clear you weren't hit. Conversely, shotgun to an enemy's face? Still alive most of the time. The design, writing, and soundtrack are really well thought out. It's too bad it's paired with a dev team that simply can't deliver on gameplay. There's no real excuse for this.    Excellent style, amateurish execution.

    The hitboxes are insanely large, and it's super easy to get killed when it's clear you weren't hit. Conversely, shotgun to an enemy's face? Still alive most of the time.

    The design, writing, and soundtrack are really well thought out. It's too bad it's paired with a dev team that simply can't deliver on gameplay. There's no real excuse for this.

    Try again next time guys.    … Expand
  15. Bitek
    Apr 12, 2020
    9
    This is awesome top down shooter. I think the last top down shooter which I enjoyed as much was Dead Nation on PS3. This is not easy game to play and it will challenge you. You might have to try to kill the same boss over and over again, try different skills until you get it "right". The cyberpunk theme of this game resonates with me. The whole artistic aspect of this game is very wellThis is awesome top down shooter. I think the last top down shooter which I enjoyed as much was Dead Nation on PS3. This is not easy game to play and it will challenge you. You might have to try to kill the same boss over and over again, try different skills until you get it "right". The cyberpunk theme of this game resonates with me. The whole artistic aspect of this game is very well made with graphics and audio just fit beautifully together. I suggest to play this game with Xbox controller.… Expand
  16. wlfbck
    Jul 16, 2018
    2
    The last time controls felt this clunky was with the original Resident Evil. W/A/S/D being northwest/southwest/southeast/northeast is incredibly bad design and this cannot be changed in settings.
  17. naufri27
    Jan 2, 2020
    6
    Pese a que su ambientación y estilo gráfico llama un poco la atención, jugablemente no sorprende en absoluto, pues no incorpora ninguna novedad al género que no se haya utilizado hasta la saciedad.
    Sí que se podría destacar el diseño de algunos personajes secundarios o jefes de nivel.
  18. PublicNuisance
    Aug 6, 2018
    7
    Ruiner takes a certain kind of player to enjoy it. It can be very masochistic to play it, you have to expect to die often. Normally I don’t enjoy this kind of game, and truth betold there were times where I didn’t enjoy playing the game, but overall it had a lot going for it. The soundtrack is awesome, the story is good (minus the cliffhanger ending), there are lots of ways to play by howRuiner takes a certain kind of player to enjoy it. It can be very masochistic to play it, you have to expect to die often. Normally I don’t enjoy this kind of game, and truth betold there were times where I didn’t enjoy playing the game, but overall it had a lot going for it. The soundtrack is awesome, the story is good (minus the cliffhanger ending), there are lots of ways to play by how you spend upgrade points, the lore is good and the gameplay is, for the most part, very fun. There are some wrinkles here and there but no game is perfect and not much is major.

    The gameplay itself is the games main strength. If I can give one piece of advice it is to never stop moving. The game is very fast paced and most of the time when I kept dying over and over in some spots I tended to notice I had stopped moving or slowed down. It is a very tough game but there are ways to help yourself. One of the best parts of the game is that you can reallocate your upgrade points any time you want. Some games don’t allow this and you come to find out ¾ of the way through the game finding out you wish you had of spent the points differently and now are screwed. Ruiner not only allows you to reallocate them it encourages it and I think in some cases expects it of you. More than once when I was having a tough time against a certain enemy I figured out what ability would do a better job against them and experimented finding it. There are a large variety of ranged and melee weapons to compliment as variety of play styles.

    As far as things that I didn’t like there wasn’t too much. Some enemies you have to face multiple times which I find sloppy and dislike usually. One specific enemy we have to beat 4 times, the last 3 of which are back to back to back. He just keeps getting revived and we have to keep doing it. I find boss fights who can be revived to be a cheap cop out and would rather prefer a smarter enemy. The ending also left a lot to be desired. I am not against cliffhanger endings but the best way I can put it is there could have been more closure than what we got.

    From a technical standpoint Ruiner was a mixed bag. There was no manual save option. I will give it credit that most of the checkpoints aren’t too far apart but nothing beats the option of manual saves. The game did crash to desktop once on me but other than that ran great. There were also 3 cinematics that only gave me a white screen and one cinematic that the text didn’t display at all. Luckily I was able to watch these on Youtube. The game had four AA levels, Vsync, ability to change difficulty, ALT-Tab support, four other graphics options to tinker with and support for framerates over 60. It did lack ambient occlusion, tessellation and refresh rate options though.

    Overall the game is well worth playing and was a good amount of fun. It got on my nerves a bit and had some annoying glitches but was worth the journey. I played on Linux and with a keyboard and mouse.

    My score: 7.5/10

    My system:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | EVGA CLC 240 | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 18.1.4 | Samsung 850 Evo 250GB | Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming | Corsair AX1200 | InWin 303 White | Solus 3 | Kernel 4.17.11-84.current | AOC G2460P @1920*1080 144hz    … Expand
  19. josei1985
    May 17, 2018
    6
    Ruiner no es precisamente el mejor juego al que he jugado y me cuesta recomendarlo. No porque le falte calidad, sino a que no lo he disfrutado tanto como esperaba. La primera mitad lo jugué con ratón y teclado y moría una y otra vez porque, tras dos años con pc para jugar, sigo sin tener la soltura necesaria (de ahí las 12h). Una vez cambié a mando la cosa fue a mejor y empecé a valorarloRuiner no es precisamente el mejor juego al que he jugado y me cuesta recomendarlo. No porque le falte calidad, sino a que no lo he disfrutado tanto como esperaba. La primera mitad lo jugué con ratón y teclado y moría una y otra vez porque, tras dos años con pc para jugar, sigo sin tener la soltura necesaria (de ahí las 12h). Una vez cambié a mando la cosa fue a mejor y empecé a valorarlo como merece y a divertirme más.

    Juego con cierta personalidad, exigente incluso en dificultad normal, no muy variado en tipo de enemigos, con dos opciones en cuanto a armas: de fuego (de todo tipo) y espadas; y bosses un tanto similares. El gameplay un pelín repetitivo. Por debajo de 15€ lo recomiendo.    … Expand
  20. JuanmaKVR
    Sep 21, 2019
    8
    Con Ruiner, Devolver Digital vuelve a hacer de las suyas trayéndonos un videojuego de acción al estilo cyberpunk.
    Con el hype creado con cyberpunk 2077, este juego lanzado en 2017 tuvo el momento perfecto para destacar, gran banda sonora compuetsa por Susumu Hirasawa, el genio detrás de la OST de Berserk, gran jugabilidad y fluidez en movimientos.
    Una historia simple pero que entretiene,    Con Ruiner, Devolver Digital vuelve a hacer de las suyas trayéndonos un videojuego de acción al estilo cyberpunk.
    Con el hype creado con cyberpunk 2077, este juego lanzado en 2017 tuvo el momento perfecto para destacar, gran banda sonora compuetsa por Susumu Hirasawa, el genio detrás de la OST de Berserk, gran jugabilidad y fluidez en movimientos.
    Una historia simple pero que entretiene, pero sin embargo, he tenido algún que otro bug que jodió la experiencia a ratos.    … Expand
  21. AceAscendus
    Dec 12, 2020
    10
    Love the atmosphere of this game, good OST and good gameplay, especially when fights get so chaotic that it can become hard to tell what is going on, but the BRUTALITY and MAYHEM on display is awesome. This is a true Cyberpunk world and experience, unlike CyberGarbage 2077 made by CDPRekt.
  22. Jckovacks
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    Frenético juego de acción en perspectiva isométrica. Cuenta con una cuidada ambientación ciberpunk, una historia interesante y cierto componente rolero (árbol de habilidades y momentos de interacción con NPC's entre misiones)
    Resulta extremadamente difícil en su máxima dificultad.
    interesante propuesta para aquellos amantes de la acción más frenética y la ambientación ciberpunk.    Frenético juego de acción en perspectiva isométrica. Cuenta con una cuidada ambientación ciberpunk, una historia interesante y cierto componente rolero (árbol de habilidades y momentos de interacción con NPC's entre misiones)
    Resulta extremadamente difícil en su máxima dificultad.
    interesante propuesta para aquellos amantes de la acción más frenética y la ambientación ciberpunk.
    *Puntuación con respecto al panorama independiente.    … Expand
  23. Procclesworth
    Apr 17, 2020
    9
    Got it for free on Epic games, finished and then bought it on steam to give them some $$. Then signed up to metacritic to rate it (since steam wouldn't let me) - should tell you how great it was.

    Great atmosphere, art, fast past and hard yet not frustrating combat. Pumping soundtrack that goes with the theme and feel perfectly. Only downside is a little short.
  24. churros
    Jul 19, 2020
    9
    Pros:
    + superb soundtrack
    + unique artstyle
    + responsive controls
    + balanced difficulty
    + creative combat abilities

    Cons:
    - health bar should be displayed near the character
    - screen can get cluttered at times
    - no sound effect on cutscenes
    - convoluted story ending
  25. lucky_mouse
    Jan 6, 2021
    6
    Pay no mind to this comment, I intend to write a proper review soon enough. For now, just trust this score.
  26. mertcank97
    Apr 17, 2020
    10
    Wonderful game if you are into this genre and looking for a game Hotline Miami-like. The atmosphere and soundtrack is cyberpunk pretty much.
  27. Calamity_Jones
    Jan 23, 2021
    5
    Maybe this genre isn't for me... After playing a few of these "hotline miami" style games, I just get instantly bored after an hour or so. I'd only recommend this if you are really into the genre.
  28. nitorita
    Feb 12, 2020
    7
    Coming from the same publisher, RUINER is essentially Serious Sam's Bogus Detour with a cyberpunk backdrop. If you've played that game (or really any Serious Sam game), you'll already know what to expect from this one: Killing and lots of it.

    This game is an isometric shooter with an emphasis on skill usage. Fights are fast-paced and reaction-based, and the enemies get progressively    Coming from the same publisher, RUINER is essentially Serious Sam's Bogus Detour with a cyberpunk backdrop. If you've played that game (or really any Serious Sam game), you'll already know what to expect from this one: Killing and lots of it.

    This game is an isometric shooter with an emphasis on skill usage. Fights are fast-paced and reaction-based, and the enemies get progressively harder. The maps are linear and don't provide much in the way of exploration, following a simple corridor format that leads to an eventual boss fight at the end of each section.

    This game was clearly designed for casual audiences, as checkpoints are aplenty, the game itself isn't super difficult (on Normal at least), and there isn't really a whole lot going in the way of story besides "You've been wronged. Do something about it." The ending was rather underwhelming as well, with many unanswered questions just left hanging.

    Overall, this is an indie game that provides a good night or two of mindless entertainment to take your mind off things. It's not groundbreaking, but it's not bad either. It deserves a high 7 or a borderline 8, because of how although it doesn't have much in the way of content, it is still an incredibly polished game. It's a fun game to try if you can get it on sale.    … Expand
  29. RagingPoet
    Sep 28, 2018
    8
    Ruiner is a solid twin stick shooter with amazing visuals. This is one of a very few games where i actually finished New Game+.
    Gameplay is fun, challenging and satisfying, there a lot of weapons and upgrades to use and most of them are very impactful and distinct.

    Main drawback for me was the story: it is very vague and doesn't make much sense.
  30. kch3691
    May 27, 2018
    7
    Fantastic soundtrack and great weapon design are the highlights of this cyberpunk action game. With cool upgrades the game motivates you to keep going as well but the level design is more than a bit repetitive. And the great style is let down by the boring and very obvious story.
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Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
34
#34 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Mar 2, 2018
    60
    A game that’s far more pleasing to look at than to actually play. [Issue#226, p.67]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 16, 2018
    80
    Cyberpunk enjoyment full of blood and decadence. An audio-visual feast goes hand in hand with a sophisticated gameplay, which detracts only more or less negligible problems. [Issue#279]
  3. Gaming Nexus
    Feb 8, 2018
    74
    Ruiner is a fun and fast twin stick shooter that ends all too soon and leaves you asking way too many questions.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »