The Riftbreaker

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 62
  3. Negative: 6 out of 62

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  1. questingbear
    Oct 18, 2021
    8
    If you had asked me two days ago, I might have given the game a 9, maybe 9.5. But now I'm in the late midgame with one established and well defended base, and wow did it get seriously grindy. Unlocking alien tech isn't fun. Its a test of patience as you carefully scrounge pixel by pixel for 50 of X or 35 of y to scan.
    I'll still give it a solid 8, because the rest of the game is great,    If you had asked me two days ago, I might have given the game a 9, maybe 9.5. But now I'm in the late midgame with one established and well defended base, and wow did it get seriously grindy. Unlocking alien tech isn't fun. Its a test of patience as you carefully scrounge pixel by pixel for 50 of X or 35 of y to scan.
    I'll still give it a solid 8, because the rest of the game is great, and being a big mech stomping bugs is -always- a good time. And with a patch to rework alien tech, this could be a seriously great ongoing "city builder" twin stick resource managey....thing.    … Expand
  2. Horny_Heaper
    Oct 17, 2021
    10
    Well... I'm still playing the game. So this review may change over time. But after 10 hours of gameplay I can say this game is really fun. I truly feel like I'm exploring a unknow world.
    It's all about stablish your base and explore your surroundings, catalog new species, research new technologies and open the rift back to earth. There is a big research tree and lots of customizations for    Well... I'm still playing the game. So this review may change over time. But after 10 hours of gameplay I can say this game is really fun. I truly feel like I'm exploring a unknow world.
    It's all about stablish your base and explore your surroundings, catalog new species, research new technologies and open the rift back to earth. There is a big research tree and lots of customizations for your base and your suit.
    There is always something happening. Be you in base or in some of the reconnaissance missions. Meteors showers, earthquakes, tornados, acid rain, fog, ion storms, sand storms, swarm attacks, etc. As you evolve your base you learn how to deal with this problems.
    All map is random generated so you cant know what you will find when exploring it. If your base demands your attention while exploring you can open a rift back to it lefting another rift at you location. This is really useful sometimes belive me.
    Everything considered this game deserves a very good score in my opinion:
    Graphics: 10
    Gameplay: 10 (Can be really addicting)
    Sounds: 10 (Nice voice act, some funny dialogs and good ambiental sounds)
    Cutscenes: 9 (The opening cutscene was short but very well made)    … Expand
  3. Dexter_Solid
    Oct 18, 2021
    9
    Other review said buggy and poorly optimized, i run this game at 4K and get rock solid 60fps, and have yet to encounter any real bugs. Maybe its their pc.
  4. MR-GH
    Oct 20, 2021
    9
    i think this game have much creatorship and graphic is awesome but only thing cause of that i dont give 10/10 is the intro and story. I think they didnt spend much time for writing and story and i hope they notice to story in their future works
    altoghether if you like RTS and Survival and Exploring this is addictive combination for u
  5. ICBM
    Oct 21, 2021
    10
    A brilliant RTS built with love, care & attention from a studio with a history of after release support.
    A must buy.
  6. Avadon
    Oct 19, 2021
    4
    This is a heavily simplified Factorio-style game, with more emphasis on base defense. Unfortunately, it's a pretty awkward game, as it doesn't do anything particularly well. The production/automation is heavily simplified (barely a step above Supreme Commander) so it's not that engaging, the enemy waves/base defense are not really something to worry about too much (none of the tension ofThis is a heavily simplified Factorio-style game, with more emphasis on base defense. Unfortunately, it's a pretty awkward game, as it doesn't do anything particularly well. The production/automation is heavily simplified (barely a step above Supreme Commander) so it's not that engaging, the enemy waves/base defense are not really something to worry about too much (none of the tension of something like They Are Billions), and the campaign is just tragic, just one long level with ear piercingly horrendous cringe banter between the mech and the pilot girl. Where is the meat of the game? What does it excel at? I played it on Game Pass and got bored after 5 hours.… Expand
  7. hivetyrant36
    Oct 23, 2021
    8
    I thoroughly enjoyed my 18 hour play through of this game, despite hating Factorio. This game is similar but doesn't force you to use conveyor belts that take up space. All materials are simply added to your global pool, and I think that is a fantastic design choice. This is actually the first game in this genre that's I've finished. Factorio looks like mud and Satisfactory gets WAY tooI thoroughly enjoyed my 18 hour play through of this game, despite hating Factorio. This game is similar but doesn't force you to use conveyor belts that take up space. All materials are simply added to your global pool, and I think that is a fantastic design choice. This is actually the first game in this genre that's I've finished. Factorio looks like mud and Satisfactory gets WAY too complex the farther up the tech tree you get.
    I don't think this is perfect though. A lot of damaging events like meteor storms and lava rocks spawn based on where you are. I hate this. At least earthquakes are random.
    A lot of the stronger enemies like what you see on the last wave aren't really seen all that much, and the hordes that attack your base seem to mostly all be base level mobs, so where is the ramp?
    I beat the game with mid level tech, so I think the difficulty could be higher. I don't mean decrease the time between events or make more random weather events, I mean throw some bigger baddies at my walls.
    The ending objectives were not completely clear and some of the missions were confusing, but I was able to finally get through it. The last part where you turn on the portal had step after step. I'd hype myself up thinking "woo I beat the game!" Only I was faced with yet another task requiring 10K carbonium.
    For a while around the third hour or so I sat in my base with no objectives wondering what I was supposed to do. I needed to go to other maps but there was no indication on screen or in audio.
    Lastly, there isn't much to do once you've beaten the game. I even tried survival and just couldn't care cause I already learned how everything works.

    But if you're looking for a solid base building survival, this game will command your attention until you beat it and for that I give it a solid 8. Was very fun.    … Expand
  8. check2wice
    Oct 21, 2021
    7
    I really enjoyed this game but the bugs sucked. The game crashed a lot and it was very laggy when you get close to the end of the game and there are just too many structures on the map. also the game doesn't clearly explain what to do or how to do it and there aren't a lot of guides online.
  9. cane
    Oct 16, 2021
    4
    Good game with a lot good things going for it. Sadly the release is completely botched with a ton of game breaking bugs and optimization and balance issues
  10. winzentween
    Oct 19, 2021
    7
    I loved the demo. The main game doesn't really do much more which is a real shame. So all that stuff in the demo is here and all that is awesome...But that's it. There is now a huge but pointless skill tree which makes little difference beyond busy work. The graphics are great as is the music and sound but vocals are annoying.

    The game runs really well on a low end pc. The difficulty is    I loved the demo. The main game doesn't really do much more which is a real shame. So all that stuff in the demo is here and all that is awesome...But that's it. There is now a huge but pointless skill tree which makes little difference beyond busy work. The graphics are great as is the music and sound but vocals are annoying.

    The game runs really well on a low end pc. The difficulty is messy and the new campaign is awful. You get bad banter between bad actors which adds nothing to the game. There are no levels. Just one level and no real missions. Just play the game and tick a few boxes. Don't expect any thing to avoid being dissapointed.

    Also the endless voice prompts are a real pain. The problem is with zero gameplay advancements the game quickly becomes repetitive and stale. Now there is meant to be a 2 player mode coming but honestly that should be availble on launch. No idea why devs can't finish their games before release. Overall if you like the demo it's worth a buy on sale. If the devs finish their game and add more then worth a buy.    … Expand
  11. RicardoDavid
    Dec 1, 2021
    10
    This is the best art design I have ever seen. The mechanics are simple compared to Factorio but still very enjoyable.
  12. Arkane7
    Apr 28, 2022
    2
    Derivative gameplay and poor main character make this one for the bargain. However, even that be forgiven if it wasn't for the numerous game breaking bugs. Also note that the game gets very grindy as you progress. The graphics are decent but the enemy units are not as diverse as it should be.
  13. Gameguru1987
    Oct 16, 2021
    10
    Чуть ли не единственный настоящий игровой изумруд за долгий период. Сразу отмечу что не обнаружил новомодной пропаганды повестки как в омерзительной Below Zero. Игра развлекает а не рассказывает тебе как жить и перед кем каяться на коленях. Короче кому зашли factorio, satisfactory, subnautica можете смело брать. Боевая часть сделано приятно, от силовых кулаков до ядерных ракет, да да,Чуть ли не единственный настоящий игровой изумруд за долгий период. Сразу отмечу что не обнаружил новомодной пропаганды повестки как в омерзительной Below Zero. Игра развлекает а не рассказывает тебе как жить и перед кем каяться на коленях. Короче кому зашли factorio, satisfactory, subnautica можете смело брать. Боевая часть сделано приятно, от силовых кулаков до ядерных ракет, да да, именно мой друг, здесь можно взять по пусковой установке ядерных ракет в каждую руку и сносить орды ксеносов за мгновения. И это не так же уныло, дорого и бессмысленно как в factorio. Так же вся карта засеянная не пропадающими со временем атомными минами тоже греет душу.… Expand
  14. Mandulum
    Oct 28, 2021
    9
    I played the demo (prologue?) back when it first came out and I was very interested. The full game did not disappoint. I had a blast filling out the tech tree and getting to the point of a huge, self-defended base (with lots of near total disasters leading up to it).

    Date Completed: 2021-10-24
    Playtime: 36h
    Enjoyment: 9/10
    Recommendation: Yup!
  15. Canowich
    Dec 7, 2022
    10
    Great tower defense & strategy & RPG game. Difficulty is well balaced, progressing, good graphics, well designed.
  16. brutud
    Jun 26, 2022
    10
    I love this game !
    It is easy to play but hard to master.
    I hope updates will add more content because this game deserves it.
  17. astronut
    Dec 25, 2021
    8
    Goddamn this game has one of the most addictive gameplay loop i've ever seen ! i came for the insane tower defense action and i stayed for the immersive campaign, this is some of the most fun i've had playing videogame in a while.
    I've seen the comparisons to Factorio or they are billions, but to an old gamer like me, this feels like the Starcraft map i dreamed of over 20 years ago :D    Goddamn this game has one of the most addictive gameplay loop i've ever seen ! i came for the insane tower defense action and i stayed for the immersive campaign, this is some of the most fun i've had playing videogame in a while.
    I've seen the comparisons to Factorio or they are billions, but to an old gamer like me, this feels like the Starcraft map i dreamed of over 20 years ago :D
    Though there's a lack of endgame content and the game needs some balancing and qol update, but it's still a good 30-40 hours and if the devs stick to their roadmap i have no doubt that i'll come back to this review in a few months to give it a 10.    … Expand
  18. hoanns
    Mar 3, 2022
    7
    A nice base building tower defense mix. The base building has lots of progression and the oncoming enemies motivate you to keep building. But I stopped playing once I finished the campaign because there seemed to be nothing new left.
  19. apokalipto
    Aug 18, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  20. piglordofallham
    Feb 11, 2022
    7
    So admittedly I'm not a huge fan of "Factorio" or tower defense games, or crafting or survival games, or games where you spend an entire campaign listening to two bland actors attempt to one-up the other with witty/ humorous banter between each other- so obviously your mileage may vary. Ultimately I don't really know what this chintzy RPG/RTS and very much Eastern European looking gameSo admittedly I'm not a huge fan of "Factorio" or tower defense games, or crafting or survival games, or games where you spend an entire campaign listening to two bland actors attempt to one-up the other with witty/ humorous banter between each other- so obviously your mileage may vary. Ultimately I don't really know what this chintzy RPG/RTS and very much Eastern European looking game has going for it besides ray tracing that barely looks indistinguishable from regular high quality shadows. Look, it has some good ideas, but they've been covered in other games and were handled in a much more complex manner. This is like a toddler's pre-school version of "Factorio" with a fairly bland presentation. Everything about it feels off, and as some have mentioned, its very hard to figure out what it is that just doesn't click with them about it.

    I found the "tutorial" kind of grating and the controls (though ultimately manageable) a bit obnoxious to utilize properly. It doesn't really give you a good idea of what to do and the actual resource collection is painfully slow. Then they just shoved in whatever else as far as popular tropes in videogames right now a.k.a. crafting, collecting, and surviving. The generic hostile aliens look.. just like that- generic hostile aliens. I mean if I wanted to build a nice base in a mech suit with a very balanced economy, I'd just play "Supreme Commander" instead. I definitely cannot see many positives with this one sadly.    … Expand
  21. DexDearborn
    Nov 2, 2021
    10
    This game obviously took some inspiration from games like They Are Billions, Red Alert, and Diablo but limiting this to comparisons doesn't do it justice. The alien biomes are diverse and the hoard mechanic feels intense. With base building quality of life, like being able to move between buildings even when placed adjacent to each other, you can tell the developers have spent timeThis game obviously took some inspiration from games like They Are Billions, Red Alert, and Diablo but limiting this to comparisons doesn't do it justice. The alien biomes are diverse and the hoard mechanic feels intense. With base building quality of life, like being able to move between buildings even when placed adjacent to each other, you can tell the developers have spent time polishing even the small details. The studio also has a history of after release support and are active with the community to keep them informed of future plans and even Co-Op in the future. This is a game you don't want to miss… Expand
  22. LordFaidal
    Jan 13, 2022
    7
    Engaging and addicting Tower Defense/Resource Management game. Similar to forager in some ways. Try getting it on sale if possible. Great game to play casually.
  23. co3676
    Apr 12, 2023
    6
    altı .

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best PC Game of 2021
94
#94 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. PC Games
    Nov 30, 2021
    90
    An extremely well-done genre mix with massive battles and fantastic graphics. Both the base building and the RTS elements work extremely well.
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  2. Checkpoint Gaming
    Nov 12, 2021
    80
    The Riftbreaker is a chaotic mess that spans several genres and comes out as perfect as Grandma’s Christmas Trifle. It doesn’t make sense at all but it comes together so nicely and seamlessly, it gives the user a completely unique and challenging experience. Whether you are into tower defence, RTS or even bullet hell or hack & slash, The Riftbreaker is going to give you one hell of a wild ride, and you better hang on for dear life.
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  3. GameGrin
    Nov 1, 2021
    85
    A fantastic game for any base-building fans, The Riftbreaker’s tight combination of action-RPG and tower-defense elements produce an addictively fun experience well worth the inevitable hours you’ll lose to it.
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