Wall World

Wall World is a challenging roguelite with superb gameplay. Mining through varied and engaging environments is satisfying and pushes players to find out what’s just beyond the next layer. Procedurally generated levels and a vast range of upgrades keep each run feeling fresh, enhancing the robospider to inch closer and closer to the end. However, that end doesn’t meet expectations and annoyingly relies on luck for a few elements to align. Still, Wall World is a fulfilling mining-crawler with an addicting gameplay loop.

Wall World offers a competent mix of ideas. Mining is pretty boring but combat sequences are exciting and tense, with a big ramp-up when the boss shows up. The rogue-lite structure works but the prices on most things are high enough that pure grinding is required. The narrative has an interesting premise but it’s too slow to build on it. The entire experience works best in short sessions, one or two runs at a time, to limit the impact of its repetitive elements. Wall World’s core is good and it would benefit from some tweaked values and expanded variety.

If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery then Wall World is bestowing lavish praise toward Dome Keeper’s blend of defensive shooting and subterranean drilling. Essentially, it’s the exact same concept but with a slightly better sense of progress.

If you're not put off by an initial slow start and can get through the first few levels of upgrades, Wall World does become pretty enjoyable.