Contra: Rogue Corps

The game is a failed attempt to bring back this mythical saga. The title innovates with several game modes that are affected by its bad gameplay and input lag. Also noteworthy is its poor graphic section and its acceptable sound section.

It's a shame because sometimes, even when I'm fighting the game, I'm enjoying myself.

On paper, Contra: Rogue Corps should work, and it should work well. It has extravagant weapons, gaudy finishers, and bombs that can destroy every enemy on screen, but none of them gel together to create greatness. It’s the execution and implementation of all these ideas that hold it back from achieving greatness. Instead, they create mediocrity. Can fun be found in Contra: Rogue Corps? Yes. Will it be enough to justify buying the game at full price? No. I didn’t hate my time with Contra: Rogue Corps, but it isn’t something I feel the need to return to anytime soon, either.

I’m enjoying my time with Contra: Rogue Corps far more than I expected when the game was announced at E3 and revealed to be as un-Contra-like as possible. It’s rough around the edges, specifically in the ridiculous faux-bad-ass story and presentation coupled with the restrictions on local multiplayer. The actual shooting has enough there that could make it a fun multiplayer game, but with so much of it hinging on the online play, I can’t draw a total conclusion. I hope the weapon customization and upgrading can gel well with online multiplayer so that way Rogue Corps can transcend its issues and be a boisterous and enjoyable action game.

Evolving from the gun’n’run type to the shoot’em up genre, Contra Rogue Corps misses too many shots. Everything looks like it’s 10 years late, from visuals to gameplay mechanics and sound design.

There’s an earnestness to Rogue Corps that makes it even sadder to see the game fail as it has. There have been updates since the game launched, but nothing thus far has been able to elevate Rogue Corps to the standard of quality set by past series installments. If Konami wants to modernize its franchises for future generations, the message should be clear: fans want what made those classics so endearing to begin with, not misguided radical redesigns.

Contra: Rogue Corps has some good ideas. The twin-stick action could have worked if it hadn’t been so fussy and inaccurate, the choice of characters could have been great if they’d had a bit more variety and the deep customisation and online game modes could have added longevity if they hadn't been attached to such a drab and messy-looking game. In the end, nothing about this endeavour feels in any way related to the Contra games you know and love, and you’d do much better to grab the Contra Anniversary Collection at a much lower price – or try out one of the many excellent retro twin-stick shooters or side-scrolling action games already available on the platform.

Contra Rogue Corps marks the return of the Contra series and its premiere on the Nintendo Switch. That should be a reason to generate enthusiasm, instead the result is a botched attempt at bringing one of the most iconic 2D shoot'em-up series to our age. With its frustrating and clumsy gameplay, technically inferior performance and limited multiplayer experience, the Contra series did not deserve an attempt that cannot be compared to the classics bearing its name.

Contra: Rogue Corps joins Bomberman: Act Zero and Hideo Kojima's firing as one of Konami's biggest disappointments.