Rush Rover is a basic but fun little twin-stick rogue shooter. Much like its higher quality contemporaries (Enter the Gungeon and NuclearRush Rover is a basic but fun little twin-stick rogue shooter. Much like its higher quality contemporaries (Enter the Gungeon and Nuclear Throne), Rush Rover has you running from room to room, shooting enemies, finding loot, upgrading your weapons and abilities, and eventually beating bosses. As is standard for rogue games, levels and upgrades are procedurally generated. Bosses are randomly chosen from a small pool. Each run will vary to some degree.
It doesn’t really feel like it though. Enemies feel same-y even if their attacks are somewhat different. And boy are there a lot of enemies. Some of them are bullet sponges. It can take minutes just to shoot your way out of a single room. There isn’t a lot of variety in gameplay. It’s very basic twin-stick stuff. This isn’t an innovative or imaginative game in any way.
Does it need to be innovative in order to be fun? No. The combat is engaging. It’s easy to invest in a run. It feels good to clear a room. Defeating a boss, especially later on, is really satisfying. The combat isn’t very hard until later on, but it keeps the pressure on, keeps you invested, and makes you want to keep pushing for that next upgrade.
The upgrade system is pretty cool too. A lot of variety in weapons and, more importantly, a lot of variety in how weapons affect gameplay. The boss fights are fun and mostly fair although they can get ridiculous later on.
If you clear a room without being hit, you get a bonus. If you clear a room within a certain amount of time, you get a bonus. This is a nice touch. It adds a layer of challenge that, while you don’t totally need to do it in order to progress, greatly increases your chances of beating the game. More reasons to push yourself to improve your skills, but not something that necessarily threatens to punish you. At least not immediately.
The 16-bit-style graphics are kinda neat if you’re into the retro aesthetic. That said, the primitive art design might make it more difficult for some players to look past the flaws they see, or to play through the early boring parts, or to restart after they died cheaply, etc. It also makes for a UI that is extremely unpleasant on the eyes. I personally think the graphics are tolerable but it’s definitely not a gorgeous game. What drew me in was the fun shmup gameplay and what made me want to stay is the upgrade system and the challenge in getting further.
In addition to the normal “arcade mode”, there is also a “dodge mode” where you’re in a small area with a boss and you don’t have a gun and your only job is to dodge bullets and survive for as long as possible. It’s good practice, and makes for some quick fun.
Both modes record your #1 best score, but neither of them feature a high score list. On arcade mode, you aren’t able to see your best score until the end of a run when it’s displayed among your other stats. For a game with no meta-progression and fast arcade-style gameplay, high scores should generally be front and center. But it’s a short game and really, the main goal is to get through to the end, not necessarily to rack up the highest score in the meantime.
There’s plenty of content and quality here to justify the low price. It’s not some kind of hidden gem but it’s a fun little time-waster. If you haven’t played Enter the Gungeon or Nuclear Throne, I’d start with those two. They’re much better in almost every way. But if you’ve played the bullet hell out of those and you want something fresh but similar, look no further.… Expand
