I actually enjoyed this game for what it's worth, but I can't recommend buying it. The developer, Hippomancer, has left the game in an unplayable state for some and a buggy mess for others, myself included in the latter. There were two patches in the first three weeks after the game was released, and then nothing. All attempts to contact the dev via the forums, the contact page on his website, or his twitter account have gone unanswererd.

The game has not been updated since May of 2014. The game was released in April of 2014. It is very clearly abandonware. Don't support devs who don't support their own games.

Let's get this out of the way first: this game isn't for everyone. If you don't like old school (and I mean, Doom/Quake era) gameplay and hardcore randomization, then you shouldn't buy this game. That being said, if you enjoy either/both or are open minded, this could be right up your alley.

Rogue Shooter blends rogue-like elements (permadeath, random levels/items) with gunplay from the shooters of yore. It does have a couple of technical limitations (the lack of a volume slider, locked resolution, and oddball fullscreen modes), but the gameplay more than makes up for it. Weapons feel satisfying and varied, enemies are diverse, and levels (while basic) are never quite the same. Furthermore, the higher difficulties are challenging and give you a good space to grow into as you graduate from noob to veteran.

If you're a fan of modern roguelike hybrids, classic shooters, or just plain old innovative games, then Rogue Shooter is worth a shot. Don't take my word for it-check out the demo and see for yourself.

For those of you who enjoyed classic shooters, this is a treat. It has retro-borderlands style graphics and the loot mechanics are comparable to that of your basic roguelike game.

Pick your background (prisoner, scientist etc., and there are a LOT!) which essentially defines what you start with in your inventory. You move up randomly generated floors and find loot and kill monsters for exp. When you level, you can unlock a perk (and there are quite a bit to choose from). You can combine materials that you find to create anything from useful items to experimental syringes that yield random buffs/debuffs.

Movement is different than most first person games, whereas you cannot look up or down, but only left and right. You manage your inventory in real time (you'll be doing this quite a bit considering all the items you'll be picking up). You'll also be hacking (mouse cursor dodging mini-game) datapads in real time too so best to clear the floor of enemies before attempting this. You get a random amount of credits (possibly other rewards) for successful hacking attempts.

When you die, you start over, but the 'intel' acquired is persistent. You acquire more and more intel as you replay the game more and more, and with more intel comes more unlockables whether that's more available perks, backgrounds and enemies.

My only gripe is that there are many dead ends, but because you move quite fast (what with the fast paced gameplay), it's negligible.
[Edit] The music also does not loop, so if you're on a floor for some time clearing enemies or hacking datapads, then you'll notice the music will eventually cut out and you'll be left alone in silence.

For the current sale price ($4.99) this game is more than worth it. If you're a fan of roguelike games and enjoyed classic shooters like Duke Nukem and Quake, you'll definitely be getting your money's worth.

A real shame.

I love FPS Roguelikes. I bought this immediately upon seeing the name and enjoyed it quite a bit. The graphics are terrible but for a game striving to look and play like the DOS games of yore it did an alright job. I really, really did enjoy this game.

What a shame the game has been left to die by the developer in a state as buggy as a month-old pig carcass.

I spent $10 on a bug-ridden, abandoned mess with amazing potential. Do not make the same mistake I did. Rogue Shooter is abandonware.

Try and find a free version online if you really want to give this a go, but do not support developers who abandon their games after public release, it does NOT set a good precedent.

I absolutely love this. I will gladly buy a hundred DLCs to make it better and better. The game combines the best parts of oldschool shooters like DOOM and wolfenstein with the goofiness and roguelike-ness of dungeons of dredmor (another must-buy game on steam.) It provides a very good level of challenge where it keeps you on your toes but never seems unfair. The combat is skill oriented, just like classic shooters, and there are difficult choices to make in regards to things like spending money and which items to hold on to and which to discard. The perk system is actually quite neat, not gimmicky, and all round this is a hell of a lot of fun. My only 'complaint' such as it is would be that it could use some more visual content. As in, more room textures, more types of enemies, that sort of thing. Also, resolution settings would be a huuuuge bonus. Other than that, it's a brilliant piece of indie gaming fun that I'm certain I can sink a few hundred hours into. highly recommended! enjoy!

I've had this game a while and I'm giving a negative review based on the fact the last patch introduced a bug and about a year later it's still there because it has been abandoned. The game had been on Steam barely any time, and they took the money and ran.

Specifically, the bug I'm mentioning is that you have to redo all the gfx settings every time you start the game. These types of games are meant to be played for 15-30 minutes then you quit and do something else. This bug makes the "natural" way of playing this game more work to start up than it's worth to play.

The gameplay itself isn't too bad. I kinda like it, there's enough different classes that give varying equipment and abilites to keep it interesting for a while, I'd be playing more often if not for the bug. The movement is a floaty, but that's part of the "arcade style" of the game. A way to sell it positively would be to say combat "flows" well.

The enemy variety is good, as are the level conditions. The weapon variety as well is nice, and you'll develop favorites for different situations or enemies.

I'd recommend this game if not for its total abandonment and multiple standing "minor" bugs.
I notice it's only $4.99 so if having to reset gfx settings every time you start and having to watch not to upgrade your weapon too much don't phase you, It's fun for what it is, but... Buyer beware.

I want to like this game, as the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, but sadly it's so bug riddled that I can't actually play it. Graphically it is really bad to have invisible walls, objects, enemies, floors, and doors. Needless to say, this makes for a surreal and unplayable experience. The dev has dropped off the face of the Earth (and never put much effort into bug hunting while he was here), so it's a sour experience.

Simply put, try the demo first. There's a good chance that you can't actually play it. And even then, I'd recommend buying it on a heavy sale just in case.

The core concept is really good. Enemies, weapons, characters, upgrades, level generation, all of that is solid - at least at the start of your run.

Unfortunately, the game is unbalanced, buggy, and abandoned. See, to beat the game, you must complete 100 floors in a row. Not only it takes a tremendous amount of time, but I'm also not sure if it's possible at all. The enemies keep levelling up in terms of health, damage, and speed, while you progress much slower. By about floor 70 pretty much none of your weapons or items work against anything. I came up with a single potential strategy for it but it involves grinding through the first 40 floors or so every time to even attempt it. I gave up.

What's worse is that there's a small random chance that you'll spawn on the next level stuck in a wall. If you do, there is absolutely no escape. You can technically cheat the game by manually backuping the save files, but you need to do it preemptively as the game autosaves at the beginning of the level, locking you in the wall for good. While it doesn't happen often, sooner or later it happened to me pretty much every time I was going for the 100 floors completion.

So yeah, great concept, good start, but it all gradually falls apart as you continue your run. There was a lot of potential in this game and it's probably quite trivial to fix the game-breaking bug mentioned above and balance the enemy progression a bit. I would definitely recommend it in that case. But unfortunately the developer has given up on this game about a week after its release back in 2014. All you'll able get from this game is disappointment in the end.

Rogue Shooter = FPS Shooter + Great Humor + Neat Roguelike Aspects - Playability

This is just sad. I really wanted to like this game. Roguelikes are one of my favorite genres and this game just looks so very entertaining. Unfortunately... It wasn't.

This game has been ABANDONED.

There hasn't been an update in nearly a year. Now, if this simply meant a lack of new content that would be fine. The problem here is that this game is broken. Many players experience debilitating bugs, and I include myself amongst them. For my part, there seems to be some manner of absolutely unbearable mouse input lag. The game runs at a smooth 60fps just so long as I DON'T TOUCH THE MOUSE. If I do, I get the worst stutter I've ever seen. This is untenable for a first person shooter. No matter how I tweaked options and settings, nothing I did improved the situation.

Such a disappointment. The game is otherwise completely charming.

Buy if you...

• Feel lucky, punk. Not everyone has bugs that render the game completely unplayable. You might be one of them. Kind of a gamble if you ask me.
  
• Aren't lucky, but are a glutton for punishment. By all means, enjoy.

Don't buy...

• If you have anything else better to spend your money on. I would rather buy tacos.
  
• If you don't want to pay for abandonware.

The Bottom Line

I wish I could have played this game, but the bugs wouldn't let me do so tolerably. Perhaps someone out there might make a fan-made patch, or perhaps the developers will come back and fix it. Where did they go? Were they eaten by one of their summoned hippos? If I know anything about hippos, it's that they are hungry hungry, so this seems a likely probability.

If they emerge from the hippos digestive tract and still have enough of their fingers left to type, then I hope they will fix their game. I'd love to update my review at that time. Until then... I can't give the thumbs up on this one.

Game has never worked. On three different operating systems. Developers have put no effort into fixing this. Do not buy.