Botlike is a 2D shooter roguelite that tries some interesting things, but seems to fall flat in a lot of ways. The character movement is clunky in a way that doesn't feel challenging, but feels frustrating. The humor in the game is a little in your face, but it doesn't feel earned. The upgrades cost lavish amounts for the amount you earn from killing opponents. It feels to me like a slightly more polished Flash game.

In its current state, I can't recommend Botlike for people interested in various roguelites.

So far, Botlike is an interesting sidescrolling platformer with randomized and roguelike elements. It combines move and shoot elements from games like ARES with pseudo randomized levels, coming across as easy to control with levels that feel fairly fresh while still allowing you to 'learn' the level. It also includes passive buffs similar to Risk of Rain, a permanent upgrade system a la Rogue Legacy, and enough weapons to choke and elephant. Classy.

After receiving a copy from the dev, I sat down and played about 30 minutes of the game. The controls felt fairly responsive, though I feel as if the timing of the double jump in relation to some of the platforms for 'secret' chests may be a little restrictive. Moving and aiming feel fairly natural and simple with a somewhat simple WASD + Mouse setup, though jump on both spacebar and W feels a bit odd. Apart from the aforementioned oddness with jump timing, everything felt good with the controls.

Graphics are shiny. There's plenty to look at in both enemy selection and environments so far. Cool lighting effects and fun pixelated graphics. Naturally there's a limited enemy selection and environs, but I expect that to change over the course of development.

The user interface is intuitive for the most part, but there's a few elements that are missing or lack information for the player. The combo system and the passive system come to mind for the latter, and any information related to the stats for the former. The devs say changes to fix these are on the way.

The music was enjoyable, though not entirely memorable yet. It didn't get repeitive or boring in the 30 minutes I played, but I don't yet find myself whistling it.

As for the most important part, gameplay, I kept wanting to go back in. Every time I died I checked to see if I could buy something before diving back into the game. Learning different areas and looking for secrets. While there's no overarching goal yet that I've seen, it was fun seeing how long I could last, how high I could get my multiplier up, and what guns I got. There's enough variety to keep me entertained at this stage. The passive items are also fun and similar to Risk of Rain; they give you a hint as to their function, but you still have to work at it to figure out what they do. It was fun to simply buy them or get drops as opposed to just the latter.

Overall, Botlike feels like a fantastic start to the game. There's definitely a good base here, and I want to see how it grows. The devs have already been responsive to the few things I've mentioned both in video and in their discussion boards, so I feel as if there's a definite future for this game. I'd highly encourage taking a look and potentially jumping on it to help them work on bugs, balance, and improvements in the future.

If you'd like to watch me explore the game, you can find that 30~ minute footage here: https://youtu.be/WLwCJ0AsgME

Botlike A Robot's Rampage is a super hard Rogue-lite action platformer game with cool robot guy named SIR as the main character. You get weapons and have to shoot and loot your way through an army of bots on your way to kick the big boss bad guy's teeth in. As far as Rogue-Lite games go this is one of the hardest ones I've played yet but it is fun and enjoyable in it's own way.

The weapons you get are okay for the most part with a few exceptions that are really awesome such as the Shotgun and rocket launcher. The shotgun is fun to use especially if you have it upgraded and it's very powerful. The rest of the guns are okay and all make the combat slightly different but none of them hold a candle to the power of that shotgun.

As for the difficulty, it's harsh. I originally tried on medium difficulty and eventually had to drop down to the easy setting but doing so made it much more enjoyable. It's a rogue-lite game so you upgrade your character between plays and when you do that it makes each consecutive play slightly easier but it's very hard to start out on this one. I would highly suggest easy setting until your character has a few upgrades.

Some of the other things that add to the difficulty are the dash mechanic. You have this nice dash move but when you use it you have to wait for the timer to replenish before you can dash again and that's fine but sometimes when you desperately need it and it hasn't recharged yet it can pretty much be the cause of your death, ending your current run. This dash can be upgraded as you play between matches in the "hub" section. That is another thing that adds to the harsh difficulty when starting this.

Other thigns that add to the difficulty are that you are not able to really manuever while mid-air like in some platformers you can adjust slightly while still in the air from a jump. In this game you can't really, that's where the dash comes in but like I said above if your dash hasn't replenished you will end up taking damage or dying if you misjudge a jump or fall into the wrong thing. One other thing is that your enemies seem to spawn on both sides of you and when you combine all of these things together it can be overwhelming and frustrating.

The pixel art is fantastic and the music fits nicely. The style of the art has a hint of steampunkishness to it that I really like and it's very nice to look at. The levels are procedurally generated and seem to take various sections and stick them together in various order with each different play.

Overall I would say this is a decent Early Access title. It definitely still needs some work, especially in the balancing of the difficulty level. While any or even some of the things I mentioned above wouldn't be a problem usually, all of these things together can make for a frustrating start to your adventures. The more you play, the better you will get at the game but also the more upgraded your character will become making it easier. If you are easily dissuaded by hard games you might find this a bit much and might become very frustrated at least until you level up your character's stats, but if you enjoy a hard challenge this game will probably be right up your alley.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1138380147

I enjoyed Botlike - a robot's rampage quite a bit.

It's a very difficult game at first when you aren't watchful of your back but then its still pretty hard because you forget they spawn behind you.

This game shows promise and I hope to see it grow =D.

To be an early access game I have to say that it is really well done.
It has an excellent progression system and the learning curve is right.
There are small bugs but nothing that compromises the gaming experience.
I recommend it to roguelite/bulletshell lovers.

First off let me assure you I played longer then 15 minutes the game logged my time back and forth. I believe there is a bug with the time logs. Anyway, the game has good play value but is hard, I find that once you die you have a hard time getting any further as the enemies get tougher and more numerous! But I like the idea of shooting stuff, collecting scrap and buying bigger weapons. Either way this game is still in early access and is ruff around the edges but totally worth playing, if you like side scrolling shooters!

Dead game. They even had the gall to sell a soundtrack that they never released. Do not buy.

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Botlike – A Robot’s Rampage:
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Mankind was eliminated over 30 millennium ago by the evil Robot League. After installing their new orbital station above earth, a strange phenomenon triggers a massive tidal wave that is heading towards Rust Town. Rust Town is inhabited by one grumpy, old warbot named S.I.R. As the mighty wave starts to crush down onto Rust Town, the S.I.R. contingency protocol initiates, which sees him being propelled sky high to save his metal! After landing safely on dry land, the grumpy old warbot is looking for revenge by going to war against the evil Robot League.

Botlike – A Robot’s Rampage is a fast-paced 2D platformer game with rogue-like elements where you control a warbot named S.I.R.

As you arrive on the main menu page, you’ll be able to choose between three modes of difficulty before starting your first run. This game is very challenging, so I would suggest selecting the lowest difficulty (civilian, in this case) if you are not used to play hardcore games.

On your first go, you’ll be given a small rendition of what to do, which is basically jumping, dashing and shooting at enemies. Your warbot will always start the first level with a rifle; there are an additional nine weapons to collect (miniguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and others) throughout the game. These weapons can either be found on crates or purchased at the stores located within the levels. If you already have one of these weapons in your inventory, you can upgrade them by repurchasing them again up to five times. You can also purchase items at the store which will help your warbot to increase its skills (critical hits, double shots, healings etc) within that run.

From the moment you spawn into a level, expect to have enemies coming from left, right and overhead! Most of the enemies will need to be next to you in order to inflict your warbot with damage. Be wary of the little yellow bots which run extremely fast; as soon as their reach you, they explode! You’ll come across a massive robot which will take more than a few shots to eliminate, and if you’re really lucky, you might encounter a champion, which is really hard to kill! You’ll die a lot in this game and it will take you a while to reach a boss fight, let me tell you!

There are a few important things to collect in the levels. The first one is the scrap metal, which is your currency to be used to purchase items, weapons and ammunition packs at the stores. Each time you destroy an enemy, a metal bolt of varying colours will appear where the opponent has fallen. A grey bolt will give you 10 credits, the yellow bolt will give 100 credits, and if you manage to get a blue bolt it will give you 500 credits in one go! The other things you must collect are circuits. They are mostly found in crates but can be dropped occasionally by an enemy robot. Then what happens after you die? Well, you’re going to lose everything except the circuits you collected. You respawn in Rust Town and will be able to do a couple of things. You can upgrade your warbot skills in the tuning workshop, but you must have circuits to be able to do so. There are 15 different options, and I would strongly recommend upgrading either your attack, your defence or your dash distance first. Then, look at the Merchant Discounts or even the Keep Scraps options so that the next time you die, you’ll keep a percentage of scrap when you respawn in Rust Town. There is also a poker machine and a store. If you still have a circuit left in your inventory, you might want to insert it into the machine to give yourself a chance to win a weapon to take with you on your next run, or purchase items at the store if you have activated the Keep Scraps option.

The graphics are very good, as is the soundtrack. In terms of the controls, they work well either with a gamepad or with the mouse and keyboard. Personally, I think we need a bigger variety of enemy. It’s a challenging game; you can expect to be frustrated. This is a solid early access game and I look forward to seeing more content.

Positives:
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+ Great Pixel Graphics
+ Fun and challenging fast-paced gameplay
+ Randomized levels
+ Great update system
+ Good arsenal
+ Very addictive

Negatives:
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- No achievements or trading cards yet
- Can be frustrating at times

What an excellent and challenging 2D platformer. S.I.R deserves to be in your game library!

7/10

Key provided by developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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Botlike already feels like a good roguelike with the potential to bring you hours of fun. The Gameplay is solid and rewards you with a constant feeling of progression, similar to games like Rogue Legacy.
Of course, as an Early Access Game, Botlike still has some bugs or balancing problems.
But with a little bit of polishing, this Game could become a new Indie-Hit.

If you like Roguelikes, you should at least give it a try.

Well, i just played Botlike for almost 3 hrs no stop. It looks Amazing.
I love pixel art and roguelite games, and this game has it all.

I'll keep playing it to go further as the game is not easy but yet very engaging and with a good learning curve.

Here's a link of the first gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp7X7_RjX2A

But i'll try to make others video when i'll get better!

Great Game till now!