Recent reviews by Sparks

SILOS NEEDED.

Don't be fooled by the typical retro indie aesthetic. Play through this game. It's so much more than what it looks like.

doom gud

I wrote a review for this game around this time last year for this game which basically amounted to "Yeah this game is really cool go play it", which in my opinion does it no justice at all. The sheer amount of fun you can have with game is astronomical and I will get into detail about that in just a moment. First, however, I feel like I should address a few things.

I, like many other people, am pretty sick of roguelikes in general. That doesn't mean that I dislike the genre itself at all. Quite the contrary. Most of the games on my games list are roguelikes that I enjoy very much. I am simply saying what I and a lot of people are probably thinking. I am drowning in roguelikes. Steam is filled with roguelikes. Be they indie games or AAA or what have you, I feel overwhelmed by them when I browse the "Recommended" section of the store page. Now, if that's the kind of game people like, so be it. I love a game embracing it's skill-driven progression as much as the next guy, but it can often feel very grindy and not rewarding if you just feel like you're just doing the same thing over and over again, especially if that same thing is tedious as all hell. I have a pretty high tolerance for that stuff, but count me in for seeing how that can get old fast for someone that is just looking for something that is simply fun and challenging.

Enter Streets Of Rogue. Upon first glance, I sort of rolled my eyes. With a name like that, the game seems to be wearing its genre on its sleeve, which raised a lot of red flags. The trend of games that unabashedly and proudly tell you what they're going to be in no uncertain terms and then end up either being the complete opposite of what they say they're going to be or, on the other side of the coin, beat you over the flipping head with that exact premise until you want to rip your hair out is alarmingly common. The retro art style didn't help its case either since a lot of those same game love to tell how "old-school" and "totally 90s" they are going to be ad nausea. Looking at you, STRAFE and Retro City Rampage.

Then I watched the trailer.

All of my reservations seemed to float away in an instant. Yes, the game boldly tells you exactly what's going to be, and what it's going to be is many things. Action, RPG, stealth, brawler, shooter, and of course, roguelike. I almost forgot about that last bit when watching the trailer. What caught my attention was the sheer amount of things you could do. So many classes. So many powerups. So much interaction. So many ways to accomplish your goals. It was sort of mind boggling. Of course, a trailer is a trailer and can make anything seem better than it may actually be. After having played the game for a fair bit of time, I'm here to tell you that the game absolutely delivers and then some.

You can go the classic route and just shoot everyone dead to get your way. You can take the more subtle approach and sneak/hack your way through a building. You can grow giant and just destroy half the city if you wish. You can intimidate people and make them leave town. You can bribe, cheat, and steal your way to victory. You can be a gorilla and just terrorize everyone. Be a shapeshifter and take over someone's corporeal form. Start a zombie apocalypse, and all of that is simply just scratching the surface. I believe either the creator or another review compared this game to Deus Ex, and I have to say, that comparison holds quite a bit of water with me. All of the ways you can get stuff done in this game is staggering, and with this game being updated consistently before its departure from early access, there are likely more ways to come. I haven't even touched on the all the classes and how well they gel with the game's progression and overall structure. This review is longer than my last one, and it still doesn't do it justice.

A lot of my main gripes with the game are more or less side effects of early access. The standard bugs that come with a game that isn't entirely finished. Sometimes, I feel like there are simply not enough missions for one floor. The procedural generation can, at times, feel a bit samey and/or cheesy, but that's partly a problem with me noticing proc gen way too much nowadays. The quests themselves could be more varied in general, or at least, have a few more layers to them. They aren't exactly bare bones enough for me to say they're bad or that it's not fun to do them, but there could be more types of quests to really spice things up. More weapon types would also be welcome, but there feel more like suggestions than gripes now. Otherwise, there isn't a lot of bad that I can say about this game in it's current state, even. Yes, it's early access still (and nearing completion), but do not be discouraged by that. I am telling you. The amount of content in this game will quickly make you forget it's even EA.

I mad a bold statement at the beginning of my review that I will now address. This game is the perfect roguelike for people who dislike roguelikes. The general problem its critics have with the genre is that the grind can often feel like a chore and become not fun. It can feel more like a job than a game that you play to relax. Some people (hell, maybe most people) play games to get instant gratification instead of the delayed gratification. The latter is something a lot of us already have to experience in real life. I can understand it. Why come home from the daily grind just so you can grind some more in the hopes that maybe you'll get something you want depending on how kind the RNG feels that day. Of course, I'm not speaking for everyone or even that group of people. I'm simply saying that I one-hundred percent can get where that reservation is coming from. Grindy games, be they roguelikes, JRPGs, or even just your run of the mill RPGs, aren't for everyone. Streets Of Rogue, in my opinion, fixes all of those issues.

What I think gives the game it's mass appeal is its irreverence and chaos. The story for this game is absolutely ridiculous. The mayor of some city has decided that chicken nuggets are bad because they gave him a tummy ache and has outlawed them (with extreme prejudice). You are part of a resistance that works for these rare nuggets against this oppressive authority and your task is simple. Stop the mayor. Whether that means killing him or overthrowing him is entirely up to you.

The tongue-in-cheek nature of the game directly compliments the action itself. The amount of paths you can choose to take coupled with the complexity of the AI can make for some extremely satisfying play. The customization also gives this game a large leg up on other roguelikes since players have the option create tailor made experiences through mutators, choosing traits, and character creation. Wanna make someone that's just OP? You're free to do so. You void your chance to earn the in-game currency to unlock more things, but that's the thing. The fact that you don't have to worry about the grind if you don't want separates this game from so many other in its genre.

One of my favorite strats in any video game is causing in-fighting, and this game has no shortage of this. The amount of chaos you can cause just by being in the right place at the wrong time is fantastic. It harkons back to the days where I would play Grand Theft Auto with just the pedestrian riot cheat which made the game take on a completely different form for me. If you simply want to ♥♥♥♥ around and just cause mass destruction and turmoil, this game not only allows it, but it encourages it.

I'm about to hit the character limit here, but my point is this. If you like roguelikes, get this game. If you don't, get this game. There's something for everyone in here, and I can't recommend it enough. Also, I need some more people to play with, so there's that too.

Quake with dinosaurs.

Genuinely one of the most influential and important games of the last few decades. A true classic in every sense of the word.

As limited as it is, it's a blast to play, both offline and co-op. This game is going to be something very special when it's fully released.

wtf cant even headsh0t any1 or go supper sayan lol ♥♥♥♥♥ manlet game its for ♥♥♥♥♥♥ babbies SUK IT W33BS :^)))