Risk of Rain is a 2D platforming sci-fi pixel art roguelike...

And you become crazy powerful in just a few steps. In this game you play as a survivor of an accident aboard the UES Contact Light that destroys the cargo ship, sending you crashing down in an escape pod to the surface of an alien planet, and raining down chests and objects from the ship's interor. Kill hordes of bloodthirsty aliens and unlock chests with the money you earn. Level up health and damage over time after gaining xp, unlock chests and shrines to give you syringes, hooves, or scythes to increase your stats. Get through the teleporter in each level and find a way to escape this place. Be quick, for the longer you take on a stage the enemies grow stronger.

Gameplay

The gameplay is neat but can also be strategic. You'll dig a hole for yourself if you become comfortable and stay on a level to get all the items, since enemies get tougher over time. But without items you will be outmatched in capability. It's a risk-reward game. RNG also determines what kind of items you find which can be a hindrance or boon. There are 4 skills per survivor and a use-item ability; they can be buffed by items you find like an increase in attack speed, health on crits. There are over a hundred items to find which can do all sorts of things e.g., do lightning damage, strip enermy armour, explode corpses, grant shields, launch fireworks, leech health, slow enemies or set down a portal. The annoying thing for me was that many items were challenge-locked, even by character, so I bypassed this with an artfiact.

Audio Visual

The game has varied environments created with pixel art, and the background moves across the screen which provides a sense of depth. It feels a bit cosy, until the fighting starts and enemies and item effects start flying across the screen. After too long, it can get obnoxious with overlapped sounds and bright attacks setting off. The electronic/ rock themed soundtrack brings some pace and intensity to levels. I think the description behind each item gives some nice background story to the game which is always fun to read and imagine what the situations where like when these things were used before transport. Most acquired items add a look to the character or give them a unique aura/ indicator which is cool.

Pros

• Replayability factor
• Good soundtrack
• Fun mechanics

Cons

• Quite difficult
• Simple graphics and effects
• Online multiplayer unintuitive

Conclusion

Risk of Rain is a challenging game that encourages build experimentation and willpower. I score it 7/10.

Information

• Release date: 2013
• Developer: Hopoo Games
• Platforms: PC, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch