It’s been a while since I swore on such a constant scale that passers-by would likely confuse the obscenities heard for that of a sailor’s tavern, which is exactly what makes Risk of Rain a worthy entry into the roguelike genre. On the surface, there’s not much to see and nothing will immediately jump out as anything spectacular. That is until you scratch away the unassuming top layer, to uncover a challenging 2D side-scroller with a ton of content to explore.

The rules are simple, you get one life to progress through a series of levels. Die and it’s game over and you’ve got to start again from the very beginning. To mix things up a bit here, there’s an ominous timer present in the top right corner of the screen, constantly ticking higher and higher as time progresses. Unfortunately for the player this is an increasing difficulty slider, so the more time it takes to complete a level, the harder things will get. It’s savage and unforgiving for those unfamiliar to the genre, but roguelike fans and sadomasochists alike will find a satisfying level of difficulty to make the pain worthwhile.

NO, YOU’RE DEAD!

From the get-go you’re given access to only one character class, with the ability to unlock the rest by achieving a variety of hidden goals throughout each session. At first this may seem like a clever addition to the game’s overall style, but the harsh reality is it’s nigh on impossible to discern what you need to do in order to get access to some of the more obscure characters which is pretty frustrating for those just starting out. A quick Google search and a few specific tasks completed later and the game will most certainly feel more varied as you pick between your favourite sci-fi inspired classes, each bringing a different skill set to the party. This doesn’t matter as much in single player, but for the multiplayer aspects it can be the difference between level completion or ultimate defeat.

The levels are all procedurally generated, and your goal on each level requires you to locate and activate a teleporter. Doing so triggers a timer which counts down for 90 seconds, and during this time an increased number of enemies will continue to spawn along with one big boss monster. These are frantic moments of panic, usually resulting in either glorious victory or humiliating defeat at the hands of the hordes. While these moments are more fast paced and entertaining, the build up to triggering the teleporter devices can be tedious at times. Sometimes you’ll have to back-track the entire length of a level in order to find the teleporter device that was five inches off screen in a corner you didn’t check which can be quite frustrating at times.

I have the worst luck…

Because of its roguelike nature, the story aspects take a backseat to the action of running and gunning. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no substance to what’s happening in the game, in fact quite the opposite. The intro video sets the scene, but most of the game’s lore is uncovered by playing through the levels slaying specific enemies to collect monster logs or by collecting the vast number of power-up items. As you collect each of these objects, an entry will be added to the item and monster logs which can be accessed via the main menu. Each item offers up a little bit of background information on the inhabitants and items found on the strange planet. This is a nice added bonus that provides an extra sense of depth for those who prefer to learn more about the lore of the game world.

Risk of Rain doesn’t bother to hide the fact that it wants you, your family and everyone you’ve ever known to suffer, and ultimately that’s its main attraction and what makes it a worthwhile entry to the roguelike genre. Despite a few minor issues with levels and character unlocks, Risk of Rain is definitely worth the number of broken keyboards you’re likely to burn through whilst playing it.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a PC copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

There are a range of classes, each with their own abilities. These are activated by pressing 4 keys, which along with the fast paced combat, makes Risk of Rain similar in ways to a MOBA game. You can win fights through a mix of clever positioning and quick reactions. As you learn your class’s strengths and weaknesses, the game becomes easier and combat feels smoother. As your character levels up, you’ll be able to cope with more difficult enemies. This is good, because the longer you play, the more difficult the game becomes.

Risk of Rain is different from a lot of games with randomly-generated worlds. The pace is much faster and the increasing difficulty means that you’re encouraged to go through the game as quickly as possible. There are times when I wanted to step away from the combat to explore the levels more – but the randomly-appearing enemies make it difficult to explore. Hopefully as the game develops there will be potential for more varied gameplay, and the pace will relent slightly.

Much of the atmosphere in Risk of Rain is created by its soundtrack, which is both eerie and forceful. My fellow Indie Mine reviewer Jennifer Roger has written an excellent article about Risk of Rain’s soundtrack, which you can find here.

Multiplayer co-op has recently been introduced to Risk of Rain. I haven’t had a chance to try it out – because I can’t find a server. As yet there isn’t a fully developed server browser, and the game requires you to connect directly to an IP address to play multiplayer. This will work fine if you know people who have the game, but you won’t be able to jump straight into a game with strangers. Hopefully in the future the game will also feature a full server browser.

Risk of Rain has a lot of potential. At times it feels too combat-heavy, but the randomly generated elements of the game mean that each playthrough offers something different. Risk of Rain is only going to become more varied and interesting, and I hope that the developers allow players to really explore all it has to offer. If you like the look of Risk of Rain, you can purchase a copy here.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.