Game: Deep Space Rush
Genre: Roguelike Shooter
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PS 4)
Developers|Publishers: Ratalaika Games| BUG-Studio
Price: US $4.99| AU $7.99|Ca $ 6.29|£4.99|€ 4,99
Age Rating: US E 10+| EU 7+
Release Date: 25th October 2019
Review code use, with thanks to Ratalaika Games
If there’s one rule to remember about roguelikes, it’s to accept death. And following that rule, it is to make sure you don’t die again. Deep Space Rush has a premise that follows those two rules where you start from one end of a spaceship and rush to the end shooting and zombie or worm that comes your way.
It sounds simple in theory, but the practice makes it anything but.
Sci-fi plot #42
Deep Space Rush has you start with an astronaut flying in from his small ship to a larger, invested one, with his only companion being a smug and exasperated AI that tells you to go in and shoot things. You start out with a basic gun with unlimited ammo and can kill the mobs easy. Just so long as you keep your distance, and head to a new colored room.
But then more traps come up; electric spikes from underground, worms hiding under spikes, worms clinging to the ceiling, red zombies that rush in and explode, the list goes on. And the deeper you go in, the more of each mob you’ll come across. Sometimes all at once!
Eventually you’ll die, but you are rewarded in coins how far you’ve gone and how many aliens you shot. Plus, any coins you collected on the way over. The AI then tells you to use the money to buy upgrades so you can survive better in the game. And that’s pretty much it on terms of “story”.
Ladies and gentlemen, the game loop.
All towards the Vogon Highway Fund
The upgrades in Deep Space Rush include extra health, new guns, and orbs. Health is self-explanatory; you start with 3 HP, every hit knocks you down one point, and if you lose all of them you die and the run ends.
For guns, once you buy them you can find them on runs. They have stronger firepower and features than the basic gun you have. There’s a grenade launcher, a laser rifle, and a shock gun or two. They variety of their powers can make getting rid of pesky aliens easier.
Finally, there are the orbs, which also need to be bought to unlock. The red orb gives you a boost of speed that can breeze through the ship faster, but you have to control yourself not to get hit by hazards. The blue orb gives you an electric shield that protects you from all damage and mobs. You can’t have both orbs at the same time, though.
The shop allows you to further enhance your upgrades by levels; HP gives you more HP, guns get more ammo and firepower, and the orbs give you more time to use. However, there’s a max limit on each item so once you reach level 5/max, you must settle with your skill or other upgrades.
Worthy of a Deep Space Rush towel
As I mentioned earlier, each run is about getting as much gold as possible for upgrades, and trying to get farther in. There’s no feasible end in sight, and your only reward is earn enough gold to get everything.
This is another short and sweet kind of game worth the small price and little play sessions. Games like these are what makes the Switch thrive, and we could always use more of them.
Final Verdict: I Like It
