Game: RogueCube
Genre: Action, Arcade, Rogue like
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PS4 and Xbox One)
Developer|Publisher: Bipolar Dawn | Ratalaika Games
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: UK £4.99 | EU € 4,99 | US $4.99
Release Date: August 7th 2020
Review code provided with many thanks to Ratalaika Games
The Rogue Like
Once upon a gaming time from days of old. The rogue like genre was this new and interesting thing. Usually designed as a game where you go through levels taking down all the baddies until you die. Then for some reason you decide to repeat this process another three times before realizing you really need to go hang the washing out. The genre has easily become one of my favourites possibly because it takes me back to the arcade days where gaming was simple, fun experiences enjoyed in small bursts. But like with every genre there comes a point where the market starts to get a bit flooded and unless you do something particularly special its hard to stand out. So lets see if RogueCube achieves just that.
Cubes With Guns
RogueCube is a top town shooter with simple pixel graphics. You quite literally play as a cube and you go from level to level taking out all the other evil red cubes and enemies before moving onto the next level. There are plenty of weapons to use against the cube evils of this world from plasma pistols to frying pans. It was entertaining discovering which weapons were useful and more adapted to my particular play style. Let’s just say I’m more a bullet cube then one that uses kitchen utensils to deflect bullets. You can only carry two weapons at once which have limited ammo. I often had to change my weapons regularly as ammo is quite scarce. In true rogue like fashion its up to the gaming gods (or gaming director) as to whether the odds are in your favour or if you fail in your quest.
Simple Graphics
Graphics mostly consisted of basic backgrounds with a decent variety of enemies. Enemies are mostly cube-like in design, no squares here. It’s simple but I liked it, though the simplistic design may not appeal to everyone. What didn’t work so well for me is that the music is not particularly memorable. I actually enjoyed the funny noises the enemies made more than the score in the background which I just preferred to switch off.
Rogue Hard
The game is brutally hard. Unlike the Rogue Lite genre you don’t carry any progression onto your next playthrough. When you’re dead it’s back to the start to attempt the difficult journey all over again. Fortunately the gameplay is a lot of fun. The controls are solid and the gun play works well on Switch in handheld or TV. While some of my play throughs lasted mere minutes. I was quick to jump back into a another session and try all over again. Once again forgetting to hang the washing up. I really should set a alarm.
You can unlock new characters based on how far you progress. The game does decide to stray away from the simple cube designs and adds something new to the characters. They also have different skills and traits worth experimenting with making the replay factor of the game more compelling even if you do manage a successful run.
The Nuclear Elephant in the Room
Something hard to ignore is RogueCube is how incredibly similar in design it is to Nuclear Throne, another popular rogue-like title. In fact, some of the similarities are quite striking. The general design of the games seems similar. RogueCube attempts to make its own mark with its cute cube based design and its inclusion of a co op and versus mode for up to 4 players (Nuclear Throne only had two player co op). RogueCube is also significantly cheaper, something that may will appeal to gamers on low budgets or as an impulse buy. If you already own Nuclear Throne or titles like Blazing Beaks there’s not a lot of reason to pick this title up though.
Square and Simple
RogueCube is a cheap, fun, coffee game. The games are quick and a lot of fun. I don’t quite know why but I really dug the cube like design. Simple yet effective. The glaring issue being that it is far too similar to other games in the genre that you may already have on your Switch. If your new to the genre though, RogueCube is a good way to test the water at a low price.
Final Verdict: I Like it
