Sword of the Stars: The Pit Osmium Edition

I wanted to give a solid review for this game on this dlc page, just in case some who like survival rogue-likes click this first instead of the base game. As a DLC, this pack is fine and dandy, giving more of the same. The game is tough but not so hard you won't ever get anywhere. There are enough differing loot types that I didn't mind the repetition, and the stat-building has enough bulk to it to keep it fun. Leveling up is solid, also, doesn't take too long, but doesn't give you too much power when you get there. Overall, this is a great and purdy indie title that I've put a helluva lot of hours into, and haven't slowed down on.

This game has such great potential, so it's a shame that I ultimately can't recommend it (unless you get it at a great discount). Pros: 1. Graphics look nice and there are (potentially) many cool items, weapons and armors. 2. The controls are mostly very intuitive. 3. The levels offer some amount of variety, particularly if you hit the biome levels in the middle. 4. Characters are varied beyond different stats (even if many are sold as DLC add-ons). Cons: 1. The animations of enemies moving and attacking can cause some delays in UI. 2. The reliance on RNG is unacceptable. To give some examples: 3. ITEMS: There is a rechargeable identifier device (or you are carrying unidentified items in your *limited* inventory). There is a rechargeable cooker (or you are looking for rare cooking stations). There is a rechargeable opening helper tool. 4. WEAPONS&ARMOR: Even if you get a cool weapon or armor, there is a good chance that it is the "wrong" type for your race (e.g., many spears are not meant for humans). 5. AMMO: You *will* run out of ammo. Ammo drops will be the wrong type because there are too many of them! Pistol, rifle, flechette, darts, high explosive ammo, shotgun ammo, energy cells, energy backpack, fuel cells, a rocket thing. 6. DURABILITY: Everything has a durability which decreases, through wear and tear or damage. Your ability to repair is very limited. Some monsters will damage your equipment A LOT, with melee or even range acid attacks. What eventually killed any fun I was having with this game: Rogue-like games (FTL) are fun because when you die you have wasted a 1-2 hours and can go again. In this game a full run can be 15+ hours on *easy* (I have gotten as far as Lv 31 out of 40 in 9 hours or so). Random surprises can kill a very long run! The last straw was a randomly spawned spectre on Lv. 24. They are immune to all weapons (except laser) and to all Psi powers (except fire Psi). And if you don't have either? Too bad, 6+ hours run gone.

What you have here is a more "casual" sort of Roguelike, but still more in tune with the "less-than-casual" type than most of the lot. Gameplay is pretty firearm focused, and a bit odd to normal Roguelike players (WASD movement without diagonals for example), but they'll still feel right at home with the usual hallmarks: hunger meter, item durability, levels of poison and disease, turns taken repairing/scavenging/reloading, and the odds are still stacked against you. There's tons of loot in this game too: random biomods reminiscent of Mystery Dungeon, different kinds of weapons, tons of crafting ingredients (a la Dungeons of Dredmor, however crafting apparatus usually isn't portable and you know much less about recipes initially), items from various races, and many stations locked or in disrepair that you need to go through a certain ability check for (and there are plenty of these abilities, all useful for the most part). All in all, a pretty fun game for it's type and you'll get a lot of mileage from it. You won't get bored from lack of difficulty in a Roguelike, but at the same time this title is suggestable to first-timers of the genre.

I'll be honest, I don't like Rougelites. Sure there was exceptions like FLT, but I never went out of my way to play them... except for this game. I don't know why, but this is my favorite rougelite. I mean it may be due to the complexity it has such as the recipes, or it could be the mix between skill and strategy, but either way, looking forward to a sequel.