Posted on: November 20, 2021

MischiefMaker
Verified ownerGames: 818 Reviews: 66
A skills-over-builds RL FPS.
The original Ziggurat was IMO head-and-shoulders the best roguelite FPS on the market, then part 2 came along and made everything better. The premise is the big wizard order from the first game had a civil war that resulted in the titular Ziggurat being destroyed, releasing all the imprisoned monsters on the world and scattering the order to the winds. You play the hardscrabble remains of the wizard order setting out into the world to recover lost magic and wayward wizards in the hopes of gathering enough of a force to clean up this mess. Ziggurat is a basic but very fast-paced FPS with strong emphasis on constant movement to avoid area-effect attacks. Enemies drop powerups on death, most importantly experience orbs that allow you to level up for a full health and ammo refill as well as a minor perk. You have a weak but infinite-ammo wand, and can find up to 3 more types of weapons: spells that function like shotguns, wands like machine guns, and alchemical devices that function like rocket launchers, each with a seperate ammo pool. Perks in this game tend to have fairly minor effects (like +5% damage, etc.) and your skill will make a much bigger difference than your build. The graphics are somehow even more bright and colorful than the original, with a more overtly cartoony look. Level design seems to incorporate even more verticality than the original (no falling damage) though the basic enemy AI has a tendency to fall off ledges and congregate in the lowest levels. Music is boisterous military marches punctuated with unusual instruments like bagpipes and didgeridoos. The meta portion of the game is expanded compared to the original. Instead of a full-length assault on the Ziggurat every time, the game offers short randomly-generated missions from as little as two-floors long. Each individual wizard and piece of equipment can unlock permanent perks between runs. Main downside is enemies are still a little bullet-spongey. Recommended!
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