Streets of Rogue

SoR is a game where you dig through a dumpster. You need to carefully inspect every tiny piece, open every bag, every box. You'll drink drops of leftover booze from empty bottles just to stay warm through the night. And then you'll turn them in for pennies. If you learn how to dumpster dive well, maybe you'll get enough to survive for a week. 1$ or 10$, either way you're a hobo. And those 10$ might cost you something else... Don't get the wrong impression, the marketing is wrong, this is not a top down shooter. Maybe there is something else in the chaotic multiplayer, but as a singleplayer roguelike, this is a puzzle game. Combat is simple and kinda dull, but most importantly, it is PUNISHED. Careless attacks can and will lead to a deadly chain reaction of violence and persecution, turning the current level more and more dangerous. Even the "combat" classes will quickly run out of health and ammo. Instead, it rewards efficient use and "acquisition" of items. The more shit you scavenge and steal, the stronger you become, regardless of your character class. The mechanics are simplistic, but there are many. The most enjoyable thing is remembering what you can do and where, in order to avoid combat. As you play more, items, NPCs and props will keep surprising you with their newfound usefulness. Don't expect too much from stealth. The detection and alignment system is useful, omnipresent, and has many interesting interactions, but this is not truly a stealth title. This game went through a massive development cycle. It didn't just include bugfixes and the odd piece of new content; the overall balance actually improved and became very comfortable, both difficult and rewarding. There is almost always a way to get through any given situation quietly (not necessarily with stealth) and with minimal losses.

After 12h of gameplay in just one and a half days, I can say that this game is absolutely fantastic! The systematic gameplay and randomness of a rouge combined with the aspects of open-world roleplaying games is a fantastic idea, while it has been attempted before, it has always felt quite flat, not in Streets of Rouge though! Each level feels like an epic dungeon full of dangers, booty and adventure, yet it also manages to retain the feel of being in a living- functioning town. I truly hope more developers take note of this instant indie hit, because it sets a standard on how things should be done. We need more games like Streets of Rouge.

I have put a lot of hours into this game on Steam and wish I got it here instead. It has a lot of replay-ability and can be played in a lot of different ways. The multi play with this game is fun. My most recent encounter was when a friend of mine and I were both zombies and we used zombie hoards to accomplish our goals. I had another game where I made it through to become mayor without killing much of anybody. Really fun and I highly recommend it.

So, this game is NOT a shooter. That certainly is one of the many elements, and they capitalized on that element in the trailer... Which is unfortunate. However, this game is jam packed with tactical puzzle solving. Multiple classes means different ways to approach similar puzzles: retrieve an item from a chest/ take a designated person or persons out/ destroy something/ shut something down. How you accomplish these goals is determined by your chosen class and what you find in the field. Maybe your character is good at one thing. Well, that one thing comes with a balanced cost to something else. And the variety is astounding. You've got hackers, vampires, bod-changers, cops, thieves, doctors... The list goes on. Not to mention you can create your very own character using any stat/item you've unlocked in the game! You can make a game-breaking character that won't unlock anything because of it's stats, but if you want to fly through and see the ending it's the way to go! Or, challenge yourself by making an extremely difficult character to play as... Don't know why you would, but hey, YOU CAN! Also, the level generator is strong enough to make it feel like a different place every run-through. Similar qualities, but different set-up. Replay is what this game is all about, and they make it effortless and enticing. Maybe you want to go on a rampage? Maybe you want to be stealthy? Maybe you want to blow stuff up and ask questions later? All these options and more are here, in the Streets of Rogue. I'm having a blast learning new ways to solve puzzles as I am still unlocking new characters. You do so by either buying the Character Pack (which I did) or unlocking new characters by completing in-game challenges. This game is wonderful. Seriously. Can't recommend it enough. Get it! (On sale especially if you can!)