Risk of Rain

Genre: Action-Platformer / Roguelike

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Online)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Risk of Rain 2 + Risk of Rain bundle, along with Risk of Rain 2.)

Risk of Rain is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that has you playing as the survivor of a crashed spaceship trying to survive on an alien world with hostile creatures while trying to scavenge equipment and find teleporters to move to a new area. This game was originally released on PC in 2013, with it gradually being ported to other platforms, with the Nintendo Switch version coming out in 2018.

Risk of Rain uses Pixel Art graphics, with your character being particularly tiny, especially compared to some of the hulking behemoths you face up against. It’s nothing impressive, but it works well enough for the game. This is paired with an electronic soundtrack that’s fine but not very memorable.

In terms of gameplay, this is a decent Roguelike experience, and it has an interesting hook – players can hang out in a level as long as they like, taking down constantly-spawning enemies and collecting gold and experience, but the longer they wait, the higher the difficulty level climbs. Add to that randomized levels, a rotating selection of upgrades, and a decent variety of enemies, and you have the framework for a pretty decent Roguelike.

Unfortunately, the enemies here aren’t very smart, and generally overpower the player by ganging up on you. What’s more, after a while it simply isn’t very fun to fight them, largely because they’re all a bunch of bullet sponges. The result is a game that has some good ideas, but they never quite feel like they gel into a great gameplay experience.

In the end, Risk of Rain isn’t a bad game, but it’s not a great one. Those wanting a competent blend of Action-Platformer and Roguelike will find it here, but they’re unlikely to find anything they’ll want to play for hours on end to discover all of the game’s hidden secrets.

tl;dr – Risk of Rain is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that has some interesting ideas it brings to the genre, but ultimately it doesn’t quite meet its potential thanks to its poor AI and bullet sponge enemies.

Grade: C+

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