Roboquest Review (Phranc)
Roguelite Borderlands - Robot Edition
Roboquest is a Borderlands-like first-person shooter with a roguelite twist. The game features fast-paced movement accompanied with fanatic gunfights, various weapons with different firing modes, and interesting build variety to help you get through the dangerous robot hordes. Players can choose to take on treacherous trials alone to test one's skills and patience against the chaotic shootout, or work together with your brobot for maximum teamwork and fun. No matter what you choose to play, Roboquest is a fun roguelite shooter similar to Gunfire Reborn. The mechanics may not be the same, but the fundamental experience is equally addicting. I have some gripes for some maps and the difficulty spike, but ultimately I recommend Roboquest to those who enjoy a good movement shooter.
Things I Like About Roboquest:
1. Classes And Build Variety
There are 6 classes in Roboquest. Each plays out differently from another. Guardian is a rounded class focusing on survivability and longevity with his shield; Recon can weave in and out combat with teleportation all the while stabbing enemies' in the back; Engineer can deploy several drones to assist in battles, using more guns to help turn the tide; Commando is the burst damage powerhouse when it comes to explosives and shotty; Ranger can go invisible and create a hologram at his disappearance, allowing safe reposition and diverging enemies' attention; and finally Elementalist takes full advantage of the three elements and empowers their respective status effects. The fun does not stop here. Every class also contains exclusive perks to help you further customize your preferred playstyle: Shield that explodes at the end its duration, Blink that boosts your overall speed, Drones with different weapons, just to name a few. Obviously the perks are offered to you randomly, but learning to work around the things you get is also the best part about roguelite.
2. Fun Guns
Now that you've work around your character build, it is time for the shooting. There are tons of guns in Roboquest. Each of them features unique firing mode and traits to play around, from the classic revolver which deals extra critical damage on weak points to a high-tech mini-gun that shoots electrical homing orbs. On top of their defining traits, weapons also come with several affixes that can improve the performance such as extra elemental damage, additional chance-based attack, and other general stat boosts. But wait, there's more! With Hidden Function upgrade unlocked, any weapons without an innate alt-fire will generate a random alternative fire mode, easily making them pack more punch than usual. Now imagine a revolver that can bounce bullets, trigger explosion for every 2 shot, and has a shotgun-pattern alt-fire. How cool is that!
3. Other Compliments
→Boss fights are fun and creative.
→There are many secrets encouraging players to explore a bit more.
→Gadgets not only open up more paths to go but are also quite useful in combat.
Thing I Like And Dislike About Roboquest:
Maps
→Like: Roboquest's levels share a similarity with those of Dead Cells. Players can freely choose whichever path to go through should they meet the requirement. This design works well with the metroidvania-style secrets the developers sprinkle across each level. Players won't be frustrated by the rng not spawning the map they want to visit when they gain the right gadgets. There are also corrupted sub-levels players can enter during each level. They provide a unique challenge to usual shootout and a wonderful reward at the end of the level.
→Dislike: What I dislike about the maps is that some of them just feel little different from another gamplaywise. The first level Canyons can get away with simple design because it is literally the beginning level, but the Ruins, Oasis, and Quarry should at least have one gimmick that can slightly affect the pace of combat. Ruins could use more spiral railings to encourage some drive-by shooting; Oasis could use some water level that can benefit electric and cold damage; Quarry could use some more environmental hazard such as malfunction mining machine, etc. In the current build of the game, I would argue that the corrupted sub-levels are way more interesting than the main routes.
Thing I Dislike About Roboquest:
Difficulty Spike
And like Gunfire Reborn, the late-game difficulty spikes in Roboquest as well. Even if the game just straight up give you an epic tier weapon at the start of the level, the difficulty can still be brutal. The absurd damage enemies deal and the sheer amount projectiles flying to your screen can easily spell death sentence to your run. Worst of all, late-game spawns more debuffing enemies who can drastically hinder your movement, which is your main survival tool, and there is no way for you to get rid of the debuff fast enough. It is almost to the point if you stop moving for over two seconds you will take massive damage.
中文小簡評
→純機器人版邊緣境地roguelite。
→六個職業可供解鎖，玩法大不同。
→每個職業又有不同隨機技能升級可選，讓玩家更深入搭配自己中意的玩法。
→槍枝多樣且具特色，不同詞綴能夠有效增強其特性，解鎖相關升級後又能解鎖隨機次要開火。
→王戰打起來特別有趣。
→地圖裡藏有小機關及祕密鼓勵玩家多多探索。
→獲得的永久配備不只能用來開更多路徑，戰鬥中也能發揮奇效。
→固定路徑在roguelite遊戲並不常見，這個設定跟地圖裡的小機關相呼應，用來鼓勵玩家多多利用配備探索，而不用一直重刷地圖。
→主線道路外還有支線關卡，這些關卡都有特別的挑戰及獎勵。
→有些關卡只有美術不同，在玩法上沒有小小的變化(如某些地圖可以有更多欄杆供滑行，亦或是不同環境危害等)。
→遊戲後期難度直線上升，稍微走神分心容易中傷身亡。