OTXO has joined the exclusive camp of roguelikes alongside Enter the Gungeon for me as something I ultimately enjoyed and will likely play on and off, but may never finish. Part of that comes down to the fact that I suck at both, but also cause both have some similar issues that hold me back from getting addicted to them.
In the case of OTXO, its moment-to-moment gameplay is pure perfection. Its weapons are sleek and feel weighty, with a welcome punch to each shot hitting their target. Its movement is also fluid, thanks in part to a well done slowdown mechanic. When you're in the thick of it and clearing room after room, only to barely clear a level with one HP, it's exhilarating.
It's the reason I put around 10 hours or so into it in the first place despite the lack of that "one more run" feeling these games are known for. I love my gameplay being superb, and OTXO does that beautifully. However, the roguelike mechanics it runs with don't hold up quite as well.
Namely, the repetitiveness of roguelikes is REALLY felt here. Level order can change a bit along with layout, but once you've played a handful of runs, you know almost exactly what to expect. Since knowledge doesn't speed things up quite as much as I'd like, it can make getting through those earlier levels a slog. Especially when the passive selection is severely lacking.
The drip feed of new passives and guns is also lacking, even if a great idea in theory. Having to choose between getting new equipment to persist between runs or purchasing more passives you've already unlocked does give reasons to do different things while playing. Given how many of these can be useless outside of specific builds though, it can make the choice of going with what you already have unlocked all the more appealing. The guns are much less of an issue, but passives like bonuses for standing still in a game about being fast just feel silly.
To top it all off, certain builds are also severely damaged by the game's systems. For example, I wanted to try a Kunai build one time just for shits and giggles, and while it was fun to start the run off, you can't enter a boss room with a Kunai. That, combined with the fact bosses are hard to beat with the Kunai, made builds like that damn near unviable. The array of guns you need to pick up doesn't aid this either.
In the end, I still got a lot of enjoyment out of OTXO. When it wants to be a top-down shooter with visceral action, it does all that and more. When it wants to be a roguelike, however, it disappoints in several key areas. While I will likely return to this on occasion, I can't imagine this score will change much.
In the case of OTXO, its moment-to-moment gameplay is pure perfection. Its weapons are sleek and feel weighty, with a welcome punch to each shot hitting their target. Its movement is also fluid, thanks in part to a well done slowdown mechanic. When you're in the thick of it and clearing room after room, only to barely clear a level with one HP, it's exhilarating.
It's the reason I put around 10 hours or so into it in the first place despite the lack of that "one more run" feeling these games are known for. I love my gameplay being superb, and OTXO does that beautifully. However, the roguelike mechanics it runs with don't hold up quite as well.
Namely, the repetitiveness of roguelikes is REALLY felt here. Level order can change a bit along with layout, but once you've played a handful of runs, you know almost exactly what to expect. Since knowledge doesn't speed things up quite as much as I'd like, it can make getting through those earlier levels a slog. Especially when the passive selection is severely lacking.
The drip feed of new passives and guns is also lacking, even if a great idea in theory. Having to choose between getting new equipment to persist between runs or purchasing more passives you've already unlocked does give reasons to do different things while playing. Given how many of these can be useless outside of specific builds though, it can make the choice of going with what you already have unlocked all the more appealing. The guns are much less of an issue, but passives like bonuses for standing still in a game about being fast just feel silly.
To top it all off, certain builds are also severely damaged by the game's systems. For example, I wanted to try a Kunai build one time just for shits and giggles, and while it was fun to start the run off, you can't enter a boss room with a Kunai. That, combined with the fact bosses are hard to beat with the Kunai, made builds like that damn near unviable. The array of guns you need to pick up doesn't aid this either.
In the end, I still got a lot of enjoyment out of OTXO. When it wants to be a top-down shooter with visceral action, it does all that and more. When it wants to be a roguelike, however, it disappoints in several key areas. While I will likely return to this on occasion, I can't imagine this score will change much.