[11/11/2023]
I was planning to write a review for this game three days ago, when Risk of Rain had turned 10 years old. Unfortunately I was too busy playing Survivors of the Void on my Xbox because it finally released. That, and buying Risk of Rain Returns. Least I'm only three days late.
As I said in my Risk of Rain 2 review, I encountered a song from this game that would eventually lead me to discover this series. Best accidental discovery of my life. Eventually, I played the games in early 2021.
The original Risk of Rain is overshadowed by its sequel so hard it makes Street Fighter II look like a minor improvement in comparison. Stage traversal is the largest issue with this game. You can't move while attacking unless you're playing Huntress. It's so easy to accidentally loop because it's bound to the same button as normally going to the next stage. You need to kill every enemy before progressing to the next stage. Plenty of issues that add up to a pretty unenjoyable experience if you played Risk of Rain 2 first. Thankfully, I didn't do that.
That being said, though, this game's unique among roguelikes for its infinitely scaling difficulty and ability to pick up multiple of the same item. You could choose to beat the game normally, or you could collect so many items that you become a demigod, only smited by equally strong monsters should you last long enough. I wish more roguelikes would have a loop system like this game does.
Risk of Rain is more of a novelty to come back to 10 years after its initial release. It's gonna feel like even more of a novelty with Returns out. Beautiful game when you get the hang of it, and an even more beautiful soundtrack. Becoming God has never felt so satisfying.
I was planning to write a review for this game three days ago, when Risk of Rain had turned 10 years old. Unfortunately I was too busy playing Survivors of the Void on my Xbox because it finally released. That, and buying Risk of Rain Returns. Least I'm only three days late.
As I said in my Risk of Rain 2 review, I encountered a song from this game that would eventually lead me to discover this series. Best accidental discovery of my life. Eventually, I played the games in early 2021.
The original Risk of Rain is overshadowed by its sequel so hard it makes Street Fighter II look like a minor improvement in comparison. Stage traversal is the largest issue with this game. You can't move while attacking unless you're playing Huntress. It's so easy to accidentally loop because it's bound to the same button as normally going to the next stage. You need to kill every enemy before progressing to the next stage. Plenty of issues that add up to a pretty unenjoyable experience if you played Risk of Rain 2 first. Thankfully, I didn't do that.
That being said, though, this game's unique among roguelikes for its infinitely scaling difficulty and ability to pick up multiple of the same item. You could choose to beat the game normally, or you could collect so many items that you become a demigod, only smited by equally strong monsters should you last long enough. I wish more roguelikes would have a loop system like this game does.
Risk of Rain is more of a novelty to come back to 10 years after its initial release. It's gonna feel like even more of a novelty with Returns out. Beautiful game when you get the hang of it, and an even more beautiful soundtrack. Becoming God has never felt so satisfying.