Rogue: Genesia is the newest from a one-man indie developer named Ouadi Huard, the game was in early access for the past two years with Ouardi ironing out the details and balancing the game. The game has finally reached version 1.0 and came out on March 7th of this year and it is only available on PC.
What The Game Is About
We play as Rog, a knight capable of effectively wielding any weapon he comes across, our goal is to cross the series of branching nodes on a map. Each node either represents a battle or shop to rest at and upgrade our weapons or buy new ones.
A battle consists of Rog fighting through hordes of enemies at any one time and as we kill the hordes we get to level up. Which involves choosing buffs from three presented cards which either offer passives or upgrade our main weapon. There are also powerful artifacts to find at these nodes that can drastically impact one’s gameplay during any run.
The loop is similar to Vampire: Survivors as in that game we too have to kill hordes and enemies and level up in an almost never ending loop. There are of course bosses in this game, each with their own unique difficulty and challenges to overcome.
Beautiful Pixel Art And Sound Design
The artstyle is a beautiful pixel art bringing a similar charm that games like Shovel Knight had, the aesthetic of fighting through forests is an interesting choice and each node does feature pixel art trees to use as cover from enemy projectiles.
The soundtrack also does its part in complimenting the visuals and aesthetic of the game, ultimately making it more immersive and enjoyable to mow down the hordes that are coming for Rog.
The adapting soundtrack according to the intensity of the fights taking place are just another cherry on top of the already rich experience the game offers. This no doubt makes it more immersive and invokes a sense of excitement when facing challenges.
A Strong Community And Its Future
The game was in early access for two years with Ouardi working on it full time, thus he was able to address any complaint or bug the game suffered. Slowly but surely a strong community of dedicated players formed with all of them offering useful feedback to Ouardi for improving the game.
Ouardi has also expressed interest in improving the game post launch with new systems and features such as a global leaderboard-ranking system, an equipment system, new biomes or worlds etc. Players can expect that this title will surely receive regular updates in the coming months.
This community feedback was key as it allowed Ouardi to focus on issues that needed immediate focus and issues that could be addressed later. Reviewers and players alike praised the improvements that the game went under noting how it feels much smoother and more polished than before.
Conclusion
Rogue: Genesia is another brilliant bullet hell that is sure to rise up to the quality that games like Vampire Survivors has set, the premise maybe simple but the game focuses on the one thing and flourishes from it.
The bullet hell aspect is extremely fun and the ability to create unique builds due to the sheer number of cards and weapons available to Rog. Each node on the map is also procedurally generated adding onto the fact that no run will be the same. As this is version 1.0 there are alot of systems and details to iron out but overall the foundation of the game is solid.
It is a game that deserves a spot in everyone’s library whether they are seasoned veterans of the bullet hell, deck builder genre or are casual players that are just starting out in the game. Here’s to more of Rogue: Genesia from the developer and hopefully he gets to release more games in the future.
