Tuesday, January 29, 2019

A preview of a preview of Rogue Reaper

Access to this title was provided to RageLogin free by the publisher. No other considerations were made.

As of this preview (January 29th 2019) the game is still in very early development and some drastic changes are likely to happen between now and the final version.


This is an adventure platformer and is reminiscent of early 32bit era titles. It is playable and shows a lot of potential. The fantasy setting and relatable backstory (an overworked parent) blended with the backdrop of the black plague makes for a dark and unique twist on the classic platform experience. Our protagonist is motivated not only by her love of her father but also her sense of duty. She knows something is wrong with the balance of life and death and feels strongly about correcting it

Lillian (called Lilly) is light on her feet, quiet, and fast. Her telekinetic abilities are often a path to a quick victory against smaller foes, do impressive damage to larger challengers and are crucial to some of the situations Lilly finds herself in. Between the stealth elements, combat and parkour the levels are easily laid out and require little hand-holding to navigate. Even for a gaming journalist. The eerie world Rogue Reaper presents is steeped in fog and shadow. The levels are intentionally minimalistic for navigability as much as artistic effect. The verticality of the game ramps up quickly but is (over all) rather mild. Though in future updates it may become much more advanced. The level I played certainly has potential to become much more challenging. Luckily I experienced no fall damage. I was thankful for the lack of it too as I fell often misjudging my jumps. This is a from shortcoming in my skill rather than anything present in the game.

It seems the intent of the creators is for the game to remain Free-to-Play. I could see this title going on retail for anything between 5 to 10 USD. Nearer the 10 dollar price point I’d expect a bit more polish. All I could really ask for is more attack animations (Lilly has one she repeats along with a stealth kill) and some way to interrupt an incoming attack. As it is now the game is recommendable. In the coming updates it may become more so. That's my hope at least.

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