In 1976, Steve Wozniak - a co-founder of Apple - designed a game. The game was called Breakout and was inspired by Pong, with a simple twist; What if Pong played against you, what if it was a game for a single player? Breakout was a breakout hit! And the primogenitor of a new genre - block breaker game. As with every successful title, it spawned many clones, but it was ten years later when Taito, a Japanese company, was blessed by two passionate designers - Akira Fujita and Hiroshi Tsujino - who played all the clones to amass ideas and create an evolution of the genre. Arkanoid was born, offering unique level designs, power-ups, and enemy blocks with different behaviors. It was a smashing hit.
Why the history lesson? Well, for a start, I thought it might be interesting. But today's review is also about a block breaker game, as unique and fresh in my eyes as Arkanoid was when it was released. I'll be first to admit that I didn't follow this game genre much at all. As far as I could say it was pretty much dead, relegated to a small, obscure niche. After all, can you name a fun and well-known release in the genre from the last decade? The only things that come to mind is Peggle, but that's a rather loose connection. And the last one as far as I could say did, indeed, was released in 2014!
And that is why Against Great Darkness is such a breath of fresh air. It took a spark of genius to sit down and draft an idea of a roguelike, bullet hell block breaker game. Now I read that description and got interested from the get-go! What a mixture! In this stylish adventure, you take on the role of one of the many pagan deities, thrown into the depths of hell. Your goal? Break free, aided by the celestial powers of angelic forces, use your arsenal of powers, and juggle your discs (angelic aureolas?) to ascend the rings of hell and escape Lucifer's clutches!
All that wrapped in a very fitting, well-designed pixel art. The game has style, but the style is well harnessed to a function - everything is made to make sure that the hectic gameplay is never chaotic. Each of the three circles of hell has its distinct color scheme, soundscape, and enemy designs. Enemies are dark blobs of hatred while you and your power shine radiant white. This contrast keeps everything very clean and easy to read while playing. Animations look great, everything is fluid, and ascending each well of demonic darkness is a delight. A+ for art direction on my end.
But the biggest challenge when creating such a genre mash-up is how the different elements of the game mix. How to make sense of them in a way that creates a great gameplay experience. And I must say - Against Great Darkness nails it. Juggling the discs around the board to smash demons is fun because the majority of your upgrades are triggered by the juggle count. Want your extra weapon to trigger? Bounce discs five times. Want your shield to pop? Make a speed disc by bashing it hard. A good roguelike offers plenty of items to make varied builds, and you get them here in abundance. You can make a build focused on having many discs, or just one. On keeping long chains of juggles or letting your disc constantly respawn. Maybe you'd rather focus on your other weapons, that's doable as well. It feels good to congeal a proper build and the spikes of power are well felt.
On top of that, between each level, you can encounter various events with different outcomes. Use your temporary currency to upgrade, regenerate, and buy unique relics you can't unlock via a store. Pick a power-up that will make your next run easier. Gather the progression currency to level up all your characters at once. Right, the progression - a key to a good roguelike. Even that aspect is designed well, with constant unlocks of new items, new events, and new characters. With each cleared run you also unlock a new difficulty level, which is also well conceptualized - instead of making enemies tougher and hard-hitting, each level adds another, stacked modifier to a run. It's clever.
If there's a single gripe I would have about this extraordinary game would be its difficulty. It's... Easy. I hate to say that, but it's the truth. I would not call myself a roguelike Amadeus, a maestro of block breaker genre. I'm a rather casual player by my own admittance and still had no issues clearing run after run, with ease, even cranking up difficulty each time I win. Pair that with short runs, and it makes the game feel almost casual. Not that it is going to be a downside for everyone, but if you're the kind of player who is looking for a tough challenge, this title might not deliver on that front. Nonetheless, if an idea of a roguelike, block breaker bullet hell sounds like an interesting concept to you, absolutely give it a shot. It's immensely fun.
And it's in Early Access! This means that all the little gripes and nitpicks can be still solved before the full release. A new difficulty mode can emerge. Many new events, weapons, and relics can be added. I sure do hope to see all Circles of Hell tossed in, to extend the runs past the three stages. In short, there's hope that this title will grow into a true pearl, and coalesce into an excellent, full game packed to the brim with content. For now, it is short, succinct, and delightful, a great mash-up of ideas executed well. Go give it a try, I vow that you won't be disappointed.
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