There are many great reasons to enjoy Indie games. Their affordability, for example, might be a huge draw for many. Especially now, when the greedy vampires in Suits, masquerading as humans, took over most big gaming companies, and desire every cent you have. The richness of art styles might be another - from cute pixel art to superb art direction of games like Jusant or Synergy. It might also be because Indies are not afraid of digging into genres long abandoned by the so-called Triple-A studios. Tactics game, turn-based strategies, block breakers, hidden objects, mazes... You won't find those touched often by the Big Players in the industry. But to me, personally, what I find most endearing and the true power of the Indie scene is Experimentation. The boldness and passion to try something new. To not be chained to the dreaded 'bottom line', to corporate profits. To have this freedom to do what you believe in.
One of the most fun expressions of this, for me, is the risk of mashing up genres which should never work. An idea so audacious that it would never go out of the first design meeting when confronted with a Focus Group. Not because it is bad, but because it would be seen as way too risky. For example, what does a roguelike dungeon-crawler snooker sound like? Yeah, got your attention, didn't it? Now that's something you don't see often! And of course, when you see it written on paper a natural reaction of the brain is a simple 'no, this can't work'.
But it does. Rack and Slay is a spankin' new game from Ludokultur that provides exactly that. A roguelike experience where you're a fierce billiard ball and need to defeat the evil monster balls by the only means avaliable to you - bouncing them into holes. I do believe the correct term is pockets. You might be thinking - how the heck do you make a roguelike out of billiard? Cleverly so! First, most enemy balls are not merely standing there, doing nothing. Well okay, they do, but many of them come in special flavors, different types that threaten you in some way. Hitting them makes you lose money or momentum. Or straight up bounce you away or damage you. It is more prudent to bounce those using other enemy balls. Then there are boss balls, which persist on the table and do something nasty every round, until you clean up shop of the lesser enemies.
But that's hardly all! The table isn't your usual one, with predictable, set numbers of pockets and smooth sailing. It's filled with obstacles, spikes, traps, teleporters, bombs, and collectibles that grant you the currency you need to power up or stay in the game. But as fun as it is to have each table be a different challenge to embark on, that's still not all. What kind of roguelike wouldn't have items? Relics! Cards! There's a whole progression here in runs when you can spend your currency to power your shot or get more shots before the round ends... As well as items that add various abilities to your play. More balls shooting in various directions, for example. More ways to scrounge up dosh between rounds. Extra push where you land or a randomized copy of your impact to a random enemy.
There are ways to make your run smoother and to help you reach more troubling enemies on your table. It all congeals into a pretty entertaining mixture. Each level feels more like a logical puzzle that also requires either a bit of luck on your side or the precision of an experienced billiard player. They are fun and as you ramp up difficulty, become more and more demanding, no longer happy with you tossing just one singular enemy into the pocket on each shot. Bouncing off the edges and trying to nail multiple baddies at once starts to be the default play. It's fun!
From a visual perspective, the game looks solid. Nothing to sing songs about, but the emphasis was well placed on the readability of every piece. You will very quickly catch up on which obstacles are bouncy, and which are hard and the red spikes stand out like sore spots, making it easy to identify them at a glance. The item cards look great, the artwork is fun and the audio is unobtrusive and fitting, but nothing to sing songs about. In general - it's all perfectly serviceable and makes the gameplay well thanks to its clarity.
Unfortunately, I have a few gripes, minor as they can be, but need to voice them. First and foremost, there's a lack of between-runs progression. You can't level up, unlock new balls with unique properties to start with, or some general power spikes to make those challenging runs more manageable. And so, every run is fresh as ever, starting from the same position. Second is my slight disappointment at the items you can get - a huge portion of them are dedicated to your run economy and relatively few offer some exciting additions to gameplay. I would be delighted to see upgrades that for example let you leave a damaging trail, or build temporary obstacles. Give you something more extreme and cool in your agency over the game. I admit, I didn't unlock all the items yet, so perhaps some are hiding there, in deep progression, but so far the items - while working fine! - were rarely exciting.
Other than that I am enjoying Rack and Slay way more than I anticipated. I am not a big billiard or snooker enthusiast, would play it - badly! - when out in a bar that has the table free and ready, but otherwise I don't tangle with it. That's why I wasn't expecting this outlandish idea to work so well, but it sucked me in for a couple longer sessions. If unusual roguelikes are something up your alley or you enjoy those billiard table games, this should be a perfect outlet for your entertainment.
Commenti