- Chad Myers
Game Review #426: Streets of Rogue (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Chad M.
Developer: Matt Dabrowski
Publisher: tinyBuild Games
Category: Action, Multiplayer, RPG
Release Date: 7.12.2019
Price: $19.99
Buy Streets of Rogue from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
Visit the official Streets of Rogue website here.
The Rogue Is All the Rage
When looking at the eShop, there’s a plethora of rogue-type games at our finger tips, but every once in a while, a game comes up with a lot of buzz around it—which can be a double-edged sword. Streets of Rogue is that game; it’s a top-down rogue-lite action RPG game. Like most Rogue-lite games, the idea is: you die, you start back from the beginning, but skills, currency, and other things carry over. Streets of Rogue does that and more trying to break up the monotony and give you a more liberated experience.
Make It Rain With Chicken Nuggets
The storyline is simple, yet hilarious, as the megalomaniac Mayor begins to wreak havoc by confiscating all the alcohol, seizing power by running a police state, and then, for whatever reason, he makes chicken nuggets the new currency. You join the new resistance group—called “The Resistance”—to take down the mayor. Yeah, you can see where this is going. The game is not to be taken seriously and can provide some good laughs.
Upon startup, we have six classes to choose from, with over twenty once all are unlocked. The classes give the game a lot of variety and add hours of fun and giggles as you go from a comedian to a thief, and then to a gorilla. They each have their own special abilities and skills, like the thief using lock picks and the comedian using banana peels to kill people. You put all these different skills to the test to accomplish your missions and big quests. The big quests are set to be specific to the class you choose; these aren’t needed to move forward but can land you some extra XP and nuggets.
Missions are the name of the game. As you enter levels that are all procedurally generated, you have a set mission you’re tasked to complete, like stealing from safes, hitting switches, killing a target, rescuing a prisoner, and much more. There is a bevy of missions that are stretched over the six stages, each consisting of three levels. A lot of the levels are inside, and though the layout always changes, I wish we saw some more outside levels and just a better mix. Saying that though, you’ll encounter bars, laboratories, and much more during the journey. The versatility in the game is in choosing your class and completing missions, all while surviving exploding bombs, killer robots, and zombies to name few; and it’s tough to do as a pacifist—truly one of the classes!
That’s a Game Changer!
So, at this point the game overall is intriguing, with the blended classes and RPG elements mixed into this mission-based action game, but what really makes the game shine and takes it to another level is the multiplayer. First off, I applaud the developers for having the online multiplayer ready to roll, and to have it is great, but the couch co-op is where it’s at! I played a few hours with a couple of friends, and then several more with just my son, and I can see this being the game that takes up a lot of my free gaming time. The game kept giving us different runs and different missions where the NPCs interacted in all sorts of different ways, which helps the game keep from getting stale, but also makes it rather enjoyable.
Audio & Video
The art didn’t blow me away, and in a lot of ways the look reminded me of another game on the Switch called The Escapist. I did experience some slight slowdown in frame rate when the screen got crowded and all hell was breaking loose during explosions and gunfights, but it was only here and there. I really liked the synth wave chiptunes-style soundtrack; the music was well done.
It’s A Wrap!
I saw the hype going in, and wasn’t really riding the hype train—even as much as I’m a fan of tinyBuild and Rogue-lite games—but it wasn’t long until I was singing this game’s praises. Streets of Rogue is wild, hilarious, action-packed, and most importantly, it’s a whole lot of fun. It’s a game that had me laughing and yelling with friends while playing, and I can see myself playing this for years to come. I highly recommend adding this one to your collection, and I’m hoping they add even more content over time.
Score: 9/10
Buy Streets of Rogue from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
Visit the official Streets of Rogue website here.
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*Review code was provided for review purposes.