Damn I be on heat- I mean, on fire in that mech, look at me roll up to the crib fully decked out, no survivors left. That's the most basic roguelike to ever roguelike with a morsel of artstyle, there may as well be a full bearded bear or the cuntiest hoe under that suit but that be left in the imagination. I approve of this mission consisting in invading ships and cleaning deck, although the main objective really be neutralizing the brain of the ship (literal brain), in and out as they say. Furthermore we can only sweep the enemies because the ships don't seem to have floors while ours do. It's not high maintenance to have a ground to walk on in space, is there?

And so wake me up inside, bcuz I sleep. It's not really the best game out there, it does its job but it's minimum wage. There are a few weapons of Mass Destruction and a few enemies of la muerte pero no tenemos mucho stuff to differentiate each run. There's Fog of War maps? And varying ways to not have the player go straight to the finish line, including a brain that teleports (insert skull emoji). We are not cutting corners, just dashing in hallways.

Btw idk about doin it solo, but playing with someone reveals just how cluttered the screen gets, at which point I don't even see what's happening, this is the real Fog of War. All that just to be cut loose by a basketballer sized toad. Can't I just book a voyage across this exceptionally empty galaxy? Would you grant me the honor of seeing a character worth a damn? Didn't think so.

twin-stick / shmup take on Void Bastards. great bones here with a bit of heist planning and strategy around routing, a variety of weapons with oomph, and fun flavor and aesthetics. unfortunately there are many systems that discourage experimentation, risk-taking, and exploration. i wanted to get into this, but found it too easy to lose in unfair circumstances.

the balance of numbers suggests you shouldn't be taking hits, yet the mission objectives invariably trigger uncontrollable chaos. it's hard to get through unscathed against the erratic enemy AI, the volume + speed of projectiles, and the random level layouts where it's easy to get cornered. limited and expensive ammo makes it preferable to avoid combat, but many levels are swarming with enemies and even create more as the mission goes on. healing is expensive, health pools are low, and iframes are short. the rewards and item costs need tuning; the bounties for optional objectives are often less cash than the raw value of the ammunition required to complete the objectives. there's not enough incentive to grind it out and master the bullet hell when failing the campaign means losing all the upgrades and options in the arsenal.

i'd love to see this tuned in one direction or another - towards a stealthier, fragile action that occasionally breaks out into chaos when alarms are tripped, or a more endurance-based run-and-gun to outlast pursuing swarms of enemies. as is, this sits at an unsatisfying middle ground.