(previously had two separate entries on this game but neither really fully communicated what I wanted to say so I'm deleting them both and posting an updated one)

The gist of my previous review was essentially that as someone who wants to experience a game quickly and move on to the next one, if I hit a hundred hours with this (something I rarely did with any game) then it would probably be deserving of a five-star rating. Since that post, I've unlocked everything that can be unlocked, finished the game with all 26 characters and completed their Big Quests, and had my sleep schedule obliterated as I ended up clocking well over 200 hours on this little gem.

A common criticism leveled at Streets of Rogue is that it lacks depth; level designs within a district tend to be rather samey, there is almost no variety in mission types, and most mechanics from combat to stealth are rather shallow. I can't argue with that, but rather than going deep this game goes extremely wide, with a huge cast of characters and even bigger arsenal of items and feats. The zombie can infect other NPCs and quickly overrun a level with zombros but has to be extremely careful in later levels where its lack of range attacks is cruelly exposed. The gorilla is strong enough to rip its enemies limb from limb but can't speak to others and therefore can't buy from shops or recruit followers, meaning its money is best spent at vending machines or cloning stations to create a gorilla army. The doctor is elite at incapacitating enemies through chloroform and a slow-acting tranquilizer gun but wants to avoid large brawls at all costs. The investment banker starts with lots of money and a huge handicap: he's drug-addicted and constantly chasing a high, and will go into withdrawal if he spend too long without a status effect on him. So he needs to blow all his cash on medicine and alcohol while also blowing through levels as fast as he can - this speedrun-type character in a game that typically wants you to be slow and methodical makes him absolutely unique and one of my favorite characters despite how difficult he is to master.

Combined with the randomness of the items you can find over the course of a run and the feats you unlock on level-up, you get a roguelike where every run feels entirely unique. Finding items and traits that synergize with your character's playstyle feels fantastic - unlocking the trait that gives your doctor free ammo between levels (near-unlimited tranq darts!) or finding a universal translator as a gorilla (being able to buy food and items on top of being unfairly buff) just gave my lizard brain a huge dopamine hit.

And in the end, the core gameplay is just so darned fun. It's full of chaos, humor, and unexpected interactions that encourage out-of-the-box solutions to the stock objectives. And like Resi 4, FFV, and Streets of Rage Remake (3 other distinguished members of my 5-star club), this is a game that I have 100%ed and still want to keep playing.

Reviewed on Nov 21, 2022


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