Like every year, we have seen a lot of roguelikes/lites getting released from all corners of the world this year. I had the opportunity to play a dozen of them and last week, I came across an indie Roguelite titled ScourgeBringer. My first impression when I got the game was that it’s your run-of-the-mill hack ‘n’ slash with pixel graphics and roguelite mechanics. I’m glad I was proven wrong. Scrougebringer will have you attached to the game in the first 30 minutes itself. Yes, this game has made me cry, frustrated and angry because I suck at it, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it any less. ScourgeBringer truly has the potential to be one of the most interesting rogue-lite released this year.
The Legend
Your world, which once used to be bustling with life and people living happily, has been doomed by an unknown machine from the past. This structure has brought destruction and threat to humanity itself. Countless efforts have been put in to analyze this structure and what lies in its depths. However, failure is the only answer humanity has found as a result. No one ever came back, once they are inside the structure, they’re as good as dead.
You play as Kyhra and explore the unknown intruder to reveal its history and truth that lie in its depth. But your journey will not be easy. Countless ancient machines and entities lie block your path. There will be an immense amount of bloodshed, and destruction, but this time it will be to free humanity from this threat and to seek the truth. However, if time is not in your favor and you get defeated in your run, you will be sent to the Chiming Tree — a tree that holds the truth and blessings of the gods. From there, you can try again to take on the great challenge again.
The Blade Painted With Blood
ScourgeBringer is, hands-down a very challenging game with different enemy types all with their own patterns. Each level will have rooms that you need to clear and find your way towards the guardian. These guardians are tough beasts that will take timing, patience, and a lot of damage to get through. However, killing the guardian will unlock the door to the judge, the hardest beast to defeat in that realm. This boss-fight will not be an easy go in your first few attempts, especially when you’re new to the game.
ScourgeBringer is very fast-paced and you wield a blade which will not break in front of any enemy you face, and an amazing robot sidekick that will be your companion throughout your adventure. This robot will not aid you in your battles but will make sure you’re not clueless about anything you come across. You also wield a ranged weapon which goes by the name of Blast.32 which can be upgraded with different forms of weaponry, including RPG, Minigun, Tranquilizer Shotgun, and more. Throughout your journey, you will be able to enhance your equipment to make it a little less hard on yourself.
You can find this equipment with ‘Greed’ who owns important wares that will aid you in your journey. ‘Greed’ can be paid with blood that collected from each monster you have put an end to. As your progress, you will find more people that can provide different types of equipment in return for blood or maybe your lifespan. Alternatively, you can receive random drops, find treasure rooms, complete a trial, and even defeat bosses to receive amazing drops. One quick secret that I can tell you guys is that, if you complete a realm fast enough, you will be rewarded with upgrades and items. Does all of this sound amazing? Well just a heads-up that these items will be your only key to clearing the realms because with every level you progress, the difficulty will increase with new enemies waiting for you to be slain by their deadly attacks. By the third realm, you’ll be facing multiple guardians at the same time, so keep an eye out for your health, for there is no respawn but a clean slate.
Your Skills, Your Experience
Let me be honest, if you’re good with roguelites and are fine with dying, ScourgeBringer will be an amazing experience for you. However, if you’re new to the genre, and are not familiar with the fact that you’ll be starting all over again quite frequently, please have a plushie nearby. Scourgebringer is an amazing game, with an even more amazing combat style. I totally adore the katana and weapon combo, but at the same time, I hate the fact that I have to start all over again if I make even the slightest of mistake. The gameplay is very fluid and you’ll be enjoying slashing enemies before they can even make a move. However, you need your eyes all over the map since each attack from the enemies will cause you to lose health.
Not just attacks, but the environment will also have stuff you wouldn’t want to step in. Progressing, earning blessings, and enhancing your items all are fun until you start losing your focus and die. However, you will still be able to carry forward your judge blood, which can be used to enhance your skill tree which will stay on with you, no matter how many times you die. And let me tell you that if you wish to have better chances of beating the game, you will need to fill the skill tree first. Every skill is equally important for the game and will ease you in your harder combats.
Chaos Meets Metal
The best aspect of this game which will stay on your head for days is the music. We’re not talking about some lo-fi ambient music but blazing techno music mixed with heavy metal. While exploring, you can vibe to the level’s catchy music. However, the moment you wield your sword out to slay the enemies, the game music tunes itself to exactly what is about to happen. Extreme bloodbath, fast-paced attacks, and RPGs blazing require only one thing and that is a heavy metal riff blasting in the background. The music plays an important role in the experience since it drives you to feel each slice, shot, and near-death experiences.
Apart from the game’s audio, visuals are also quite appealing. The pixel style design is done in an amazing manner with striking colors and highly detailed environments. The platforms, the enemies, the background, and even the Kyhra is so well designed and animated, you will never feel the lack of visual flair in this game. I can confidently say that this game has exceeded its expectations when it comes to the visuals and performance.
Real Talk
ScourgeBringer is an extremely action-packed, fast-paced, and hardcore roguelite game that is filled with countless hours of fun. It exceeds its expectation when it comes to its looks and sound as well. With interesting features like permanent skill tree progression and the classic roguelite attributes that you can find along the way, ScourgeBringer barely feels repetitive. It gets an absolute recommendation from me.