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    Rogue: Genesia Demo Review

    Rogue Genesia is going to look very familiar to you. It’s essentially Vampire Survivors with a bit more graphical polish. Look, that’s not a bad thing either. Vampire Survivors was a sleeper hit for me this year; I spent hours playing what at first blush seemed like a simplistic game on Xbox Game Pass. Rogue Genesia seems to have some of those same addictive hooks and replayability built into it. And with it being an early access title, it may even get better. A demo is currently available on Steam and you can also purchase the game in early access for only $2.99.

    Gameplay Elements

    Effectively, Rogue Genesia is an action rogue-lite where you face mobs of monster bullet sponges in each stage while upgrading your character using experience points and a shop where upgrades can be purchased with gold. These card upgrades are your typical fare of being able to acquire new abilities, fire more projectiles, increase health & movement speed, et cetera. I found many of the upgrades to be quite useful and was able to build my character to my preferred playing style. When coupled with a rarity card system, meaning some upgrades are extremely powerful, it gives the player an additional level of excitement when leveling.

    Note the rarity differences between each Soul-Card.

    An interesting departure from Vampire Survivors is that of the overworld map. There’s multiple paths to choose from leading to treasure chests, mini boss battles, giving you a variety of ways to experience your playthrough. All roads seem to lead to a elite boss to slay at the end, with each stage end showing you various stat totals of the carnage you’re unleashing.

    Graphics & Sound

    The most obvious thing to mention when comparing Rogue Genesia to Vampire Survivors is how the graphical fidelity in Rogue Genesia is higher. This, of course, is most likely due to artistic choices, but I can’t deny it’s prettier to look at.

    Something that stuck out to me was one of the sound effects. I swear I keep hearing what sounds just like those rubber dodgeballs or kickballs from my childhood that would smack you in the face. Tell me you don’t hear it too?!?

    Pacing

    If you’ve played Vampire Survivors, you know that each stage is effectively a grind fest to survive a 30-minute in-game clock while monster hordes continually march towards you. Rogue Genesia has a bit of a different take on this. Instead of using an in-game countdown, you’re instead tasked with slaying a specific number of monsters. Honestly, I think I like it better. With the right build, you can quickly get through a stage and move on. You combine that with the continual gem-collecting fest and I think you might be onto something here.

    Conclusion

    Rogue Genesia will be an interesting game to watch as development continues over time. It appears that this may even be developed by only one person, judging by the Steam Store Page, so all the more impressive. If you’re into this rogue genre, definitely give it a look.

    Nathan Wertz
    Nathan Wertzhttps://www.ThisAndThatTech.com
    Self-proclaimed Internet Sensation and owner of ThisAndThatTech.com. You may have also seen him spearheading the "Vets in Tech" interview series over at Military.com.

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