Dotemu has always been one of those publishers that finds some of the most interesting indie games to shine light upon. That’s no different now as, last month, we got to see a plethora of games from their upcoming slate. Two of which are upcoming roguelikes in Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes and Absolum. While the roguelike genre is a pretty crowded space, these two games are astutely distinct from artstyle to gameplay, and that’s what makes this genre so unique. Thus, let’s dive into what we learned from our hands-on time with these games.
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes
The first game we went hands-on with was Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes. This is the first game set in the the Battlestar Galactica universe in nearly a decade. This game is a hardcore roguelike, so much so, that the game even tells you that you will die a lot while playing. You play as a fringe fleet of humanity that must reunite with Battlestar Galactica after the Cylons have attacked and decimated the planets belonging to humanity.
Most of the gameplay sees you managing three ships. You have your main Gunstar ship which if it goes down it’s game over and then two civilian ships. You are given “turns” to do specific tasks such as explore Points of Interests to gather resources, address situations that arise such as repairing damage or crew unrest, or make upgrades to prepare for the inevitable Cylon attack which happens once all your turns have been completed. Some situations that pop up can increase your standing with different factions within the game such as with the military or the workers you have. The big thing you must watch for during the management phase is the use of your fuel source as exploring POIs depletes your fuel, and if you don’t have enough during battle it’ll cause major damage to your fleet when you try to make the jump out of battle.
Then, once you enter battle you are constantly bombarded by droves of Cylons attempting to destroy your fleet and end your run. Battle is conducted by your gunships being deployed to take out the Cylon threat. Different ships you unlock can provide different forms of defense are are better suited for either close or long range combat. Your Gunstar ship can also provide some offensive maneuvers in the form of shooting missiles or nukes, but these do have cooldown timers associated with them. There is also a tactical pause you can use if the real time combat is overwhelming which allows you to more time to target and deploy your offense how you see fit. Your goal in combat isn’t to defeat the Cylons, but just survive the onslaught. This is accomplished by surviving until the timer goes down and you are able to jump to the next star system.
Overall, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes seems like a very interesting and challenging roguelike with tons of management and a combat system that looks to have some depth as you unlock more ships and abilities. There is currently no release date for the game.
Absolum
On the other end of the roguelike spectrum comes Absolum. From the developers of Streets of Rage 4, the game is a beat ’em up that, while being a roguelike, still captures its original genre perfectly. From the moment you start the game, it draws you in with its beautiful art style that reminds me of the 90s Disney movies with how everything fits so well with its fantastical setting from character designs, to enemies to even the backgrounds.
However, its the gameplay that really draws you in. You get to choose from one of four characters that can be switched between before you start each of your runs. Each of the four playable characters play totally differently, so you can find the one you gel with best that fits your style of play with each character having their own unique abilities. The combat overall presents a good challenge, and this isn’t like any old game in the genre where you’re easily mowing down waves after waves of enemies. Enemies actually hit pretty hard, so you can’t just button mash your way through each screen. Then, while it does present a challenge, you do have a second chance in tough situations as when you die you do immediately recover half of your health to continue on in the fight until you run out of health again.
While the overall layout of the world didn’t change each run, you are able to choose a path to venture down which will lead to a different area of the world like at the start of the run you head out and can either go through a thick forest full of goblins or go along the coastline where you encounter enemies like crabs and wolves. However, like any good beat ’em up, Absolum really shines in the fun factor when you are playing the multiplayer. This was the first roguelike I played any form of multiplayer in, and it succeeds on that front delightfully, and had a blast the entire time with a friend.
Absolum doesn’t have a release date at the moment, but is set to launch later this year.