Roguelikes are a dime a dozen on PC and consoles, but they are harder to come by in the virtual reality space. While there are a few great roguelike games readily available for the various virtual reality headsets on the market, there's still plenty of untapped potential when it comes to VR roguelikes. Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon is the latest attempt at a VR roguelike game, featuring seemingly never-ending hordes of deadly pinatas for players to smash and shoot through. Unfortunately, Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon is one of the weaker roguelike VR games.
Rogue Pinatas takes clear inspiration from Vampire Survivors, one of the best roguelikes ever made, and also compares itself to Dead Rising. The Dead Rising comparisons don't really track, but Rogue Pinatas definitely has some of Vampire Survivors' DNA. As players kill pinatas, they are rewarded with candy that levels them up and unlocks new weapons and gadgets. Like Vampire Survivors, players can grab a power-up that summons all the missed candy in the stage to them instantly, resulting in a rush of dopamine and multiple level-ups in a row. Also like Vampire Survivors, weapons and gadgets can be paired together so that if players have the right combination of gear and level them up enough, their weapons will evolve into significantly more powerful forms.
This is a tried-and-true upgrade system for roguelikes that helps foster an addictive gameplay loop, which is no different in Rogue Pinatas. The problem is that the game gives players access to the best weapon out of the gate, which ultimately discourages experimentation. Players start Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon with a bat that, when paired with the healing gadget, eventually evolves into the Vampire Bat. The Vampire Bat heals great chunks of health upon making contact with enemies, and if used correctly, Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon players can effectively make themselves invincible.
Rogue Pinatas Has Some Serious Problems
Progression is also an issue due to how easy Rogue Pinatas is, robbing the roguelike of one of the key elements of the genre. Rogue Pinatas players can earn XP to purchase permanent upgrades to make runs easier, but when multiple levels can be completed solo with no upgrades, it makes the upgrade system almost pointless. Earning these upgrades in other roguelikes is rewarding because they offer meaningful improvements that greatly increase one's odds of survival, but the same can't be said for Rogue Pinatas. The upgrades only make an already easy game even easier.
0 Comments