地罰上らば竜の降る／Rise of Rebellion Steam Charts & Stats

No. Don't. No. Please don't. No.

tl;dr: [i]Dolmen[/i] and [i]Immortal Unchained[/i] can breathe a sigh of relief. A new contender for "worst Souls-like" has arrived. The Souls-like genre is currently drowning in an average of 2-5 new releases per month. Most of them charge $40-$60, which is $20-$40 more than the maximum I'll pay for a Souls-like in 2025. So it's refreshing this is only $9. Is it recommended? Still no. [h1]Combat System Complexities[/h1] The basic combat system is needlessly complex compared to most Souls-likes, combined with by far some of the worst feeling controls in the industry. Attack Heavy attack Crushing attack Directional special attack Parry Directional parry Block Dodge Perfect directional dodge Special attack parry Jump dodge counter This is a lot, especially since some moves require a combination of button presses. [h1]Directional Defensive Inputs[/h1] The directional parry/dodge functions much like [i]Metal Gear Rising Revengeance[/i], and it barely worked there. It worked slightly better in [i]The Surge 2[/i]. In this game, it always feels imprecise, especially when playing on a keyboard. Maybe it feels better on controller, but I don't think the directional input + button press has felt good in any game I've played. The combat controls are incredibly complex for a Souls-like where defense is a big focus. It has all the hallmarks of a developer who playtested the game for 500 hours and found it "too easy," so kept adding more complexity to the game, making it impenetrable to new players. [h1]Difficulty[/h1] Since the game assumes you have somewhere between fourteen and twenty-one fingers, it also assumes you can take on 4 enemies at a time. With ten fingers or less, this is impossible, as all enemies attack at once. This isn't one of those "baby games" where one enemy attacks and the others hang back. No, this is a hardcore Souls-like where two wolves and two spearmen will all attack from various angles. It's basically [i]Ninja Gaiden[/i], but with Souls/Sekiro controls. You may wonder how the directional dodge/parry would work in such a situation where you are being attacked in all directions. The answer is that it fails to work at all. [h1]Bosses[/h1] The bosses are universally designed around the defense system. You are expected to be 100% defensive for long strings of boss attacks, then hit the right directional dodge/parry in the last attack of the string. If you do all of this correctly, you MAY get a chance to hit the boss a few times. However, there is about a 50% chance that, despite landing the directional dodge/parry, the boss does not get momentarily staggered so you can get in a few hits. Instead, the boss immediately begins blocking all of your attacks again. This turns the already-tedious boss battles into enormous slogs of unrewarding defensive gameplay with imprecise directional controls. What could be a small highlight of the game is further ruined with the ill-advised directional input system. Bosses will also use the exact same combo, with the final blow different, which requires a different directional dodge/parry. "Learning" a boss moveset is mostly useless, as the first 5-8 hits give you no option other than parry, and the last hit gives you a few frames to decide which of 3 counters you need (dodge, special parry, parry) AND the one correct directional input. Miss any of this, and you'll take numerous hits and get no benefit. The game demands near perfection just to have the opportunity to hit the boss a couple times. [h1]How Could This Be Improved?[/h1] Because the game is way too complex, removing the directional parries would immediately make it control better. Since the combat is the only focus, having imprecise directional inputs is the death knell to the game's chance of success. Bosses will test your reaction ability, but even when you know the boss movesets, the controls are so imprecise that you'll take numerous hits and die many extra times. As is, this is a terrible combat system. Is there a single game where directional dodge/parry controls have worked, or where players have enjoyed them? If not, then removing them from a solo-dev indie project is imperative. Removing the directional defensive inputs would likely raise this from a 3/10 game to 6/10 on its own merits, and a 7/10 experience for the price. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] The solo developer said this game "bombed" commercially and critically. This is a healthy sign for the gaming industry that such poor games can still fail. He also said that he may fix the game later, as time permits, by removing the directional dodge/parry mechanics. For now, consider this an abandoned pre-Early Access game, and celebrate that gamers have rejected it in its current state of poor design.