[caption id="attachment_86209" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Screenshot: Revita[/caption]
I love twin stick shooters, and when combined with roguelike gameplay, there have been some standout games that make it a winning formula. I think the biggest one that comes to mind is The Binding of Isaac. Almost ten years later and I personally hold that that has the high water mark for such an endeavor. That doesn’t mean that other developers shouldn’t try to surpass that classic, and I’m glad to see more games with similar gameplay sensibilities. Revita is one such game.
Revita is a roguelike twin stick shooter played from a 2D sidescrolling perspective. It has chonky, charming pixel art and an intriguing story about a person trying to reclaim their memories. To do so, you have to guide them through an ever-changing system of rooms featuring monsters, power-ups, and secrets to unlock. Fight dozens of enemies at once, watch for environmental hazards, and eventually make your way to the boss of that section. You will also find other NPCs that will help add to your arsenal, as well as help change the appearance of the subway station that serves as your hub world.
[caption id="attachment_86211" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Screenshot: Revita[/caption]
In Revita you can run, dash, wall jump, and shoot indepently of movement. The battles are fast, and tough. Your character is practically made of glass, and most power-ups you can collect require a sacrifice of hit points to acquire—but with the right combination, you can become a glass cannon. You travel from room to room defeating enemies until you make it to the boss. Kill enough enemies to gather souls, which you can use to spend on new items and power-ups which will appear in the dungeons on your playthrough.
So far, Revita is a fun and attractive game, but it could definitely benefit from more time in Early Access. Revita feels like it could be a complete game, but I’d definitely like to see more content. There isn’t much information to go by on the Steam Early Access page for Revita, but developer BenStar plans on adding additional content in the next seven to nine months while the game is in Early Access development. Revita has a chance to be a great game, especially if it continues on its current trajectory. While it does feel a little content lite, if you’re interested in Revita, according to its Early Access plans, it’ll be at its cheapest before more content is added.
[caption id="attachment_86201" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Screenshot: Revita[/caption]
One of the more recent additions to roguelike games is accessibility—and not just for disabilities, but also for those who don’t like their games to be super difficult. Revita allows you to tweak the difficulty to your liking. You can slow down time, turn on auto aim, etc. Many of these options have sliders, so they’re not binary choices—instead, they let you tune-in the difficulty to what’s right for you.
Revita definitely has potential. If you’re a junkie for roguelike twin stick shooters, you should keep your eye on this one. You might have a better experience if you wait for it to be developed a little longer before pulling the trigger on this one, but even if you do, what’s there now will keep your entertained for hours.
Revita is available today on Steam Early Access.
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