[Review] Streets of Rogue – Nintendo Switch

Streets of Rogue

Nintendo Switch

Reviewed by: Senpavo

Developed by: Matt Dabrowski

Published by: tinyBuild Games

Category: Action, Role-Playing, Roguelite

Release Date: July 12, 2019

What would you do if Chicken Nuggets were banned everywhere? Well, get ready to discover that in Streets of Rogue.

Streets of Rogue is an action roguelite game, with some RPG and twin-stick shooter elements. The game is set in a city, whose mayor instituted a reign of terror after being elected with vague promises (such as free beer or lower taxes). Not only that, but he raised taxes, banned beer AND chicken nuggets. Some people began to grow tired of this tyranny and decided to overthrow him: it’s up to you, the player to stop him and his allies.

Everything you do in this game is based on what you want to do: do you want to be a hacker who can blow nearby electronics? A weird demon who can shapeshift? Or a hyper-intelligent gorilla? When lucky you! In this game, you can do all of those things. To add to that, each character has different abilities, perks or disadvantages (that can be switched or removed for a hefty amount of money, one of the game’s currency). The game lets you take a different approach for every new run. This game is all about experimenting and trying something new, and finding what style of gameplay suits you best.
I personally recommend trying the Shapeshifter! Havoc is ensured with him.

The game is divided into 6 stages and each of them is divided into 3 randomized levels (except for the last stage, which only contains one). Each stage is different: in one, you might find hungry cannibals and in another, there are supercops ready to hunt you down. Maps are filled with shops, where the player can buy new items with gold to help them get through the level. Money can also be used to hire people to help you throughout the level, bribing cops or goons, healing from a doctor or to purchase slaves, along with many other choices. The fastest way to get is from completing missions and killing people. Missions can also reward you with special items, such as a fridge that will increase the amount of HP given by food.

This game is full of dangers. Be ready to face anything. From cops to vampires, from zombies to werewolves! Arm yourself with a trusty ax, a shotgun, a taser or a…water pump? When I meant that everything is up to you, I meant everything. While not everything will try to kill you on sight, getting enemies is easy. You anger someone, even by mistake? Get ready for a fight. Sure, you can heal yourself with food or other healing items, or inject weird syringes in your body, but once you are out of HP, you are dead. Being a roguelike, your items, XP, or character aren’t carried over, meaning you’ll have to restart plenty of times!

There are other kinds of quests: Optional Missions and Big Quests.
Optional missions can be found on the second floor, while Big Quests may last the entire game, and are in a bigger scale, containing missions like destroying all the generators on a level or killing less than two people in each level.
Optional Quests will reward the player with the banned Chicken Nuggets. Those are used to unlock new reward items and traits in the game’s main hub. While money is lost whenever you die or when a run is finished, nuggets are a permanent form of currency.
Big Quests instead give XPs, which is used for leveling up. With each level up, more traits can be selected for the current character. XP can also be gained with killing people, doing normal quests and completing a level, along with many other ways. Nuggets are not exclusive to missions, but completing one is the fastest way to gain them.

I wish I could get more traits in real life if I paid someone with chicken nuggets.

The best adjective I could use to describe Streets of Rogue is chaotic but in a good way! Almost everything you do will create absolute chaos. You will smash down walls, see zombie infections or be hunted by hordes of policemen. Blood, fires, and explosions are NOT excluded from this game at all. Each run can last between 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on the approach used. And they are even better if you have friends to play with! The game can be played with three other friends on the same console in split-screen, so get ready for an even bigger pandemonium!

The pixel art is very well done and gives the game a “fresh” arcade look. Colors are vibrant and things run smoothly. The soundtrack is awesome, it fits the arcade feel of the game and it’s also catchy.

In conclusion, I really have nothing negative (aside from the occasional slowdowns caused by massive explosions) to say about Streets of Rogue. It’s just fun and it clearly shows that the creators put a lot of effort into it. My only wish is that the developers continue to add new content into it, in order to make the game even better than what it already is.

4.5/5