Rogue Explorer | PS4 Review

Eastasiasoft's "Rogue Explorer" is a stage by stage Metroidvania platformer with roguelite elements, and an easily accessible crafting system. In it you take on the role of a customizable explorer as they explore newly themed areas, and the depths therein to find the loot and coin needed to progress further on their journey. Perils come in the form of lesser enemies, and bosses that vary from stage to stage. The stage themes consist of about four to six rooms each with the exit to each room being a purple vortex hidden somewhere in the mix of the maze that each stage is. An exit which an onscreen pointer points you towards from your spawning point. 

As you make your way through each maze-like interior you'll find chests to loot, and item drops or coins from downed enemies that stand in your way. The item bags provide materials as well as the occasional equipment piece for your explorer. These stages are made accessible via a menu system at a village hub area where three staple menu features are present. At the hub you can spend coin on permanent skill upgrades via the ability menu. Things like extra health, dodge ability boosts, and critical hit boosts among other things. Stacking them for use in follow-up playthroughs. You can also visit the guild menu where access to the named stages are there to choose from. Each initially accessible with only an explore option immediately available. A playthrough that requires full completion before the depth explore option is opened up for additional loot farming purposes.

Within the guild stage menu you'll find that you can preview that stage's potential loot drops as well as an online leaderboard that uses the game's scoring system to place playing players where they stand among the competition. This allows you to prepare accordingly. Each stage in the listing is home to it's own threat ecosystem complete with stage specific enemy types, hazards, and environmentally varying backdrops that cycle through night and day as time passes by. As the explorer in these stages you start off with a single weapon that floats, and strikes enemies. You also start off each stage with a set amount of heart health. Something that increases as health in an RPG would with experience from enemy kills. Below your heart health meter lies an experience meter that shows both your current level, and a gauge that fills up as you gain experience.

Where the roguelite elements come into play are in each stage's experience leveling. Something that resets after a playthrough is completed. Each time you level up in a playthrough you will be prompted to choose from one of three base buffs, ability buffs, or passive buffs. This includes things like added damage, multiple weapons, mobility options, and health related options. These carry over until you have progressed to the final room, and defeated the stage's boss. Should you die gathered items will still follow you back to the hub. Making this a roguelite experience that is less punishing than most in the genre. In total there are about 12 stages with increasingly larger and more dangerous to navigate rooms. That, and a beginning tutorial stage which shows the player the mechanics included.

Mechanics in "Rogue Explorer" are not deeply complicated. You can jump, wall jump, climb ropes, drop through certain platforms, jump on enemies heads for damage, attack, and do a defensive roll using the R1 or L1 buttons, respectively. Through the experience leveling modifiers you will gain access to variations of some of the base mechanics, but they only slightly change up gameplay in some instances. Adding things like a double jump or a swoop among other things. 

When it comes to crafting the blacksmith menu offers a few options. You can craft using the materials obtained in combination with recipes from books you unlock through progression as well as upgrade, and merge that equipment. Your explorer can wield up to two weapons alongside four other more defensive, evasive, and health focused pieces of equipment. When it comes to crafting, and merging equipment the two pieces of equipment in question have to be of the same rarity. Rarity starts at common, and goes beyond rare. In merging the equipment pieces according to each rarity the enhancements tacked on to each piece will be combined adding to the base stats of said equipment upgrading it in rarity in the process. Beyond that you can upgrade each equipment piece a set amount of times. This set amount varying depending upon rarity, and only improves upon the base stats. Making the already strengthened equipment piece even stronger, stat-wise. All of this costs coins, or gold and materials. Gold isn't too hard to come by though as the game rewards you for certain in-game feats as you progress forward. This sometimes includes gold, crafting books/recipes or even special equipment pieces.

The Verdict ...

I think where "Rogue Explorer" really shines is in it's indie pixel art. That and the gameplay loop itself. It keeps things simple, and easily accessible while offering enough of a challenge to give a player reason to grind from equipment sake. To an extent it also has replay value with the tacked on leaderboards which are online. Keep in mind though this is definitely a budget indie, and not overly spectacular. It does what it does well enough though. Even though it really doesn't change up the formula all that much. To top things off it's an easy platinum for PlayStation trophy hunters. I'll give it a recommendation for effort, and artistic presentation.