Rotwood came out of nowhere for me. Having been consistently burnt out on roguelites throughout the past year, Klei Entertainment’s return to action combat shocked me with the quality of its demo during the last Steam Next Fest. The studio is nowadays more well known for their simulation gameplay rather than their breakout series Shank, but I am happy to announce that the aforementioned quality translated perfectly into its Early Access release, and the fact that it will likely only keep improving is an incredibly exciting thought.
Klei Entertainment’s strong audiovisual direction is never in question—it has been a consistent high point since their mobile game days—and yet I am still in awe of what they managed to achieve in Rotwood. Flipping around between attacks, dodges, abilities, and even movement: all overwhelmed me from the very first screen. The care in this department completely outshines most of its contemporaries.
This level of care is the backbone of the game, allowing Rotwood to reach for the kind of mechanics that others struggle with. It has tight hitboxes, perfect dodge timings, the palpable weight of each attack, and a wonderful sense of discovery upon seeing each new enemy and boss, several of which I can safely call some of my favorites in years. It is equal to, if not better than any AAA release you’ll play this year, while also being more risky with ideas thanks to the indie idea freedom.
One of such freedoms is the addition of a 4-player co-op: an often forgotten sphere in which indies absolutely dominate. It currently lacks online matchmaking, only friend invites, so I have not had a chance to play it myself, but it is clear to me that as chaotic as it looks, the sheer quality of the product allows it to remain readable (in no small part thanks to the customizable avatars) in even the craziest situations, of which there are plenty.
Currently, Rotwood boasts four unique weapons, and the quirks of each make them incredibly satisfying to learn. The starting hammer allows the player character to jump above damage using certain attacks, while the spear focuses on multihits. The two ranged options, however, are perhaps some of my favorite weapons in any action game I have played.
The cannon is the most expensive one to get, boasting the most complex gameplay. Removing the dodge button for a timed reload ability, the main form of movement around the battlefield switches over to the heavy attack, which launches the player backward. Of course, these also cost ammo, making for intense, chaotic, and constantly engaging scenarios throughout the whole game.
My weapon of choice, however, was the two heavy balls, which can be thrown and hit back into enemies while bouncing back. The timing element combined with the chaos as balls bounce off enemies, ricochet off their attacks and leap into the air when you recall them makes for what I can only describe as pinball combat. I adored using them, and can only imagine just how crazy they can be in co-op.
Some feel more viable for certain bosses than others, but I was quite happy to change things around, as the pool of abilities that are unlocked while clearing areas felt a bit limited. I would often find myself seeing and picking the same ones, even as I unlocked more. The lack of meaningful choices during a run is probably Rotwood’s biggest issue at the moment, and there are even moments when only one reward path can be chosen at a time.
The armor and special attacks feel similarly gimmicky and impactless. I found myself gravitating towards the lightest armor every time (unless I was using the cannon), as dodging, which is impacted by weight, is a necessity for most playstyles. Stuff like leaving poison puddles that deal a bit of damage or taking less damage from minibosses found in the middle of a run fails to excite or stoke the imagination, except one headpiece, which adds damage to rolls. That one allowed me to launch my ball weapons with a dodge, which was a fantastic interaction, the kind I want to see more of.
There is also the grinding aspect, which right now is a bit much. I found my playstyle fairly quickly and managed to upgrade my inventory using the drops I found throughout my 10 hours of playtime, maxing out one weapon and all my armor. However, should you choose to buy something new, it will take several runs to get everything up to snuff, as enemy drops are relatively rare. Cores used for buying things can thankfully be found in abundance by using the crafting menu back at the home base. Each time you craft some furniture for the first time you get rewarded with a few.
What Rotwood has going for it right now is variety in its basics, absolutely exquisite combat, fantastic animation quality, cosmetic customization, and co-op functionality. Its issues right now are related to the amount of content in certain areas and a few sliders on item drops, which are simple changes that can be tweaked throughout the early access period. The developers are clearly welcoming all feedback given the prominent pause menu function which makes it easy to attach any information on bugs and send it directly to them.
Though they produced consistently great titles, many of which went through an early access period, I still found myself impressed with Rotwood. Perhaps it is a bit risky to call it now, but I do think that if everything goes right, with more content and the few common complaints addressed, it is bound to become their best game yet. At a launch price of around $10, it is nothing short of a steal.
Mateusz played Rotwood on PC with his own bought copy.
