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Guns, gore, and gruesome murders; sounds like a fun Friday night in Chippenham. That’s what is on the bill this week, with a top-down roguelike/lite that will remind you of every other roguelike/lite, and an isometric game that’s going to make you say “Devolver Digital!” the same way William Shatner yells for London mayors. Speaking of bills, once again on the Epic Games store it is time for a double bill. This week’s helping of gun-guzzling fun is Vlambeer’s Nuclear Throne and Reikon Games’ Ruiner.

Let’s begin with Nuclear Throne, which I thought was a little older than it truly is, it only came out in 2015. Nonetheless, Nuclear Throne is possibly the biggest game from Vlambeer, the studio consisting of Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman. The two first released Nuclear Throne into early access in 2013 and has since seen great acclaim, with a full release in December of 2015. A few years on though it may be, Dari spoke about the modding scene that’s still highly active just the other week.

So what’s the gameplay like? Well, if you’ve played any other roguelike, it is a bit like that. Sometimes there’s only so much one could say about a genre that’s run rife through the industry for several years, so you have to know the minutiae to define what’s different. The issue is I’m on a deadline tighter than your mum’s underwear drawer. At the heart of it, not much is different, though to most it sounds big. If you’ve played Call of Duty, you’ll know guns sound like Tic-Tacs flopping out the end of gentleman’s sausage. Doom, on the other hand, make guns sound like an elephant being used as a “rod from God;” Nuclear Throne is the latter.

For the most part, in my very short amount of time with the game, that’s about it. There is still lots of death, there’s still hectic fights, and there’s lots of upgrades and weapons to pick up. I’m a little mild on it, though given I’ve only been afforded an hour or so with it.

Let’s quickly move on to Ruiner, a top-down isometric shooter with a propensity towards a bit of the murder business. A bit more story-focused for this one, Ruiner is everything you’d expect from something with the Devolver Digital name around it like a warm hug. That’s not a bad thing, though for a minute I did think of My Friend Pedro, but without the stylistic killing.

I’d almost categorize Ruiner as a bullet-hell; it is just that cataclysmic with lots going on, which is something I was fearful of. Yes, I had one or two momentary problems running Ruiner on a computer older than your last phone. Intermittently, there are moments where the game will purposefully slow down in battle, though I doubt some moments are meant to run at 4-5 frames per second. Nevertheless, the game is everything you’d want it to be.

That still negates the gameplay, which is fun. Well, I say that with a bit of hesitation, as it is depending on several things. If you don’t mind dying a lot, you’ll want to switch up your play-style as that’s kind of the point. Yes, death is important to show your failures, though if you encounter too much of it, I could see Ruiner being ruined. That’s why I had gone for a melee focus with a lot of dashing away. Yes, there’s a skill tree and you can specify a build against being shot or stabbed to death. Though, unlike Nuclear Throne, guns sound like balled up wet paper dropping from a men’s toilet ceiling.

Both Ruiner and Nuclear Throne are available for free download over on the Epic Games store until Thursday the 14th of November. Next week we’re having a bit of a relaxing time as a ninja/postman called “Norm!” in The Messenger.

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