As a massive fan of Rogue Legacy, it brings me great joy to have the chance to cover a game that operates in a similar capacity. Roguelike games are enjoyable and add a sense of urgency with their permadeath, but Rogue Legacy‘s encouragement for replayability thanks to rewarding the player based on their performance before their death made me keep coming back for more. As such, I am anticipating ScourgeBringer‘s similar system to deliver the same enjoyment.

The first thing that is more than apparent to anyone that touches ScourgeBringer is that its meticulous pixel graphics are beyond words. Truly a marvel to the eyes, this is one of the prettiest examples of this art style, reminiscent of 198X in bit-beauty. With a simple-enough plot given, the player is thrust into the action right after a brief tutorial. Then, like all other roguelite/likes, they will die in a matter of minutes.

It’s not that ScourgeBringer hides the key to progression in your literal skill-tree, it’s a necessity as the brutal difficulty of the game only lets you get away with a few hits before you’re toast. With a bit of bullet hell to combat, you’ll have to master the game’s mechanics and timing if you want a shot at even making it to the next room, let alone the mini-bosses and bosses to come. Just because you die a lot doesn’t mean you’re getting nowhere, though. You’re building up your talents and skills with each passing life.

Kyhra, the protagonist of ScourgeBringer, does not just have a basic slash attack; she has a blistering dash and a smash attack for stunning. Some enemies will be unstoppable unless you dash straight to them and leverage your smashes with the right amount of slashes. Managing this while there are other smaller enemies in the fray, creates an intense atmosphere that will test the player in avoiding hits, prioritizing enemies, and using long-range attacks before they run out of shots.

I did find myself dying quite a few times before being able to take out the first boss, solely because I entered these boss battles already damaged from clearing the rest of the rooms. The game’s “shop”, which is also randomized with each run, only provided me with a health restoration a few times, and it cost the majority of my currency each time. Nevertheless, the rush I got after beating this first boss was a rush. Additionally, it was worth it, unlocking two new branches on the skill tree.

I am going to spend quite a lot of time with ScourgeBringer, as it’s one of the best roguelites I’ve played thus far. Deserving of all the glory that Binding of Isaac, Rogue Legacy, and Enter the Gungeon have received, you might just catch this game on some game-of-the-year lists (including mine.) This is yet another success story from the Early Access formula, as the end product is an absolute riot and feels fully-fleshed out after a strong year of development. Check out ScourgeBringer if this type of game is up your alley, as it gets my glowing recommendation.

A PC Review Copy of ScourgeBringer was provided by Dear Villagers for this Review

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ScourgeBringer

$16.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Unbelievable pixel graphics
• Tight gameplay
• Addictive replayability

Cons

• Too hard for some
• Not enough invincibility frames