Rising Hell Is Free On Epic

Monday, Prime Gaming made me want to explode the nuke in Megaton all over again, and Weird West got a demo. Tuesday, Sony is reportedly remastering/remaking a game that doesn’t need it, and Moonbreaker is now in Early Access. Wednesday, October’s first Game Pass reveals were unveiled, and Chivalry 2 got an enhanced edition with new stuff. Thursday, nothing really happened because we’re in that dip of game releases and there’s very little news unless you count the death of Stadia which I’m still hungover from.

Well, I thought since it was October, the company that is one of the banes of my existence would do the annoying thing and pretend Halloween is worth an ounce of my attention. It turns out Rising Hell and Slain: Back From Hell aren’t your offerings this week because of the theme, but just simply two bloody (literally) Rogue-likes/lites. We’ll start with the Epic Games Store’s idea of a boring pixel-based Rogue-like, pretty yes, but Slain: Back From Hell might as well spell Alucard backward and played Slayer’s Reign in Blood album for its ample runtime.

Moving on to the one that actually does look moderately interesting, Rising Hell is similarly short, low-priced, pixel-based art, and has a sense of “The Metal.” Released last year, it is clear from the outset that the influence of Dead Cells continues to be ever present in the Rogue-like/lite sphere. A mix of Metroidvania and Rogue-like creating the “Rogue-Vania,” two things that are in clear opposition to each other, and I don’t understand the need to melt the two. Though Rising Hell has one other monochromatic influence I do like from 2015, the fantastic Downwell.

All this week, you can pick up Rising Hell and Slain: Back From Hell for free on the Epic Games Store until the 13th of October. Moving on to the next game, yes singular because someone is looking up at me and saying I’ve done well enough to deserve a break, it is another nostalgia act trotted out for those that forget why something aged. ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! released in 2019, and it saw the series creator return for a fourth entry into the series that I simply don’t understand. Next week will be fun!