Indie developer RyseUp Studios is happy to announce that its roguelike FPS title Roboquest is now available on Steam Early Access. Combining a cel-shaded graphical style (inspired by the likes of Borderlands) with a post-apocalyptic story, the game looks to tickle that co-op shooting itch you may be dealing with.
In a press release from the studio, the team writes, "Our vision was influenced by 90s fast-paced shooters like Doom, Quake, and Unreal, and modern roguelikes such as Dead Cells, Enter the Gungeon, and Nuclear Throne." Those are certainly some lofty aspirations, but it seems initial reception to Roboquest has been positive. An alpha build was released earlier this week and most people are jazzed.
With that out in the wild, things are kicking into full gear as the team works towards the final release. With a base price of $17.99, you can jump in and follow the development process along as Roboquest continues to grow over the years. RyseUp intends to support this for years to come and even has a roadmap setup with planned updates.
"Early Access was always our plan and we want to use the platform for what it was made for: community feedback," writes the studio, "which is vital for our indie studio and will help us achieve our dream of creating a game fans will love." It seems well on its way from what we can gather.
Currently scheduled for a 2021 release date, Roboquest will feature a full story mode campaign with cutscenes, extra co-op challenges, a dynamic procedural generation system, and a techno/grunge-inspired soundtrack from artist Noisecream when the game is finally finished. The first update will be coming later this month with more to follow after.
The whole roguelite idea might be a little played out by this point, but Roboquest does seem to have a ton of heart behind it. I'm very partial to the visual style and all of the inspirations mentioned are games I like (especially Unreal Tournament). With development going into full throttle, here's hoping that RyseUp can create a memorable, challenging FPS that does justice to its predecessors.
Source: RyseUp Studios PR