*Disclaimer: Lone Ruin review code was provided by Super Rare Games for the purposes of this review. That being said, all opinions expressed in this review are entirely that of the author. *
If there is one question that follows any release, it is: “how replayable is it?”. With the roguelike’s popularity on the rise, replayability is an integral feature, and Lone Ruin is no exception. Whether it’s exploring magical ruins in the campaign runs, or fighting for survival in a series of timed waves, it can hold its head high as a roguelike that offers incredible and addictive replayability. As someone who grew up primarily with handheld consoles and wanted to squeeze as much time as possible playing, Lone Ruin satisfied that need entirely and made me hungry for more.
It’s dangerous to go ‘lone
Lone Ruin is a spell-based roguelike twin-stick shooter. The player takes control of an unnamed explorer who seeks a mysterious ancient power by venturing into a ruined magical city. With a unique set of weapons and spells at your disposal, no run is ever the same. By trying out new combinations with every run, you can adapt your playstyle to what suits you, or try something new altogether. Developers, Cuddle Monster Games are no strangers to the roguelike, having created the acclaimed indie, Hell Is Other Demons, and their experience shines in their latest venture. Published by Super Rare Games in their Originals branch, it has found a good home in a publisher dedicated to the indie title.
Lone Ruin’s best feature is its replayability. More often than not I would be playing in the evening, sometimes even in bed, and found myself muttering “just one more run” and going to sleep later than I had planned. But there is no such thing as just one more run. With the assortment of abilities, spells and upgrades, no run was ever the same, and I wanted to try something new every time.
Of them all, my favourite starting ability was the Chain Lightning attack, which would hit multiple enemies before refreshing its charges. While there are your universal upgrade options; shorter cooldowns, further reach, etc., there are also unique upgrades for each ability. In the case of Chain Lightning, I could upgrade it to hit more enemies and even enhance the damage depending on how deep the chain of enemies went. Moreover, the game encourages you to try out different abilities, by offering you a different assortment of initial upgrades at the start of each run. This helped me decide what did and didn’t work for me. As someone who was drawn to the more projectile-based abilities, I was incentivised to try out close-combat weapons, such as the scythe, if there was an upgrade ready to go.
Sound and Vision
Visually, Lone Ruin is a delight. A mixture of 2D pixel characters within a 3D environment from a top-down perspective. The player character and enemies are limited to a colour palette of neon blues and pinks that help them stand out against the darker backdrops of the Infected Gardens and Ghoul Grove. These wonderful designs, particularly of the player and boss enemies, are wonderfully eerie and fit perfectly with the magical themes. Moreover, the vibrant colours pop spectacularly on the Switch OLED. As someone who primarily uses their Switch as a handheld, I believe players will be in for a visual treat if they have this hardware. Even as the screen descends into chaos while you’re dashing around and dodging all manner of projectile, it still looks gorgeous.
In addition to the beautiful graphics, Lone Ruin boasts a fantastic soundtrack. As ambient as it is intense, I often found the music adapting to my situation. Despite initially beginning as a series of Lo-Fi pieces, while I fired the odd projectile at the occasional enemy, I was quickly thrown into a cacophony as bombs, bats and beams were blasted in my direction. The game can quickly turn on its head and this change of pace is complimented brilliantly by the soundtrack. At times I wanted to just sit and listen to the music, so would love the option in the main menu to do so.
The Verdict
Since whetting my appetite for roguelikes with Hades, I wanted to find a game that offered a similar experience but with a fresh set of tools and abilities to play with. Lone Ruin did just that. With vivid visuals and a soundtrack that turned me from relaxed to stressed beyond belief in a matter of seconds, I was hooked from the get-go. While the campaign aspect of the game is somewhat short and could perhaps benefit from having one more mode, this sharp burst of gameplay only enhances replayability, making me anticipate my next run.
Our Score: 8/10