The combat is the reason to play this game. Hands down. The art is gorgeous, the soundtrack is varied and decent, and the story is...a story. The characters are tropes, but enjoyably so.

The character progression is fun, the perks letting you lean into multiple aspects of each one's strengths, and mixing and matching is fun too. I haven't done a lot with the enchanting system but it seems pretty basic at this point. Add a 10% chance to do something onto weapons, add a passive effect to armours. The loot itself is all over the place, but the power spikes are few and far between it feels like. And most gear comes with strengths and weaknesses, making you really weigh whether you want that extra damage because it'll open your squishy up to being SO squishy, they can be one shot.

The dungeons are random, which is good because you'll likely be doing some of them more than once - so it's a nice surprise to see entirely different layouts when you head back for round 2 to grind out that XP. You'll need to do those grinds because at several points (and I'm only on dungeon 4 out of what I believe is 8) you will suddenly encounter difficulty ebbs and flows. You think things are fine and then some random nobody enemy is throwing out half your team's health in an AOE ability and suddenly it's just the tank standing alone. This contrasts the final boss of the dungeon, where you feel like you deal with them no problem. I'm currently doing dungeon 3 again to ready myself for dungeon 4 and the surrounding area, where I encountered hidden bosses with crazy strength and had to quit/die.

But the combat itself has a lot of synergies and different things you can do with it, although I personally believe that among the 6 people, giving only one true tank does pigeonhole the need to have them in the party at all times. It's the main main character so in a way it makes sense, but a little more variety there wouldn't have hurt. And yes I know I can use the rogue to /possibly/ evade attacks after taunting, but that's not the same as having a way deeper HP pool and resistances and planning to just take a hit. It's a choice that the non-combatants get no XP, further reinforcing the need to grind to keep everyone levelled, but the combat is enjoyable enough that so far, that isn't annoying. Some might find it slow, but once the combat becomes mindless I'd argue it takes the fun out of it. Having choices and needing to adapt to enemies and their speeds and abilities is alright by me.

So basically...come for the combat, stay for the art, and just know that you'll be grinding. If you're here for a story, I will refer you to the comic books, which probably have better stories.

What we have here is a unique flavour of deck builder, but not one that has done anything genre-defining. The near/far (whereeeeeeeever you arrrrrrrre) system is different but not incredible. The roguelike elements of this game are fairly boilerplate, with branching paths, many choices that have immediate advantages and disadvantages, characters with unique twists on gameplay, relics a la Slay the Spire and the ability to draft and upgrade cards. A gripe here is the removal system. First, you can't actually skip card rewards. This results in decks getting bloated fairly quick. But on top of that, a lot of the removals state NON-BASE card caveats, meaning you're still stuck with the same meh cards you started with and have to give up potentially other ones when you could prune out those starters to optimize.

The other thing worth mentioning is the audio/visual. The animations have weight behind them, and the sounds are weighty too. A lot more cinematic than the average deckbuilder.

The difficulty is pretty easy, until it isn't. A lot of people comment on it spiking near the end and that's accurate. I don't think it's too unfair at this point, but I've also only played the first couple of difficulties and have really latched onto one character and find him to be fairly capable of making it to the endgame, even if my success is mixed at that point.

The story is...wait, what story? The intro to the game is about as deep as it gets. I'm not invested in advancing that. The gameplay itself is strong enough to keep me interested for now, but the story is not it.

Strong visuals and good audio, standard implementation of roguelike mechanics and a decent power creep that is hindered by the removal system insisting you keep base cards more often than not combine to make a fun game. Worth a look if you like deck builders.

A goal in every roguelike game is to feel like you've "broken" the game due to a variety of factors, planned and unplanned, coming together as best as you can cobble them, into something that's hopefully very powerful. Star Renegades achieves this feeling of power, and of breaking the game, but it feels a bit different. It's not all-out balls to the wall slugfest as you steamroll enemies (although as you get stronger you can certainly make short work of basic fights) but rather a cerebral exertion that falls into a rhythm and feels a bit like a dance. Break that guy's timeline so this person can use this skill safely so that next turn you can set up an AOE break. Tank this hit with defend so that other people on your team are free to stack staggers culminating in your sniper landing a killshot on that guy for maximum damage. That's a very real thing by the way. Some games reward an aggressive approach. This is not one of them. Defending, tanking, taunting and redirecting or avoiding damage via breaks are all very important, and arguably more important than doing the most damage possible, every turn. It captures a similar feeling to Into The Breach, where you turn what initially looks disastrous into a much better scenario with methodical applications of staggers and statuses.

Speaking of statuses, this game will not hold your hand. There is a lot to learn, and often it takes being decimated by a specific status or skill to understand exactly how to prioritize it in terms of what to allow and what to stave off. Enemies have modifiers that they will never announce, and require you to look at them individually or just find out the hard way. Case in point, some enemies are immune to taunt. Which never matters, until you go to taunt them and spend the action and their target does not change. Oops. Despite all this, succeeding often makes me feel like I'm just that much smarter than the computer, which is a fun feeling.

The music is actually pretty catchy, certainly not invasive or annoying. The graphics, despite being intentionally pixelated, are quite gorgeous in the level of detail and the multiple layers of it that several battlefields display at the same time. Some of the animations are questionable, but this game does not take itself seriously and that shows the moment you make it past the main menu. There is a little jank in your movement, requring oddly precise clicks to navigate some terrain with a mouse, but with a controller there is an added element of the game just possibly deciding "You live in that direction now" and endlessly going there until you force quit. Probably the only recurring bug I've encountered, but it's always between battles and only ever irritating when you've just claimed new gear, as the gear is randomized every instance, not predetermined in a seed - so that awesome sword you got might be a lame implant next time. A minor gripe but one that's worth mentioning.

The writing is silly and the story is just there to justify the roguelike nature of the game. Conversations between squadmates overflow with tongue in cheek humour and are decent for worldbuilding, but by the time you've played for 100 hours you've seen everything there is to see about that random question mark beside that building. The only conversations I have yet to discover are specific interactions between characters as you progress their relationships. Oh right, that's a thing too. You spend 3 days on a planet picking your way across it and trying to be as efficient as possible in the gains you make, but between them are nights at the campfire. There is a mild element of deckbuilding, where you have limited actions, affection points, and various temporary (or in rare cases permanent) effects that will benefit you for X following battles. As you advance these relationships, each character brings their own unique stat modifier (the guy who's best at staggers gives whoever he's close with more staggers, the shield-based tank gives more base shield...etc) and later combine effects into a 1-off "combo" that is a fusion of one or more of each character's abilities. Get them closer, and certain combinations will produce offspring that are unique in their stats and ability orrders/choices. There's a lot left to unlock for me even now, in that sense.

Finally...we need to address the length. Each campaign, if you will, can go several hours easily. It's not fair to call it a run, because a run lasts an hour. These are mini campaigns. Personally I don't mind this design but I know that it won't be for everyone - the typical roguelike is expected to be somewhere between 30 and 90 minutes a run, at the outside. This can and will double that. Now you know.

All this to say...it's a game I can't put down. And with what I have left to unlock, and the Entropy levels left to beat, even if I move to other games...I'll be back to this one.

Something has changed drastically since the last time that I played this game. On descent level 2, the basic enemies are throwing more damage than can be mitigated, 9 turns out of 10. Sometimes you can mitigate the damage but then as a result you deal zero. So your choices are deal no damage and live another turn, or deal damage and watch your health chunk down. The third possibility is you do neither of these and take damage anyways because bad cards. You can only afford 3-4 turns of ♥♥♥♥♥ damage and it's GG. I'm fine with difficult but make it reasonable. I'll check back after an update or two but currently, it's masochism.

Update: I took a minute to try and see if I was just tilted, started a new run, again, and was greeted with the ability to select a unit. That didn't happen last time, so it's either random that you get to select your starters, or there is a glitch in place that doesn't let it happen all the time. Started my first battle. Turn 3, the enemies are dealing 17 unavoidable damage and I can block 4. What is this, lol. No thank you.

I was a big fan of Fights in Tight Spaces. I did not by any means crush that game to a pulp, but I spent enough time at it to feel comfortable with its tactical depth and card synergies. I'm only a few hours in, and I'm pleased to report that so far the same love has been put into the character design, the subtle (and not so subtle) humour, and the variety of cards and enemy types. The game doesn't do a lot of hand holding, just a quick info screen to explain every new feature or trait, and then says "You got this". But for veterans of FiTS, this isn't going to be an issue, it's more of a fun remix as you discover each enemy (and card!) and how they have been put together.

Some old favourites for both cards and systems will be here, but with a medieval makeover and an RPG flavouring baked in, new systems and cards will be introduced as well. Don't be fooled by the first 30 minutes of gameplay...because at that point, it really does just feel like a slightly reskinned FiTS. But the moment you get to hire party members, the game changes. It's the Ambassador missions on steroids. Now instead of a dumb invincible AI companion, you have 3 badasses that are more than equipped to take on threats from ye olden times. Support attacks are a game changer. Equipment and consumables add to your ability to customize your run. And don't forget that just like the Ambassador missions, certain cards can act as improvised mobility in a pinch (looking at you, Shove and Grapple). In fact, the most opposition I faced was from the game's coding itself. Something like 4 missions in, I was spawned in a corner with no way to move myself, or relocate the enemies, and I was going to be pushed out of the level turn 1. And when the game's default difficulty offers no restarts and instead sends you back to Go without your 200 dollars, that is rather irksome. I don't ever remember that happening in FitS over the almost 50 hours I played it, so I am hoping that the devs can nip that in the bud this time around too.

As an added bonus, getting to have a hand in the naming of your characters adds just enough of a feeling of connection to make them feel like more than just paper cutouts.

The music captures epic, fun and yet slick vibes. nervous_testpilot is quickly becoming a staple in my Apple Music playlists. The camera is (mostly) your friend, as parts of the level deconstruct or transform themselves to allow you a better view - a shame that this care isn't taken with the dynamic camera mid-moves. But that's a minor gripe. The character designs are not incredible but they are varied enough that they still stand out and match the paper aesthetic of the world around them. I do wish it was possible to maybe outline a character but give them true colourings instead of always being tinted one colour, but again, this is not a major thing.

Some minor concerns over how samey each run might feel are present because after my unfortunate and unavoidable restart, mostly or completely similar dialogue takes place. But on the flip side, there are already daily challenges. So there's that.

At 3.1 hours as of the time of writing, I clearly cannot comment on all the different mechanics, enemy types, or scratch the surface on the playable archetypes or cards. But I can say what I have played so far, I have really enjoyed aside from that one unwinnable situation. I do think that this game might be less accessible than FiTS because of how quickly you transition from 1 character to a party of up to 3, and would recommend anyone newer reading this really gives FiTS a spin - if you like that, you will end up loving this. For veterans of the game and/or style (Into the Breach also comes to mind) this is like being told you don't have to drive a Go Kart anymore. You're ready for Formula 1.

Vroom vroom.

Anyone coming into this game expecting Void Bastards in the Wild West, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. What you instead have is the perfect bite-sized game. As someone who is often jumping into and out of play sessions, I can say there is definitely an audience for this (and I'm it). Managing the overworld map is picking one point at a time, and beaming down. Once on a planet, you manage your team of Bastards a few squares at a time, trying to min/max getting as much loot as you can while picking as many fights as safely possible, with an eye on a timer that says it's time to GTFO. Firefights occur on a wide variety of biomes, with several modifiers and enemy types to keep things interesting, but the longest I have had one last would have been 5 minutes. Even gear management and relationship management for the outlaws is bite sized, with no more than 3 gear and a simple "Are they pals, meh, or nope?" that can be altered in the press of a button - provided you have the magical beans. Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat the less you feud. I'm leaving that in. Bonus points for the writing, the humour is for a specific type of person (this is where being the spiritual successor to VB comes in, imo, along with the constant sense of forward motion while being a loot goblin) but the dialogue feels very authentic - the actors definitely enjoyed themselves and it shows. All the Bastards play differently, and as you get more Aces for them you can really start to feel less like just a gun with a voice attached to it, and more like an entire unit/character that you can plan around. Seriously though, this might be the epitome of Steam Deck play - pick the game up, spend 10 minutes taking 3 turns on a planet and winning (hopefully) 3 showdowns and then you put it down, and it'll be there waiting for you to come back like a Bushwhacker behind a door. If polished jump-in, jump-out action with a side of usin' yer noggin is your thing, give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

Everyone is comparing this to Chimera squad (and I get it) but it's also a bit Capes with less production value on the story, but much more polish and just as much humour and heart. The progression of abilities is well-paced, both in terms of releasing new abilities and giving you perk points to tweak them. One thing to note: If you can't beat a challenge now, don't fret - the freedom to upgrade as you see fit means some challenges will not be doable until specific perks or abilities or characters are present and accounted for. But the gameplay is fun enough that backtracking isn't a chore, it's a chance to try how ridiculously zany and overpowered you've become since your last visit.

A new contender in the Roguelite FPS arena, Battle Shapers could easily be mistaken for Roboquest in an alternate universe. A clear love letter to several games that have helped SHAPE it, there are aspects of Doom, Mega Man, Risk of Rain, Overwatch, Hades and even Roboquest itself in some ways. The devs also worked on Prince of Persia (2008) and there's even a flavour from that game in how you liberate towers. The continual dialogue with tower bosses a la Hades is a nice touch, even if it's not really revealing much in the way of story.

The game is still in early access so the periodic crashes either when changing floors or going to pick up a reward can be forgiven. I've also not yet played this on a laptop, only the Steam Deck, but when it crashes, it crashes HARD and needs a full restart. The gunplay is fun, though I play with a controller and I will say the auto aim is beyond generous and there does not appear to be a way to turn it off at this current time. The sound effects are all satisfying, the progression and exploration are steady and not-too-intrusive respectively, and while I haven't found any WOW builds yet, I guess that could simply attest to how balanced the game seems to be (although I admit I have more trouble dodging the Wind Magistrate's air blades than I think I should). It stole the better part of a day and a half of solo playtime from me in the blink of an eye. Anyone that's a fan of Roboquest and Hades (to generalize) should pick this up.

I don't think I can come up with a better summary than someone else already has: "Two parts Vampire Survivors, Two parts Renegade Ops, and one part League of Legends. That's what Champion Shift is." Nailed it.

This review may sound like I'm coming down on the game but the truth is, I quite enjoy it, and even moreso with friends. I just think there are some things that could be better.

The formula for the game is simple. As long as you don't ask questions. Big bad corporation kidnapped figures of legend, figures of legend escape, figures of legend...turn into...cars. As long as you don't think about it, it's a blast. Shifting in and out of vehicle form is easy and driving is fun, but admittedly it doesn't take long before you can literally just ram and smash your way through just about everyone except any big enemies that would stop you in your tracks, and those enemies can often easily be dealt with via your onboard weapons/celestial gifts. The vehicle is great fun to play. I just think it's overpowered and you are probably meant to be in champion form a little more of the time. The roguelike elements and metaprogression are also good, no two runs feel the same although there are definitely some powers I think feel more useful than others - but the good news is it's not hard to feel super strong regardless of build.

The game has certainly kept me amused, and a lot more polished since its Early Access days. Adding a Steam Cloud is a welcome feature, but there are bugs abound in this game that keep it from being amazing. For starters, the Steam Cloud as previously mentioned is good, but what good is a global cloud save when the game itself can't keep track of what you've done? Every time I boot the game up, I must re-unlock two of the champions because something prevents the game from knowing I've met their requirements. The game also has trouble dealing with a lot of things at once: In a game where enemies flood the screen and damage numbers are everywhere, it is alarming to see such a small game lag so easily. In one instance of multiplayer, the game started rhythmically lagging and then damage numbers would appear as the game stopped lagging...but then you'd just, die. No idea why you died either. It happened in a span of 2 minutes to both a friend and I, thus ending the run. I've also been caught inside terrain and had friends report they fell through the map, though both of those were ones that were fixed quickly (luckily).

Overall, the game is still worth your time. The devs need to address some bugs but for this price, how can you not give it a try?

EDIT: The game has an active discord where bugs and feedback are received and responded to in a timely fashion - the permalocked champions were fixed less than a week later. Kudos to the devs for being on top of stuff.

This game has an immaculate level of detail and world-building if you hang around to listen and read enough of the game. It's got the typical Boomer Shooter jank (climbing ladders is the worst display) but it's charming and overall handles like you're dancing on ice when you get into fisticuffs. The voice acting of the main character starts flat but quickly gets better, and the supporting are all great too. Multiple paths through each level lend some replayability, and it's fun just experimenting with different ways to beat on mooks. Karate chop complete with brass instrument accompaniment on KO? Check. Shotgun and pistol? Check. A...speargun? Also check. The level design encourages exploration and rewards it with some secrets for those with keen eyes, and in some cases the people who are willing to do a little backtracking.

If I had to gripe, it would be for two reasons: 1, the controller doesn't come with a built-in quicksave, which would stop breaking up the flow of gameplay. Dying and losing half a level of progress these days feels bad. And 2, every time I have tried to run it on the Steam Deck it crashes the entire thing so hard it needs a hard restart. Laptop it handles fine. Get it verified, I want to enjoy this on a bigass TV!