For more than 50 years the world has been under attack by paranormal forces bent on corrupting our planet. Playing as a member of The Mythic Protocol, it’s up to you and your buddies-in-arms to take down your enemies whenever they open up rifts, wherever in the world that may be.
As far as setups go, this one is pretty damn cool. It’s not a million miles away from XCOM, and I bloody love XCOM, so no complaints from me. In fact, the immediacy of the threat makes Riftstorm easy to get into. Cosmic horrors are coming, and it’s up to us to stop them.
What is Riftstorm?
Story beats aside, Riftstorm is an isometric twin-stick shooter with roguelite mechanics and a strong emphasis on cooperative gameplay synergies.
My first impression of the game had me pondering the crisp cel-shadeish graphics – it looks good considering it’s still in pre-alpha.
You control your operative with standard WASD + mouse controls, and everything works exactly as one would expect. It’s slow and steady, at least at first, as you move around the space and take down the first waves of enemies. Don’t worry though, things will quickly escalate.
Once you’ve cleared a room, you’re invited to grab up any XP and pick a new ability from one of three provided. I have to say, this part of the game was all very straight forward and I immediately felt like I knew what I was doing.
Each “room” is usually something like a shipping yard or a series of twisting Parisian alleyways, and they’re all connected by little walkways or gates. Players move through each area in search of their final objective, and once this final obstacle has been overcome, a rift/portal will appear and take you to the next challenge. A little like Nuclear Throne, but much more dignified in this instance as you can walk into the rift at your own pace…
Meet The Mythic Protocol
There are four playable characters including in the one with whom I spent most of my time: Sargeant Starling. You can unlock new weapons for each of the characters, yet the guns they start with gelled with their apparent battlefield focus. Starling, for example, starts with an automatic rifle and a pistol, and this mid-range selection suited me. She’s a good all-rounder to get you started.
Hertz – who replaces Atlas from the first test – has a shotty for close encounters, and Icarus wields a sniper rifle that makes him good for ranged players. Spraybot, the other new addition for this pre-alpha test, has a pistol and lumbering rocket launcher, with a side portion of turret assistance. I had a look at all four of them and Starling was probably the one I felt the most comfortable with, but each of the four felt distinct from the others.
The characters each have their place in a team dynamic and, it’s clear from the stern difficulty offered by each string of missions, the expectation is that you’re going to bring a friend or two with you. Riftstorm is an online only game, even in single-player, but it’s designed for co-op and it supports between one and three players.
Getting my ass kicked
I mentioned that the game was tough, so let me drill into that for a moment. Obviously the design surrounds levelling up your character with new abilities, but given the options put before me and my budget, it wasn’t always clear how to make the most of my build. Riftstorm presents you with tough decisions, but I think a better understanding of the abilities should alleviate this somewhat.
It wasn’t just my own naivety that got me deaded; the paranormal nasties that emerge from rifts are the biggest threat. Each new gauntlet will require you to repel waves of these cosmic critters, from twisted dogs to zombie-like bastards who thankfully telegraph their incoming attacks and then charge straight at you.
The enemy variety ends up creating a diverse battlefield, with a range of different AI behaviours to contend with. I’m guessing as more creatures are added over the course of development, things will only get more frantic. Similarly, I look forward to seeing more abilities (or Lythons, as they’re called here) for players to choose from.
It wasn’t long before I was using the environment around me to tactically manoeuvre the enemy swarm – who, let’s face it, ain’t all that bright – dragging them into red barrels which duly exploded and caused a ton of damage. Battlefield positioning is absolutely key, and I did A LOT of dodge rolling about the place as I tried to stay alive, especially during the bigger battles that I faced at the end of each three-part mission.
Where can you play Riftstorm?
At the moment, Riftstorm is only available as part of a pre-alpha test being hosted on PC Steam. The studio seems to have plans to bring the game to additional platforms further down the line, but nothing specific is mentioned in the press materials I recieved. It’s early days, clearly, and PC is the only focus for now.
If the top-down co-op shooter shenanigans of Endless Dungeon appeal to you, then Riftstorm is looking to do something similar via its emphasis on map control and cooperative combat. It’s still only in pre-alpha so bear that in mind, but co-op parties and ARPG fans looking for something new and shiny should check it out.
The pre-alpha test is due to run from Friday, March 8th (7PM PST / 10PM EST / (+1D) 3AM UTC) until March 15th (12AM PDT / (+1D) 3AM EDT / (+1D) 7AM UTC). If you’re after a co-operative sci-fi shooter with a roguish shell, head over to Steam and give it a closer look.
