Synthetik: Ultimate Review | One of the Best Roguelites of All Time
One of my favorite roguelites of all time. Plain and simple. It’s got perfect chaotic randomosity to keep you itching for that perfect run…
One of my favorite roguelites of all time. Plain and simple. It’s got perfect chaotic randomosity to keep you itching for that perfect run and combines it with beautiful skill-based combat that goes deep.
This game plays like butter. Everything about it is amazing. Smooth. Violent. Responsive. There’s honestly not a thing I would change about it. From the items to the rare drops, the random events, classes, and level-up system… it’s all perfect. I even prefer it to Synthetik 2, which is a little depressing, but honestly, that’s the truth.
The electronic music pulses through your system, while the guns you pick up have their symphony of war going on in the foreground. Even the guns that don’t do damage, SOUND like they can do some damage. It’s incredibly satisfying. Exceptional work on the sound design lads. Everything about it just freakin’ works on every level for me. Generates a lot of dopamine.
Synthetik is amazingly balanced between the amount of skill the player needs to have, versus the sheer power of the items and weapons you can obtain. Just about any attempt to kill the Machine God can be salvaged into a win, so long as your skill can make up for the disparity. Sure, it will take time to get to that point, but the journey to that point is immensely satisfying. Then when you finally have that GOD-Tier attempt come through… and one of those extremely rare weapons comes crashing from the heavens in a blast of lightning… chefs kiss. Perfect. Man! That gets the brain chemicals going! Those are some highs you won’t find anywhere else. But, typically you can go through a few attempts and still have tons of fun. You have to go into it with some strategy though because one wrong move could obliterate you in an instant. In that regard there is a lot of interplay with your skill level and the randomosity as I mentioned, but also with the risks you’re willing to take for the rewards at stake. Finding that balance is so cool. It’s perfectly designed, and it’s tough… but it’s an enjoyable tough.
I don’t think everybody will like this game for that reason. It’s quite difficult, and mechanically different than many people may be used to and that could turn them away from playing Synthetik. For players struggling there are difficulty modifiers, and some tweaks you can throw onto the item pool to assist yourself ever so slightly. So even more casual players have a chance at making the most of this game and having a good time. And of course, hardcore players can enable a bunch of difficulty modifiers and have a bad time. For fun. For the brain chemicals.
So, listen. If you’re into roguelites I’ve gotta say, this game is a must-have for your collection and is a must-play. It’s just too good for you to not experience (especially if you have a friend for co-op). NameBrand.
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising on Steam
SYNTHETIK is an unforgiving tactical shooter rogue-lite where freedom and experimentation are key. Fight in a world…store.steampowered.com
While it’s dated now, the first YouTube video I ever made was a review of Synthetik. It heavily borrowed the style of another YouTuber that I liked, and the reason for that is that I was more or less trying to see if I had what it took to make YouTube videos, but I still stand by the points I made in it. Linked below in case you are interested.
Originally published at https://backloggd.com.