Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother

Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother is, at its core, a fast and fun action game that aims to give players as many interesting choices as possible to build their character for each run. Experiment as much as possible with upgrades, weapons, and powers. It’s impressive how powerful protagonist Chenxiang becomes when gamer choices lead to a good build that suits their playstyle. The game’s rogue-lite structure isn’t new but manages to create a constant sense of progression. The world-building is less successful, although it’s good to see Chinese mythology serve as the basis for a game universe. Graphics don’t stand out but Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother is a good mix of action and rogue-like that should please fans while being accessible to newcomers.

One could easily define Lotus Lantern: Rescue Mother as a reskin of Hades set in Chinese mythology, and trash it upon seeing that it does not touch the qualitative heights reached by Supergiant Games' work. The gameplay, however, is captivating, and the roguelite structure coupled with a good handling of the difficulty curve entices you to jump into another run to field test the newly achieved perks and the new character build. Each enemy has its own movement and attack pattern to learn, and the bosses are challenging enough. It doesn't innovate the genre, but it gets the job done.