TombStar

TombStar has all the foundations of a quintessential rougelite experience. It just doesn’t do anything particularly special. While the gameplay is entertaining, it quickly becomes stale and repetitive, offering very little in the way replayability. It is certainly visually appealing, but the art style lacks any real charm or personality to it. And although the OST is serviceable in the confines of the game, the SFX sound abysmally weak and unimpactful.

For an apparent passion project, this is a curiously listless affair.

The basics of TombStar are well done, with nicely-frantic action that keeps the bullets flowing at a good pace. The variety of enemies makes each encounter use all the skills and perks you’ve got available, dodging and taking cover while hoping there isn’t someone off to the side about to spring an unpleasant surprise. It’s a good combat flow, but the bits that make it better come slowly or run out just as you’re starting to enjoy them. For an action-roguelike, TombStar nails the action but moves too slowly on the roguelike, leading to a twin-stick shooter whose best bits never last long enough to make it great.