http://www.indiecade.com/games/selected/risk-of-rain/
Overview thing or whatever it’s called:
Risk of rain is a 2D, action, platforming, rogue-like, done in pixel art. The honest reason I chose this game was because I already owned it; however, having already played it I knew right off the bat it was a good game.
If you’re looking for some thoughtful in depth commentary on the human psyche, social issues, or the meaning of life find another game. Risk of Rain is quite a standard action game where you kill things do little else. The story of the game is that a mysterious entity has caused your space ship to crash on a hostile planet, and you must survive, kill, and upgrade yourself as best you can before it comes back to finish you off too.
As a rogue-like the major mechanic of the game is iteration. Once you die in a play through you have to start over, but hopefully you’ve learned from you previous foray into the world and are now smarter for it. If your very luck, or skilled, you are able to unlock new items characters, and various outer secrets which can be used in future playthroughs.
The ascetic of the game is quite nice, the music fits wonderfully, and you really feel yourself improving each level as you learn new strategies for dealing with the enemy, and the best combination of items for your character’s class.
Risk of Rain isn’t breaking any molds here, but I don’t think it has to. It’s a good rogue-like, and more than that it’s a good game, and sometimes that is enough to keep you going.