Rogue Islands

About

In Rogue Islands, play as the agile Gnome Wizard Motwort with the ability to run, jump, levitate, swim, and cast magical spells. Traverse through 7 distinct island types filled with various enemies, environments, and bosses, while collecting and imbuing gems to power up your spells. Experience procedural levels and permadeath, making each playthrough unique and challenging.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging exploration experience with vibrant graphics and a variety of environments.
Combat is fast-paced and dynamic, with a variety of spells and abilities that keep gameplay interesting.
The procedural generation of islands ensures that no two playthroughs are the same, adding to the game's replayability.

The game suffers from balance issues, with some enemies being overly difficult while others are too easy, leading to frustrating gameplay.
There is a lack of a proper tutorial, making it difficult for new players to understand game mechanics and objectives.
Technical issues, such as stuttering and crashes, can detract from the overall experience, especially on certain systems.

graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their vibrant colors and beautiful environments, effectively utilizing a voxel art style that distinguishes it from similar titles like Minecraft. However, some players note that while the visuals are appealing, the optimization can be lacking, leading to performance issues even at lower settings. Overall, the aesthetic is considered engaging and well-suited to the game's dynamic gameplay.
- “Overall, I really like the graphics in this game, and the screens don't do it justice.”
- “It's also a really beautiful game; the graphics, while simple, really pop with how colorful everything is.”
- “While obviously sporting a Minecraft blocky aesthetic, its use of color is vibrant and the world generator makes a spectacular landscape.”
- “The environments are mostly very beautiful but the optimization for this game is not great; for it to run well without slowing down or stuttering, I have to play with all the graphics on the lowest setting, and it will still heat up my PC a lot more than any other game I own.”
- “Maybe add a lower graphics setting to make the game more accessible; using the lowest settings still looked pretty good and heated up my laptop quite a bit.”
- “It’s just an aesthetic feeling: impacts done right, shots – not so much.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
53%
16%
The gameplay is a mix of exploration, resource gathering, and combat, set in procedurally generated islands that offer a variety of challenges and environments. While the mechanics can feel overwhelming due to a lack of clear tutorials and the presence of permadeath, many players find the core gameplay loop enjoyable and engaging, with a fast-paced shooting experience reminiscent of classic FPS games. However, the game's survival elements and roguelite nature may frustrate those seeking a more straightforward experience.
- “The gameplay is really enjoyable and challenging enough to keep me interested.”
- “The gameplay is simple enough: enter a procedurally generated island, complete the objective, mine for gems to upgrade your spells, mine bitumen to craft fuel for your ship, and move on to the next island.”
- “The gameplay on every island can be split into three parts: exploration, resource gathering, and fighting.”
- “However, because it doesn't provide a fair tutorial or an introductory island in a game where permadeath is involved and other mechanics, it feels overwhelming.”
- “Upgrades and gameplay are not very well spelled out and guides are far and few to be found online at the time of this review, so basically you are going to die many times to find how to do something.”
- “I still have some different environments to explore, different monsters to fight, different quests to complete, etc., but I've repeatedly experienced the basic gameplay loop of going to an island, exploring, fighting monsters, and completing quests.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
22%
44%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance while others face significant stuttering and heating issues, even on capable hardware. While initial lag has improved with updates, many users still report the need for lower graphics settings to achieve playable frame rates, indicating that further optimization is necessary. Developers are reportedly planning future updates, including a new game engine, which may address these performance concerns.
- “Having a lot of fun with this one, and want to post right off the bat that I am running a Windows 7 64-bit machine with an i7 3.2 GHz processor and a GeForce 960M (driver version 388.71 or in device manager, 23.21.13.8871) with no stuttering or graphics issues of any kind.”
- “When I first wrote my preview, the game was quite laggy but with all the optimizations that were done, it’s smooth as butter.”
- “Room for optimization and improvement.”
- “The environments are mostly very beautiful, but the optimization for this game is not great. I'm running it on an ASUS ROG with Windows 10, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, 16GB RAM, and an Intel i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz processor. For it to run well without slowing down or stuttering, I have to play with all the graphics on the lowest setting, and it will still heat up my PC a lot more than any other game I own.”
- “For what little I could play of the game, I genuinely enjoyed it; unfortunately, the massive stuttering makes it unplayable on my system (Windows 7 x64, i5 6500, 16GB RAM, GTX 970).”
- “The only issue I think should be mentioned is that some people, myself included, have had some issues with the game stuttering.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The story is perceived as underwhelming and feels tacked on, lacking depth and engagement. Players find the narrative ungripping, with repetitive mission objectives that detract from the overall experience, despite the game's potential for exploration and combat. The gameplay loop quickly becomes monotonous, leading to a sense of limited variety in quests and objectives.
- “The game is a roguelike but also plays a lot like a sandbox game where you want to explore and extract resources as much as possible to upgrade your spells and max mana.”
- “I still have some different environments to explore, different monsters to fight, different quests to complete, etc.”
- “You travel from island to island on your boat and complete simple missions: gathering enough fuel to move forward, visiting the 'spirit tree' to meditate, or fighting the boss.”
- “Clearly the developers felt a story was needed and tacked it on, but it's all a bit underwhelming.”
- “The game is quite enjoyable for the first hour or so but after that you quickly realize the game has very little to offer; there is a real lack of variety in the mission objectives and just what you actually do in the game.”
- “You travel from island to island on your boat and complete simple missions: simply gathering enough fuel to move forward, visiting the 'spirit tree' to meditate on top of it, or fighting the boss.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is criticized for being unfinished, plagued by bugs, and lacking balance, leading to a generally unstable experience for players.
- “Don't buy this game; it's unfinished, buggy, and unbalanced.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the experience.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be challenging and enjoyable, contributing to its high replayability, making it a title that encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “It's challenging, fun, and has a lot of replayability.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a sense of overwhelming power and exhilaration, as players experience a thrilling rush while navigating the vibrant landscapes and unleashing devastating attacks on enemies. This dynamic gameplay evokes feelings of excitement and intensity, immersing players in a high-energy environment.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, indicating that it can become a monotonous and unenjoyable experience.
- “The grinding feels tedious and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find the grinding aspect to be incredibly monotonous, draining the fun out of the game.”
- “The amount of grinding required is overwhelming and takes away from the overall experience.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, offering an engaging and enjoyable experience filled with numerous elements to shoot and collect.
- “Excellent fun with plenty of atmosphere, lots to shoot and collect.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The music in the game is well-suited to its atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience without becoming tiresome, making it enjoyable to listen to throughout gameplay.
- “The soundtrack fits the game rather well and wasn't something I wanted to turn off after a few moments of listening.”
- “The music perfectly complements the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.”
- “I found myself immersed in the game, thanks to the captivating soundtrack that kept me engaged.”