Rogue Voltage

About

In Rogue Voltage, a puzzle-based roguelike game, players build their abilities by wiring together modules to create powerful builds and defeat monsters with chain reactions. Every turn, players decide where to allocate energy, such as powering their blaster or healing potion. Turns can be manipulated tactically to dodge hazards or ambush enemies. The game features procedurally generated levels and enemies that become increasingly challenging as players progress.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 420 reviews

gameplay58 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Rogue Voltage offers a unique and innovative gameplay experience that combines deckbuilding with intricate wiring mechanics, providing endless strategic possibilities.
The game features a variety of characters, each with distinct abilities, allowing for diverse playstyles and encouraging experimentation with different builds.
The core gameplay loop is highly addictive, rewarding players for clever planning and execution, making each run feel satisfying and engaging.

The game currently suffers from a lack of content and variety, with some players feeling that runs can become repetitive and short as they progress.
Balancing issues exist, as certain characters are perceived as overpowered while others are underwhelming, leading to frustration in gameplay.
The user interface and controls can be clunky, making it difficult to manage wiring and module interactions, which may detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
2%
The gameplay of Rogue Voltage is characterized by its innovative mechanics that blend strategic planning, damage management, and time manipulation, creating a unique roguelike deckbuilding experience. Players appreciate the engaging core loop and the satisfaction of executing complex strategies, although some express concerns about the steep learning curve and the potential for runs to end abruptly due to minor mistakes. Overall, the game is praised for its addictive nature and fresh approach, despite some balancing issues and a need for clearer tutorials on its intricate mechanics.
- “It combines clever thinking and strategic planning with a unique and interesting mechanic of balancing out damage, healing, defending, and even time manipulation.”
- “Fresh gameplay mechanics with a rewarding and addicting core loop.”
- “Unique, addicting gameplay that instills that 'just one more run' feeling.”
- “Currently, some characters outshine others, and certain mechanics such as hazards and gravity effects can feel redundant compared to simply going for high damage numbers to secure quick victories.”
- “There's a noticeable lack of incentives to fully use gravity mechanics, which currently offer minimal payoff.”
- “In Rogue Voltage, the consequence of forgetting one of the many mechanics is death, and the run ends.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
29%
18%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the charming art style, cohesive aesthetic, and gritty pixel graphics that enhance the apocalyptic setting. However, some users criticize the simplicity and lack of animations, as well as the cluttered design of the GUI. Overall, while the visuals are generally well-received, there are notable concerns regarding functionality and depth.
- “The aesthetic details are pretty, evocative, and cohesive.”
- “Great gritty pixel graphics, moody soundtrack, and addictive gameplay.”
- “Graphics are great, I especially love the art style of the characters.”
- “No content besides generic story mode, boring enemies, no story, simple graphics with almost no animations.”
- “The GUI is pretty atrocious both aesthetically, and in showing the relevant information.”
- “Didn't like the graphic style of the game that much from the pictures, but decided to give the demo a try anyways because why not.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its lack of variety and seamless looping, leading to a jarring experience. While some appreciate the moody atmosphere it creates, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack is uninspiring and basic, leaving players wanting more. Despite the game's engaging gameplay and graphics, the music is often cited as a significant area needing improvement.
- “Great gritty pixel graphics, moody soundtrack and addictive gameplay.”
- “Rogue Voltage answers the question: what if Slay the Spire, but instead of cards, you have modules on a rack that you can wire together like a switchboard operator to (a) make stuff, (b) make stuff blow up, or (c) move stuff around in time, all with an old-school analog vibe, great music, and that 'just one more turn!' addictiveness that'll keep you up till 2:00 a.m.”
- “As a person obsessed with electricity, I really enjoy zapping the components and wires :) graphical style and music are magnificent!”
- “The music doesn't loop seamlessly, so it's very jarring.”
- “Atmosphere is good and moody, but the soundtrack is pretty boring.”
- “Minor technical hiccups, presentation issues, and a frankly uninspiring soundtrack.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
60%
30%
The story aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users describing it as generic, uninspired, and lacking depth, featuring minimal dialogue that is easily overlooked. While some players appreciate the polish and thematic elements, the overall narrative fails to engage, leaving a sense of disappointment regarding its content and execution.
- “So glad to see an early access game with the amount of polish this one has - just enough story, character, and theme to keep things interesting, well-polished graphics, solid mechanics, and enough variability to make me keep playing.”
- “No content besides generic story mode, boring enemies, no story, simple graphics with almost no animations.”
- “The story is meh and uninspired, with what little dialogue between characters/background story there is being a couple lines that are easily missed in between runs.”
- “The story is meh and uninspired, with what little dialogue between characters/background story there is being a couple lines that are easily missed in between runs.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Despite being in early access with limited maps and enemies, the game offers a highly addictive core experience that encourages replayability. Players appreciate the abundance of unlockable modules and characters, contributing to its overall replay value. Overall, the game is considered very replayable and worth the investment.
- “This game is fun, it's cerebral, it's hella replayable, and it's worth your money!”
- “The sheer number of unlockable modules and characters gives this game tons of replayability!”
- “Very high replayability.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the cumbersome rewiring and cabling mechanics that often require repeated attempts to achieve desired connections. The process of rearranging components can also lead to accidental swaps, further complicating gameplay and detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- “The rewiring is tedious; sometimes, even though it should work, it won't connect until I cancel everything and redo it. It feels like kicking a car until it works—not very fun, especially since I beat Act One on my first tutorial run.”
- “Good luck making the cabling mechanic anything other than tedious.”
- “Rearranging your board can be tedious due to accidental swaps.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
Players praise the game's optimization aspect for its creative depth and strategic complexity, transforming from a survival challenge into an engaging optimization puzzle as they progress. The experience evolves, allowing for increasingly outrageous and strategic plays, making it a highlight of the gameplay.
- “Very creative and fun, a lot of unexpected depth in strategy and optimization.”
- “Lots of optimization fun!”
- “As you get stronger and stronger, the game almost morphs before you; what was previously a desperate fight for survival, clawing for each point of damage dealt or avoided, becomes an optimization puzzle, where you are planning out the most outrageous plays imaginable.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for being good and moody, creating an engaging environment for players. However, the soundtrack has received criticism for being dull and uninspired.
- “I love the atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere is good and moody.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that the game evokes a sense of intelligence and accomplishment, contributing to a positive emotional experience.