Ruin of the Reckless

About

"Ruin of the Reckless" is a 2D action-packed roguelike game with fast-paced melee combat and co-operative play. Trapped souls seek to reach the tower's peak, granted one wish upon success. The game features 16-bit classic aesthetics with updated graphics, increased pace, and challenges, supporting local co-op play for up to 4 players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Co-Op Team up with friends to complete levels or missions together
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 116 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features fast-paced and responsive combat, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate action-oriented gameplay.
The unique Chaos Card system allows players to customize their gameplay experience, adding variety and replayability.
The art style and soundtrack are vibrant and engaging, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.

The game suffers from significant bugs, including crashes and issues with hit detection, which can detract from the gameplay experience.
Combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, as melee mechanics often reduce encounters to simple hit-and-run tactics.
The difficulty is often perceived as artificially inflated due to overwhelming enemy spawns and a lack of meaningful progression, making it frustrating for some players.

gameplay
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
73%
6%
The gameplay of "Ruin of the Reckless" is a fast-paced, melee-focused experience that combines roguelike elements with a unique card-based progression system, allowing players to customize difficulty and gameplay mechanics. While the game offers exciting action and a variety of powers to collect, some players find the overwhelming number of effects on screen can detract from the experience, and the timer mechanic has been criticized for hindering enjoyment. Overall, it provides a challenging and engaging gameplay loop, appealing to fans of intense action games, though it may not stand out among its peers.
- “What Ruin of the Reckless does correctly is balance the game perfectly so that reckless gameplay is more effective than stopping and thinking.”
- “The gameplay was most certainly enjoyable, and I will play this game in the future again.”
- “There's plenty of nifty things to unlock to tweak the gameplay, lots of difficulty options (through cards) so anyone can get the right feel, and with procedurally generated floors, an endless amount of content.”
- “It seems like it has a neat narrative, but I wouldn't suffer the gameplay to watch it.”
- “The melee mechanics just do not seem to work.”
- “The gameplay doesn't particularly stand out amongst the pack of similar titles, and the environments can lack variety, but it's satisfying and fun to replay.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
58%
7%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its exceptional chiptune soundtrack composed by slime girls, which many players find both catchy and immersive. Reviewers highlight the music's ability to enhance the gameplay experience, making it a standout feature that players are likely to enjoy long after finishing the game. While some may not prefer the chiptune style, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack is a significant strength of the game, contributing to its replayability and engaging atmosphere.
- “The soundtrack, mostly composed by chiptune artist Slime Girls, is perfection.”
- “It's rare to hear extensively good chiptune soundtracks from games, akin to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; but Ruin of the Reckless pulls this off with flashing, retro, flying colors.”
- “The music paves the way for the frenetic gameplay and really manages to pull its own weight in mixing with the simple yet heavy fighting.”
- “The soundtrack isn't really my cup of tea, but that's obviously up to everyone's own taste.”
- “Now, let me just get the soundtrack out of the way.”
- “The music/sound effects are decent.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The graphics are characterized by a unique and charming art style, with vibrant character designs that stand out, reminiscent of retro games like Cave Story. While the visuals are generally appealing, some backgrounds are noted as minimal and plain, which may detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are serviceable and contribute to an engaging atmosphere, though they may not be groundbreaking.
- “The graphics really pop, showcasing a world full of unique and interesting character designs.”
- “The graphics and sound are very charming.”
- “It’s got a unique art style, great characterization, a retro feel, and enough to keep you interested and likely coming back to the tower many times.”
- “Graphics are serviceable, but nothing special, which I assume is to avoid the game being too cluttered.”
- “The art style and animations on the characters are very nice, but the backgrounds seem very minimal and plain aside from the hub area.”
- “It has graphics and sound similar to Cave Story, only much more 'realistic'.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The game's story is minimal and somewhat lackluster, revolving around a character who is dead and must climb a tower for a chance to make a wish. While the narrative is described as "meh," it is deemed sufficient to support the gameplay. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop than a focal point.
- “The story is meh, but good enough.”
- “To be honest, there isn't really a story.”
- “You're a guy who's apparently dead climbing a tower, which is basically the maximum amount of the story the game needs to carry the gameplay format.”
- “Locked into a tower of horrors for eternity, you have been told a story that if you can reach the tower’s peak, you will be granted one wish.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability; while some players find the game to have significant depth and nearly infinite replayability, others express disappointment, suggesting that it falls short of expectations typical for roguelites, with some describing it as having "slim to none" replay value.
- “What initially seems deceptively simple is in fact incredibly deep and almost infinitely replayable.”
- “When it comes to replayability, something most people expect a lot from roguelites, I think many people could be surprised in a negative sense.”
- “Replayability is slim to none.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is currently facing significant optimization issues, which have been acknowledged by the developer. They are actively working on a patch to address these problems.
- “The game currently has too many optimization issues.”
- “The developer has acknowledged this and said they are working on an optimization patch.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional glitches and crashes to the desktop, which can be particularly frustrating given the lack of save functionality. However, most users report that there are no game-breaking issues, aside from some sound problems.
- “Currently, it has a few glitches and crashes to desktop in some instances, which is a bit frustrating in a game that has no saves.”
- “Currently, it has a few glitches and crashes to desktop in some instances, which is a bit frustrating in a game that has no saves.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highlighted by its witty and clever dialogue, particularly in the tutorial, which features a hilarious character that adds to the overall experience. Players recommend engaging with the tutorial not only for its comedic value but also for the essential information it provides.
- “The dialogue is funny and smart.”
- “I strongly recommend doing the tutorial, not only because the character within is hilarious, but because the game has an awful lot to explain to you, intuitive as it may seem after.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the graphics are praised for their vibrant and unique character designs, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of narrative or growth, suggesting that this aspect may not be a focal point in the reviews.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is heavily influenced by a nostalgic 16-bit aesthetic, featuring a chiptune soundtrack that evokes the style of Anamanaguchi, enhancing the overall retro experience.
- “The sound design in this game is crafted to evoke a 16-bit atmosphere, and the soundtrack can best be described as chiptune, with many tracks reminiscent of Anamanaguchi.”

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Ruin of the Reckless
$9.99
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40h Median play time

40h Average play time

40-40h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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