"RUINER is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game set in the year 2091 in the cyber metropolis Rengkok. As a wired psychopath seeking truth and revenge, players can utilize an array of high-tech weapons, gadgets, and augmentations to tear down corporate titans. Experience sophisticated combat, brutal violence, and a cyberpunk-inspired arsenal in this highly emotional and replayable game, despite some bugs."
Visually stunning world and aesthetics that capture the cyberpunk theme perfectly.
Fast-paced, satisfying combat with a variety of weapons and abilities that allow for different playstyles.
Incredible soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and atmosphere of the game.
The story is predictable and lacks depth, leaving many questions unanswered.
Repetitive gameplay with some bosses being recycled, leading to a lack of variety in encounters.
Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, particularly with the dash mechanic, which can lead to frustrating moments.
music
1,982 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
40%
2%
The music in "Ruiner" has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the game's cyberpunk atmosphere, with many reviewers praising its energetic and immersive soundtrack. Composed by artists like Zamilska and Sidewalks and Skeletons, the music effectively complements the fast-paced gameplay and dark aesthetic, creating a captivating experience that resonates with players long after they finish the game. While some found the soundtrack repetitive, the overall consensus is that it significantly elevates the game's appeal, making it a standout feature.
“The neon-drenched cyberpunk cityscapes, glitchy UI effects, and pounding synthwave soundtrack create an incredible sense of style and immersion.”
“The soundtrack especially stands out for me, combining tribal drums and chanting with dreamy, low-tempo beats for a unique atmosphere that stands out from the typical modern synthwave cookie-cutter cyberpunk soundtracks.”
“The engaging gameplay, stunning visuals, and outstanding music create a unique and immersive atmosphere.”
“The lack of spoken dialogue and jarring soundtrack by techno artists such as 'zamilska' and 'sidewalks and skeletons' makes the future of humanity feel alien, oppressive and often hostile.”
“The music is a mixed bag.”
“The soundtrack repeats itself way too many times (even though it was good it played the same tune for way too long).”
story
1,862 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The story of *Ruiner* has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underwhelming and predictable, often describing it as a simple revenge narrative that lacks depth. While the game's cyberpunk setting and atmosphere are praised, the storytelling is seen as minimalistic, with some players expressing disappointment over its brevity and lack of character development. Despite these criticisms, the engaging gameplay and striking visuals help maintain interest, making the story feel secondary to the overall experience.
“The story, filled with intrigue and memorable characters, is compelling and well-executed.”
“The story is simple but effective, the art style is slick, and the gameplay is enjoyable.”
“Ruiner is a visually stylistic work of cyberpunk fiction that doesn’t delve too deeply into its story, but adequately shows enough of its setting’s sinful undercurrent.”
“The ending was very predictable from the start, and the story was too short.”
“The story leaves a bit to be desired for how much amazing worldbuilding there is, but that's really my only complaint.”
“The story is minimalistic and doesn’t feel as engaging as the world it’s set in.”
gameplay
1,688 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
50%
6%
The gameplay in *Ruiner* is characterized by its fast-paced, intense action that combines melee and ranged combat with a variety of abilities, creating a satisfying and challenging experience. While many players appreciate the fluid mechanics and customization options, some criticize the repetitiveness of enemy encounters and the lack of depth in gameplay variety. Overall, the game excels in its cyberpunk aesthetic and engaging soundtrack, making it a visually appealing and enjoyable, albeit sometimes frustrating, experience.
“Boss fights, in particular, are intense and well-designed, pushing you to master the game’s mechanics.”
“The gameplay is fast-paced and challenging enough, and it doesn't have a high learning curve.”
“Ruiner is a challenging top-down shooter that excels in delivering intense and precise gameplay, coupled with great art direction and a fantastic soundtrack.”
“The gameplay is boring and repeats itself: same mobs + a boss at the end which all in all do the same.”
“The gameplay loop is tiresome at times, especially considering that as the game progresses, any notion of side activities appear to dwindle and the fights become increasingly more drawn-out.”
“The gameplay is not interesting enough for how hard it is.”
graphics
1,380 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
40%
3%
The graphics of "Ruiner" are widely praised for their striking cyberpunk aesthetic, featuring vibrant neon colors and detailed character designs that evoke a gritty, dystopian atmosphere reminiscent of classic anime like "Akira" and "Ghost in the Shell." While many reviewers commend the game's visual style and artistic direction, some note that the heavy use of red can be overwhelming, and the environments may feel repetitive. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the immersive experience alongside the game's engaging soundtrack.
“A wonderful project with eye-catching visuals – nice and stylish, and a non-trivial story that supplies the atmosphere of that very dystopian cyberpunk.”
“Its stunning visuals, drenched in neon, create an immersive dystopian world.”
“The graphics are incredible, with a vibrant color palette and attention to detail that really helps bring the world of Rengkok to life.”
“The game was not interesting, and had mediocre graphics and poor visuals.”
“Ruiner is what happens when all the budget goes into graphics, but not into making the overall aesthetic feel like a cohesive and complete product.”
“The graphics have a very high-contrast look (a bit like fake HDR?), voice acting is missing, the story is somewhat difficult to fully understand.”
atmosphere
551 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
35%
1%
The atmosphere of "Ruiner" is widely praised for its immersive and striking cyberpunk aesthetic, characterized by vibrant visuals, a haunting soundtrack, and a gritty, dystopian setting that captivates players. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to create a dense, oppressive atmosphere that enhances the fast-paced combat and overall experience, making it a standout in the genre. While some note that the gameplay can be repetitive, the rich atmosphere and art direction are consistently recognized as the game's strongest elements.
“Every frame of the game feels like a cyberpunk fever dream, with sharp, angular designs and a haunting, dystopian atmosphere that pulls you in immediately.”
“The atmosphere, the music, the characters... it's just all on point.”
“The soundtrack and the atmospheric immersion was my favorite part of the game.”
“Beautiful cyberpunk atmosphere that is ruined by janky gameplay and a bad translation at some spots.”
“The atmosphere is fittingly oppressive and grimy for its cyberpunk aesthetic.”
“The writing is as bad as the art is good, and it's really a letdown given how much atmosphere the game could have had.”
replayability
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The game offers a mixed bag of replayability, with many players appreciating the variety of builds, difficulty levels, and modes like New Game+ and speedrun challenges that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, some reviewers noted that the game's short length and linearity limit its overall replay value, suggesting that while it can be enjoyable to revisit, it may not hold long-term appeal for everyone. Overall, it seems to provide decent replayability for those who enjoy experimenting with different playstyles and aiming for high scores.
“Ruiner’s gameplay is simple, addictive, and endlessly replayable.”
“There is a lot of replayability here between trying to improve your rating and testing different skill combinations.”
“The game offers a lot as far as replayability for those who didn't get enough on their first playthrough.”
“The problem is there's not much replayability here.”
“Given the limited replay value, I suspect that the average player will beat the story once (after about 5-8 hours of gameplay) and then never revisit the game again.”
“But, over a longer period of time I think it's too short overall with a narrow options and achievements flexibility which makes the replay value also low.”
grinding
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
7%
87%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the lack of enemy variety and the length of combat encounters. While some appreciate the satisfying combat and aesthetic elements, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration with the grind required for achievements and the repetitive nature of gameplay, especially in the latter stages of the game. Despite its short playtime, players often feel that significant grinding is necessary to fully experience the game, leading to a sense of burnout.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
“Still, they're there and not tedious from what I saw; you end up doing much of it anyway just doing what you would normally.”
“Considering the game is only 5 hours long without farming achievements, this game is not worth 20 euros.”
“There is so little variety in what you fight that it ends up feeling really grindy, sort of like an MMO.”
“The combat is more grindy than fun, especially when you get to the second half of the game where every encounter follows the same formula and every enemy is just recycled from earlier.”
character development
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
27%
6%
Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that while the character designs are visually striking and unique, they often do not translate into meaningful interactions or growth throughout the story. The vibrant cyberpunk aesthetic and memorable character visuals are praised, but the narrative fails to provide substantial character arcs, leaving players wanting more in terms of emotional engagement and storytelling depth. Overall, the game's strong artistic presentation is highlighted, but it is accompanied by a recognition that character development is minimal and often overshadowed by the game's style and gameplay.
“The world of Ruiner is a visual feast, with its vibrant neon lights, gritty urban landscapes, and intricate character designs.”
“Character designs are spot on in my opinion; while no character is ever fleshed out or heavily focused on, the character design and what dialogue is there conveys more than what is said.”
“Ruiner displays a well-developed yet morbid world, great character designs, and an amazing soundtrack that complement the story.”
“Character designs are a standout feature, as you might tell by the main character, and it's a shame they rarely amount to more than the briefest of interactions throughout the story.”
“They, as well as the colorful cast of characters that populate the city of Rengkok, get about as much character development as you might expect from an admittedly short game, but it's more than enough, especially for a shooter.”
“If you got 20 dollars and loved Hotline 1 and 2 and need some of that but with more character development and RPG elements, this is for you, though it's faster and will require more tries than Hotline even needed.”
optimization
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The game's optimization receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and minimal load times, even on lower-end systems, while others report issues like stuttering, crashes, and poor performance on specific hardware configurations. Overall, many users appreciate the game's visuals and fluid gameplay, but there are notable concerns regarding optimization, particularly for players with mid-range PCs.
“The game is optimized like a god; load times, even without an SSD, are pretty much non-existent.”
“Highly optimized and will run on a large spectrum of systems.”
“Well optimized with performance never skipping a beat and lovely dark visuals that really add to the game's cyberpunk atmosphere.”
“Very bad performance, stuttering, crashes, and bugs.”
“After a lot of troubleshooting to make the game run better, I have come to the conclusion that this game is poorly optimized, seeing as the quality of my hardware meets more than the game's max requirements.”
“The style comes at a cost - this game is kind of underoptimized.”
humor
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its dark and surreal qualities, with players noting a blend of fast-paced action and comedic elements that enhance the overall experience. Many reviews highlight the clever writing, funny character interactions, and unexpected moments of levity amidst the game's brutal atmosphere. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm to the gameplay, making it both entertaining and engaging.
“The world design and lives of random NPCs you can find out by reading their conversations as you pass them is thoughtful, funny, but also emotional at times.”
“The story is quite enjoyable, keeping players aptly entertained with its grim humor, perfect in a cyberpunk shoot-em-up.”
“Futher visual customization is offering players the option of altering puppy’s clothing (you didn’t expect to remove his mask, did you?) or setting a hilarious 'festive filter' which adds snowflakes and various ornaments to complement the murderous Santa Claus suit.”
stability
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with some players reporting minor glitches and bugs that occasionally disrupt gameplay, such as issues with NPC behavior and control mapping. While many found the game enjoyable despite these technical hiccups, others experienced more significant problems that detracted from their overall experience. Overall, the game is described as slightly buggy but generally stable, with no major crashes or game-breaking issues reported.
“This is genuinely a fun game if you know what you're getting into. Overall, I would rate it a B+ for sure, maybe an A-, so like a 7/10, but a good 7/10. It may even deserve an 8/10. It's obviously not a large budget game, but it's not buggy or boring at all.”
“I would say though that the game can be a bit buggy sometimes, like not being able to interact with crates or unable to fire weapons.”
“Way too buggy to be enjoyable.”
“That game could be damned good if it wasn't so buggy; sometimes you don't know why but you may escape the boss zone fight, or else I fell from a deck into an abyss of nowhere, or else I found myself stuck along an element of the scene and couldn't move away from it and then I have to stop the entire game and restart...”
emotional
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game elicits a mixed response from players, with some feeling deeply moved by its storytelling and character interactions, while others express frustration over a lack of emotional attachment to the protagonist. Many highlight moments that evoke strong feelings, whether through touching dialogue or the gritty world design, but some also note that certain elements can feel emotionally manipulative or unsatisfying. Overall, the game offers an emotional roller coaster experience, with moments of heartwarming connection juxtaposed against feelings of frustration and detachment.
“Ruiner made me feel a certain way that I can't describe in words.”
“The world design and lives of random NPCs you can find out by reading their conversations as you pass them is thoughtful, funny, but also emotional at times.”
“Truly a soul-touching experience to remember.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is perceived as potentially unbalanced, with flashy advertisements that may not reflect the actual gameplay experience, which some players find basic and reminiscent of older titles. Despite the appealing cyberpunk aesthetic and fast combat, there are concerns that the game's promotional material may not align with its true depth and quality.
“I thought this had a chance of not being well-rounded looking at the very chopped-up stylized advertisement, despite the cyberpunk and fast combat pulling me towards purchase.”
“And while flashy in advertisements, your skills and actions feel and look somewhat 'basic' if you've played any game since the Xbox 360 was first revealed at E3.”