ROGUE INVADER Kicks 1-Bit Ass
Retro 8-bit and 16-bit graphics are no strangers to the indie game scene. What was once a unique art style is now pretty much par for the course. Well, the dynamic duo over at Squishy Games are showing us that the norm hasn’t gone “retro” enough with their new title, Rogue Invader! You can keep the other 7-bits of color because they only need 1!
The unique art style is what originally attracted me to this game when I first saw it at Salt Lake Gaming Con a couple weeks ago, but once I got my hands on the project I realized it was so much more! And that “more” is damn fun! I think Creator and Art Director Nathan Rees said it best when I talked to him about his unique brand of shooter.
"I want the graphics to grab your attention at the beginning, but then I want the game to be so epic and involved that you forget you are playing in 1-Bit HD! That’s the way to get those who enjoy just a good, solid game.
"A thinking game is cool, but this is actually an action game with a mix of the two [genres]!"
Rogue Invader, as the name suggests, is a “Rogue-like.” That means when your character dies then that is it, he or she is dead. And you are going to die a lot! You start your embarkment on this alien planet with a single pistol. By killing enemy troops and destroying their bases to gather materials for upgrades and new weapons you can slowly build up your arsenal with each death until you’re the one dishing out the devastation. The level of customization on the weapons, even on this early build, is impressive. It took me a few tries, but I finally fine-tuned my weapon of choice to start leaving some serious piles of alien scumbags! You’ll end up becoming so connected to your weapon that you will be genuinely devastated when you run out of enough resources to keep duplicating it every time you die, making the combat feel that much more impactful.
Rogue Invader is part of the Steam Greenlight program and currently running a Kickstarter Campaign for a very humble $20,000 to finish the game. That is a small price to pay, and a single $8 donation will get you a copy of the game. This game has the potential to be a chart-topper, and you could be part of what makes that happen! I only push crowd-funding for projects I actually believe in, and this is one of them. The Kickstarter Campaign closes on September 17th.