[REVIEW] The Riftbreaker – basic strategy and hordes of aliens

I was in the middle of the jungle while the mines exploded around me when I sprayed napalm on the enemy. The rattle of the machine guns echoed through the thick jungle foliage (unfortunately the classic Guns N ‘Roses song didn’t play). Even so, thousands of enemies continued to bomb my position. Suddenly fog spreads over the lush landscape and my defenses no longer work. The disaster will peak when I get caught. I have to re-plan my strategy. In this adventure the enemies show no mercy; As a player, he has many opportunities to challenge you. If you have the ability to adjust, plan and manage multiple things at the same time, and concentrate in stressful situations, this game will appeal to you.

The Riftbreaker is an indie game that explores resource management, technology trees, base building, and the concept of the “twin stick shooter”. It’s a delicious mix of genres, but overall it works really well. You will put yourself in the shoes of an explorer and researcher searching for resources and possible settlements for humanity. In overalls, you will be teleported from Earth to an alien planet and begin to work. Once you get there you will find that the planet was not empty and that will tell you your armor which also includes an AI.

When you arrive on this inhospitable planet, the first thing you need to do is build a headquarters and then complete tasks. The aim is to create suitable conditions so that people can live in this world and use its resources. You will see that the planet is all made up of rainforest and grass, but that will change as you move through it. The first impression is of a planet that makes you want to visit. It looks fantastic for an indie game developed by a small studio. There are even small details like moving plants, fallow land and other functions.

The enemies of this world are reminiscent of the Zerg of Starcraft and do not come in peace. As it stands, they are controlled by a single organism and attack on a regular basis. This means that you have to continuously explore generators, walls, buildings and towers and build them into your base. You can also use the laboratory to research new technologies and equip your mechanical robot with new weapons. Although the towers protecting your base are powerful, you are an army made up of a single person. They are much stronger so you will need to prioritize your position on the map in order to establish your bases. In some cases, in order to save the main base from monsters, you will have to lose a minor base. If you die it will take a while to come back to life, but if you lose your most important buildings, you lose.

As for me, I didn’t have any expectations for this game, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a good game that tries to get a little higher than it is. The combination of different genres and game mechanics concepts works quite well. Its strength is that there is always something to do and you never have to wait for something to happen. Your AI will help you with comments on weather changes or other events. The environmental influences such as meteor showers, tornadoes or earthquakes are unbelievable; They have a noticeable influence on the playable environment and are able to destroy entire bases. This brings vitality and dynamism to the planet. They also know when they are going to attack you and you always have missions to complete. In the end, a loop is created that consists of attacking the nest, extracting the resources, exploring the bases and defending them.

Not everything is positive. For example, entering the menu will cause the game to stop and pause the immersion. It also seems a little slow to me. In addition, it offers many customization options for the robot suit. The weapons are classic: there are mines, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, swords and automatic weapons that you have to constantly switch between during combat. You can also add health items and modifiers, and change the suit’s color. The basic structure can also be expanded with many options, most of which can be unlocked using technologies. It’s kind of a cross between a real-time strategy game and Factorio, even if it has nothing to do with building a transportation logistics route. You can use the suit to extract resources, but the easiest way is to place buildings that will create them. That way you can build a defense and keep exploring the world. Some resources are harder to find and some other resources can be used to create. However, you need to carefully consider which technologies you are going to explore first. There are some levels where you have to put people first in order to survive. You also need to plan for the location of buildings, energy recovery changes, and many other elements.

However, long loading times and performance issues in menus make it imperfect. I am sure that at some point these things can be fixed with the appropriate patches. A couple of times the game crashed completely and I noticed a delay when a lot of things were happening on the screen. The sound is great and the soundtrack does its job. Above all, I am surprised that both the graphics and the synchronization are of acceptable quality. His previous game, X-Morph: Defense, was pretty with its multiple effects too. I could say that part of The Riftbreaker’s appearance is based on that game without copying a lot of game mechanics. There’s one big difference: in this game everything is much more responsive. The enemies won’t wait for you to launch a wave of attacks, but it will happen without you being able to resist.

There is also a story that drives the entire adventure. In X-Morph: Defense, the players were the aliens who raided the planet Galata-37 and killed the indigenous people to get at its natural resources. Exor Studios is consistently sticking to its theme of who is attacking and who is defending. The difference from the previous adventure is that the protagonist, who is called Ashley in this game, is more concerned with studying the natives than eradicating all traces of life. Obviously, the story isn’t the main thing in this game, but it’s not bad. It’s entertaining to hear Mr. Riggs, the AI ​​in suit, discuss various topics with the protagonist, even if the quality of the story itself and the dialogues are reminiscent of that of a B-movie.

The challenge at the end of the game is to juggle all of the mechanics. It has been a long time since I was as stressed as I was in this game. The management of technology, constructions, attacks, different biomes with different challenges, natural disasters all contribute to the fact that something always has to be taken care of. If the attacks increase they will go insane. It’s stressful, it’s challenging, and it’s worth it. In terms of mechanics, this is a good example of an indie game that keeps me hooked as a gamer. While it is repetitive and the survival mode may not be impressive, it is well worth the price. It is possible to spend between 18 and 40 hours in story mode only. So I recommend you try this game out if you think it is an interesting concept. Despite its limitations, I think this is the best game from Exor Studios.