EvilUP is an adventure for roguelike and RPG enthusiasts! Fight against the bloodthirsty monsters, explore the murky depths of the labyrinths, and develop your abilities and character.
Offering challenging quests, diverse equipment, numerous enemy varieties, and random level generation will make each attempt unique.
Another effort by developers LunarPixel and publishers Ratalaika Games to take over the globe by offering simple games with simple achievement lists.
This game, known as EvilUP, promises a roguelike RPG experience for those who find that type of gameplay thrilling. Now, I adore role-playing games, but I abhor the concept of roguelike/lite games, so you can imagine that I am conflicted. As I put EvilUP through its paces in a world of peril and dragons, I invite you to join me. Simply don your armor first!
We’ll begin by examining our motivation, or why we intend to enter the available worlds and attempt to murder everything that moves, as well as a fair number of things that don’t. Seriously though? It is all somewhat mysterious. There appears to be a dragon in each level, and someone must eliminate it. Now, I don’t know about you, but provoking a soaring, scaly flamethrower isn’t high on my list of things to do, but we must proceed.
Nonetheless, EvilUP’s presentation is a tad inconsistent. It is a top-down game, and our character, as well as all of the monsters we encounter, appear to be affixed to a small tile or base. The world, both in the countryside and in the city, consists of squares, and we can travel in any direction by moving one square at a time. This takes some getting used to, but while it’s not a terrible appearance, it is a bit odd. The NPCs that can be interacted with and the monsters we face are all miniature and have a simple design.
As we engage in combat, we hear groans and thumps, and when we miss, we hear swishes. Overall, EvilUP is merely functional and nothing more. It won’t set the world on fire, but that is precisely what we anticipate from a Ratalaika game. Standardly, it is also Xbox Series X|S optimized, although that in and of itself is a bit of a joke.
Mixed describes EvilUP’s gameplay as well. At the beginning of each mission, we must choose from four available heroes: a wizard, a warrior, a thief, or a paladin. There are additional characters to acquire as you progress through the game, so it’s a plus that they don’t just hand you everything. Once we’ve selected a character (I found the Paladin to be the most user-friendly), we can choose which region to investigate. The choices are a forest, a cavern, or a citadel, and depending on which level we choose, the background varies slightly, but that’s about it.
Each run is generated from beginning, so the likelihood of encountering a previously played level is practically nil. With this in mind, longevity can be checked off the list. As we begin, we are in a labyrinth filled with creatures and items to collect as we explore. The objective of each level is to locate the level’s exit, which enables us to progress deeper into each world until we find the dragon. I’ll address combat in a moment (and that’s about how long it will take), but as we explore and kill enemies, our chosen character will acquire experience and level up. Leveling up allows you to expend skill points on the skill tree, allowing us to become somewhat more powerful.
As with most roguelikes, as soon as you perish, the game is over, and the next run begins with a level 1 character. The only items we get to retain between runs are any crystals we find, which can be used to purchase items from various vendors in town. The problem is the grind; after purchasing the necessary potions to remain alive, there is rarely enough money left to purchase new equipment.
Again, the level’s combat is the epitome of simplicity. We move up next to an adversary, they strike first, and then it’s a matter of holding a direction toward the adversary and pressing A until they topple over or you do. There is no strategy or depth to the game’s mechanics; all you have to do is select A and occasionally RT. Before you proceed, open your menu and equip both the purchased potions and the weapon you have in your inventory. Yes, we all begin with a weapon, but it’s not equipped by default, which I find ridiculous, but there you have it.
The game’s store page promises fifteen hours of gameplay, which may or may not be accurate, but EvilUP grants all 1,000 Gamerscore and all achievements in less than fifteen minutes. Once there is nothing to work towards, the game’s functionality is unfortunately insufficient to maintain player interest. Perhaps the crafting system, additional locations, and the aforementioned new characters will appeal to some, but for the most part, they will all feel like a chore.
In fact, you may feel as though your time has been squandered with EvilUP, which is a sentiment none of us desires. If you’re desperate for a roguelike game, I’m certain you can find hundreds that are superior to EvilUP. Avoidance is my sincere recommendation.