Noobs Want to Live

Welcome, one and all, to Noobs Want to Live! This action-adventure title will have you frantically running around a battlefield like a bee with his stinger on fire. Engaging in hundreds of enemies at a time, you’ll need to keep your wits about you at all times for this bullet-time roguelike game, as any wrong move could be the difference between victory and certain death. Pick from a selection of characters with vastly different abilities and battle to survive in the maelstrom of enemies and projectiles for ten minutes to get to the next round. If this sounds like your cup of tea, stay tuned as we get further into it.

Gameplay

Noobs Want to Live has some crazy gameplay that I find to be an absolute blast to play. It has gameplay that is not dissimilar to The Binding of Isaac mixed with Hades. There is a veritable plethora of skill combinations that you can pick and choose from, augmenting your three available gameplay styles; melee, channeling, and summoning. With these abilites, you can create custom loadouts that allow you to master a certain type of damage or attack style, maximizing your destructive potential. It’s a very intuitive game that rewards min-maxing and creative exploration of your available powers.

Additionally, while you are running around shooting people and such, you will be able to pick up several boosts and boons while you play, keeping things fresh and interesting while the battle rages on.

Visuals

I was surprised by the visuals in this title. It is easy to take a look at games like this and think “oh yeah, it looks like you were trying to hang up Christmas lights in a tornado,” but Noobs Want to Live manages to subvert an expectation here like few others have managed. Due to the screen always being focused on the player at its center, you never loose track of the character like you can in other games. It keeps the focus tight on the player and allows for you to easily control the movement.

Additionally, the art style provided is pretty unique in its own right. With an interesting mix of 2d character designs for players and enemies, and 3d for effect displays, there is something very interesting about it all that somehow makes it easier to see the player character due to the conflicting art styles. The visual effects and landscape designs are the real standouts here, I must confess, as the characters are a bit simple, and sometimes a little derivative.

Music

With a delightfully modern take on classic Chinese music, the soundtrack to this game is absolutely stunning. There is almost something LoFi about the way the melody interacts with the beats, and it’s a sound that I am absolutely here for.

Pros

• Excellent visuals that complement the gameplay
• Awesome music selection
• Tight and responsive controls
• Amazing customization options regarding combat builds

Cons

• Can get a little repetitive after a few hours