Deflector

Developed by Arrowlist Games and published by Super.com, Deflector is a promising title from up-and-coming game developers. The game has officially released on January 28t, however, the title is still on early access. Players can experience this bullet-hell roguelite experience today, and while the genre has seen its fair share of roguelites and bullet-hell games recently, Deflector has some unique features. At first glance, the game has a very fast pace and relies heavily on deflecting the insane amount of projectiles that fly your way.

When It Rains, It Pours. Unless You Deflect It.

The bullet-hell genre is notoriously famous for its difficulty, and so are some of the titles in the roguelite world. In Deflector, players are tasked with surviving an onslaught of projectiles by dodging, strafing, and deflecting as much as humanly possible.

The premise of the game is that you are part of an experiment, and your job is to eradicate deadly viruses. This is a game that can’t be rushed through with blazing guns, it instead requires players to be aware of their surroundings and constantly defending, and parrying for aggression.

Deflector like all games of its genre offers upgrades and improvements to your character during runs that will facilitate your progression. You have your choice of characters to join the battle with, and while they play in different manners the gameplay remains largely the same due to a simplistic, and not truly randomized world-building.

Deflect. Deflect. Deflect. Die. Deflect Again.

Deflector is full of potential, and it is currently on early access which justifies most of the game’s shortcomings. But, the game has to be continuously updated and supported to finally reach a point where it becomes an outstanding title. Visually, this game is stunning, the world-building is carefully crafted, and the soundtrack is very fitting. This is also an extremely addictive, fast-paced, and replayable game that can suck you into countless hours if this genre is something you love. However, there’s a reason they’re in early access.

Playing Deflector currently comes with the challenge of having a lot of patience to face game-breaking and run-ending bugs. The randomness of runs feels, not truly random, or at least players will have the sensation that they’ve seen some rooms and rewards more times than they should have.

On that note, Deflector struggles like most games of the genre to find the balance between risk and reward. This means that upgrades, evolutions, and elite rewards aren’t truly worth the risk in most cases, and just reaching the bosses sounds like a better idea most of the time. And finally, bosses themselves serve a MAJOR spike on difficulty, which might be enough to deter casual gamers to progress.

PROS

• Highly Addictive
• Fast-Paced
• Beautiful Designs
• Great Soundtrack
• Cool Mechanics
• A Lot of Potential To Improve During Early Access
• Fast-Paced

CONS

• Game-Breaking Bugs and Glitches Are Common
• Runs Feel Very Similar At Times
• Bullet-Sponge Bosses
• Difficulty Spikes Are Insane
• Rewards Don’t Feel Worth The Risk