If you’re a fan of the Dead Space series, you’ve probably played The Callisto Protocol to get their cosmic demise fix. After all, the latter was the work of Striking Distance Studi o s, a team made up of former-Dead Space series developer. In the end, The Callisto Protocol was a solid-but-flawed maiden title from the studio. After TCP‘s so-so launch (and a bit of DLC), the studio went dark for a little bit before resurfacing with REDACTED.

And no, you haven’t stumbled onto some incompletely revealed government secret. The name [REDACTED] deemed a good idea, and nobody from the marketing, legal or common sense departments stepped in.

[ROGUELITE] Soldier

[REDACTED] is an isometric roguelite, very much in the vein of Hades, Dead Cells and Transistor. The game is set in the same universe as The Callisto Protocol. Subsequently, [REDACTED] has a fairly rich lore and plenty of backstory create an atmosphere.

However, there is not much of a story connection with TCP, [REDACTED] absolutely tells its own tale.

Read More: Lone Ruin review – Rogue Delight

You find yourself in The Black Iron, a state-of-the-art prison located on Jupiter’s icy moon Callisto. Now, some weird stuff has gone down there, which TCP enjoyers will know only too well. And, The Black Iron is now overrun with hordes of infected inmates.

You fill the boots of a prison guard, who has been relieved of his duties in a rather spectacular fashion. Your only goal now it to get to the last escape pod, and get off the moon alive. That, however, is going to be easier said than done.

Hurt in Store

You’ll battle your way through dozens of mutated inmates all while dodging ever more challenging environmental hazards as you battle your way to the escape pod. But, as is always the way, you aren’t the only survivor trying to escape.

You’ll run into a colourful gang of rivals aiming to get to the pod before you do. These range from a deranged custodian to a violent gangster, to a maniacal lunch lady.

Each run will reward you with more nuggets of info and lore on this rag tag band of maniacs. That is, if you can make it to special computer terminals during your run.

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When all pulled together, along with the contributions of a mysteries shadowy figure who is ‘guiding’ you on your escape, there is a solid and likeable tale here. [REDACTED] never takes itself too seriously, mind.

Horde Mode

Gameplay is very much your standard roguelite fare. Each run sees you start afresh, but with new skills and kit. You push as far as you can, in hope of bagging a few unlocks. Then, do it all over again, getting that little bit stronger, faster and deadly with each subsequent run.

If you make it to where you failed last time, brace yourself. Your old body will put up a fight. However, if you do take former you down, you get some incredibly useful power-ups.

You battle room-to-room being with each offering a range of items and buffs upon completion. When the room is clear, you are also offered a choice of doors.

Corridor sci-fi shooter role-playing game

These doors helpfully signpost what reward you’ll get if you take that path. They even warn of an incoming boss battle. This system doesn’t sacrifice any of the challenge, yet makes the game fairer.

Leather, Mince, Repeat

[REDACTED] switches between ranged and melee combat with a fun arsenal to play around with. However, it may lack some of the depth that seasoned fans to the genre may be looking for. This lack of depth may see some repetition sneaking in after your 57^th run, let’s say.

[REDACTED] wears a perfectly realised comic book look. The game’s cel-shaded graphical style looks amazing. From the larger-than-life designs of its horde and supporting characters to its ‘Saturday morning sci-fi cartoon backgrounds’, it looks the part. And, on top of that, there are are pleasant visual effects applied to elemental attacks.

The audio of [REDACTED] is similarly stellar. The lush soundtrack seems to kick off just when things start to get out of hand, adding to the feeling of peril. The voice acting adds an extra depth to the cast, and they aren’t afraid to break up the game’s intense feeling of foreboding with some levity.

REDACTED isometric roguelike shooter rpg

[REDACTED] is not what most fans of the studio would have had on their bingo cards. But, the game is, honestly, a welcome surprise that offers a new and refreshing spin on what came before.