Recent reviews by RustyTheRed

Super original platformer and a great party game.
Best played couch co-op or online with voice chat.

The most engaging & inspired game I've ever played.
Love the narrative, gameplay, secrets & Kaycee's mod challenges. Beating Skull Storm was a blast!

Since playing Inscryption in 2021, I've gotten into card game design, miniature sculpting & narrative campaign writing.
Huge thanks to Daniel Mullins & team (& Leshy) for all the Inspyration! Wouldn't have these hobbies without you.

For a fistful of dollars, you can have the original Risk of Rain; a classic but clunky forerunner of the roguelike genre.

For a few dollars more, you can have Risk of Rain Returns; a faithful & polished remaster of the original.

The good: the original soundtrack still bangs. Remastered sprites are beautiful. Gameplay is fluid. New items & survivors are ace.

The bad: only a few survivors a rewarded for beating the game, so there's little to strive for. Most items are locked behind gimmicky challenges instead. Almost all meaningful unlocks can be cheesed by altering player damage & defence. Adjustable difficulty sliders trivialise the game. It's a weird design choice imo.

The ugly: Providence trials are hit or miss. Some are interesting gimmicks, many are frustrating and irrelevant to the core gameplay loop. The final Providence trial is tried to 15 Steam achievements. To 100% this game, you have to beat the same trial 15 times, and it's identical every time (i.e. same items, same levels, same monsters). It takes 20 - 30 minutes per attempt, and most failures occurs on the final stage, so it's a slog. It's also locked behind all 48 of the lesser trials (also a slog). Crazy to me that 10% of the achievements are tied to one challenge which features no randomisation. It's repetitive & boring. More weird design choices.

Reassembly is the OG of arcadey spaceship builders.
Distinct factions, a high variety of weapons & parts, popping graphics, chill soundtrack and a great modding scene.
Not to mention the asymmetric battles vs other player's fleets.

An exceptionally challenging, unique and rewarding puzzle game.
Completing this masterpiece without a guide is an achievement to be proud of.

The best rogue-lite of all time, and one of the few that allows you to transcend godhood.
The depths of this game are limited only by player creativity. May your reflexes be sharp, and your mind be sharper.

Risk of Rain stands beside Spelunky, The Binding of Isaac, FTL and Rogue Legacy as one of the five pioneers of the modern rogue-lite genre.

Distinct characters, enjoyable items, charming monsters and most importantly, challenging gameplay.
Looking forward to Risk of Rain Returns, but the original will forever be in my heart.