Kiborg Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 "lock ‘n load...again, and again, and again" 👊💥 @SobakaStudio #IndieGame #GameDev

I was quite a keen follower of Kiborg during its development, developers Sobaka Studio (I previously covered their game Redeemer in a past, pre-GF life) very clearly have a knack for guttural combat, and the trailers promised a silky smooth 60fps title featuring some very involved melee combat that gnawed away at the part of me that still craves visceral versions of the 16-bit brawlers that used to rule the roost such as Streets of Rage, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs... and Crisis Beat. 

A genre that is very much alive today thanks to Lizardcube and Cartel Studios frankly amazing Mother Russia Bleeds (another blast from the past). Kiborg though, leaned into a 3D realm and seemed to encompass the glowing, beautiful future that titles such as Fighting Force merely hinted at. 

What Kiborg ended up delivering, however, was a brawling rogue-lite that has an incredible amount in it’s favour, but feels oddly limited by the very rogue genre that it so leans into. This is a solid and fun game that could have been truly great.In the future, even death can’t free you. If a criminal dies while serving their sentence, they are reconstructed to return to their suffering. And you’re serving a 1300-year sentence. The only way to shorten this sentence? Win on “The Last Ticket.” 

The rules are simple: there is a shuttle on the roof of the prison, and if you can fight your way through hordes of other inmates and reach it in time, you will be given your freedom.

You are a prisoner called Morgan, beginning in a cyberpunk future of some sort, you wander through some cold, metal rooms and hydraulic lifts through to the first arena as a female, AI voice explains the rules to you. Essentially – you fight as hard as you can with a blend of melee and ranged weaponry, then you die and re-spawn with more unlocked / upgraded abilities from spending your accrued experience, and start again in your bid to reach the prison roof, all the while being taunted and teased by a very Mojo-ish (Marvel) villain.

Kiborg is GOOD. Morgan is a silent protagonist, and whilst the game moves forward pretty incrementally in terms of how much you improve during each run, the runs themselves are glorious things; the visuals are crisp, and suitably futurist-mank, as you take express lifts ever-upwards through the tower, entering soon-to-be familiar arenas through different directions, adding to the sense of this being an unbeatable labyrinth. All the while accompanied by a wonderfully energising soundtrack that ramps up as the in-game stakes rise in tandem.

The controls and mechanics feel tight and responsive, and are a highlight of the game, as are the subtle, weighty touches in some graphical flourishes. For instance, Morgan can obtain various pieces of armour and cybernetic upgrades alongside his knives, hammers, sticks, guns, and energy weapons, and the way these attach to your character is addictive to watch, as are the combat animations – each gunshot, slash, or drop-kick feeling weighty, and the smooth 3D work means that combat gets the blood pumping and flowing, giving the moment -to-moment aspects of the game a right kick up the augmented arse.

It’s not all plain sailing, though. Whilst the rogue aspects are initially inviting, when you hit the first boss, it soon dawns on your just how much of a grind Kiborg will be, as he pummels you into oblivion, and interrupts your feeble blocks and rolls. The expansive skill tree suddenly goes from being exciting to daunting as it becomes clear that you’ll be making your way through these stages more times than...would be comfortable.

It was at this point - when the grind set in – that my mind wandered, Redeemer – the studios’ previous game – was much more fun in local co-op, and Kiborg is a game in which the co-op feels almost...required. All games in this genre, rogue-like or not, benefit from the inherent risk/reward and general banter that another player brings. Ultimately, it’s this factor, combined with the over-grind – that brings the game down a little, as they feel out of whack with the game’s core strengths.

SUMMARY

Kiborg is a game I find myself going back to for quick blasts quite often, but the more the game infuriates me, and repetition sets in as the enemy patterns and tricks get oh-so-familiar, the more I hope for a future update that adds some sort of co-op campaign, because the combat mechanics here are so fun, varied, and engaging that it just feels that Kiborg is crying out to be so much more than the technically impressive but lonely and slightly repetitive game that it is.

7.5/10

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How long is Kiborg? | HowLongToBeat