Test - Reignbreaker: Test: Hades gave a large source of inspiration here

We gamers like to provide some anarchy, and kings and queens are often on our shooting list. Reignbreaker from the now, unfortunately dissolved studio fizbin (The Inner World) takes the idea of ​​a ruleless system through the betrayal of your own head and makes it the central linchpin of history. This is strongly reminiscent of Hades and also with the game mechanics there are clear bonds of the superhite of Supermassive Games.

The principle of Reignbreaker is quickly explained and Roguelike fans well known. You run in a monkey tooth through procedurally generated sections and beat all the opponents from the screen that dare to stand in your way. To advance, you have to clean rooms, which rewards you with upgrades and new skills for the current run. If you bite into the grass, you land again in your base and the marmot greets every day.

Here the punk goes off

Reignbreaker initially stands out from the great and obvious model of Hades when it comes to art style. Studio Fizbin relies on a medieval aesthetics that runs pleasantly unused over the screen. In the best sense, everything looks a bit dirty, almost unclean. The colors of the figures like to step out of their lines, in general some models are almost excessively crooked and crooked.

The environments seem like a medieval castle, which was spiced up with cyberpunk elements in many places. Appropriately, the opponents fail, they are strange devices of robotic in nature. These two completely mutual styles may not fit together on the parchment, but very naturally interlock and create their own identity.

Unfortunately, the same applies to a limited extent to the music. Where the main menu is still greeted with a dark song in a shallow postpunk style, the actual game constantly drives up the three same melodies, which only differ somewhat in the boss fights. Where are my triple chord cabinet spots or at least a few different giblar riffs? Nobody expects the quality and variety of a Darren basket, but a little more variance would be nice.

A firework of fists

Also in the fights, Reignbreaker remains true to the medieval punk approach. Your heroine Clef primarily throws on the opponents with her bare fists and a special lance. Of course, you do not just use the rod weapon to pie, it has some exciting additional features and various modes, which you gradually unlock. As she wagons, she fires projectiles in a straight line, rains paralyzing floors or works like a shotgun.

There are other effects such as the anesthesia of opponents, or hits with your lance attach a grenade that goes up after a certain time. In addition to blows with the lance, you also ram into the ground, where it remains a certain amount of time and fires around. If opponents are too far away, the pointed object simply hurls across the room. The weapon represents an interesting and versatile mechanics that compare the lack of other beating again - because apart from it, the fists from Clef are available.

As in Hades, you will meet various characters. In addition to a few allies, most of the evil queen are subordinate and want to stay with her hordes of subordinates - if you clean the respective section, you can choose from three upgrades. These are firmly linked to the corresponding figure.

After all, the only four figures offer exciting options for synergies. For example, with the power of the traper, you leave a bear trap behind every dash that causes damage and holds enemies in place. Another skill also causes you to trigger bleeding, which is gradually robbowing opponents. Combined with a doctor's ability, in return you get back life of bleeding enemies.

The possibilities are added even further by permanent buffs, of which you may only have equipped a limited number. Your slots increase with every successfully completed run and include standard bonuses such as more life and damage, but Reignbreaker also offers more specific effects. In this way you increase the frequency of certain NPCs and associated your upgrades in the runs or provide you with a resuscitation.

One run like the other

The basic ingredients therefore promise varied rounds and lots of synergies. The mass and class of a Hades does not reach Reignbreaker, but that is also not a broken leg. A royal crime, on the other hand, represents the lack of optical variety. Each round takes place in the same environment, different empires as in the game of Supergiant Games do not expect you.

Fizbin uses an interesting approach: if you defeat a boss, the current game ends. If you then start again and bite through to the end, another upper mot is waiting for you. So it initially feels like several levels and actual areas of rule - until the sad realization that they all look the same and hardly open any new opponents.

You will receive at most other variations that give you a thunder shock, for example, you attack them directly with your fists. This increases the challenge, but this approach does not go away in any way about the lack of variety.

Reignbreaker is trying to make an interesting world. In the small conversations with the subordinates of the queen, you learn fragments across the world. The game never goes too much, so there is a lot of freedom of interpretation. Why does Clef have such a resentment on the royal head? How does she keep her subordinates compliant? Are there any other traitors besides you?

Reignbreaker even weaves the Roguelike principle into history itself: the world is constantly changing because its majesty has the chambers of their kingdom moved to prevent you from progressing. Garnished with the strong English setting, there is no incredibly exciting, but still interesting story, which is even one of the greater unique selling points of the game.