Runic Rampage

Developer: Electrocosmos
Steam Release: May 2017
Hours Played: 5.8
Similar To: Asura: Vengeance Expansion / Leap of Fate / Meltdown / Stories: Path of Destinies
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

With a similar art-style to the Torchlight series, Runic Rampage sets you on your way by letting you take control of a dwarf-like viking warrior. In isometric view and with melee combat very much to the fore, this hack & slash action rpg is about completing levels as bite-sized chunks through a four act campaign. Your main weapon will be melee based and although combo moves will be conferred upon you as you go, I personally found that mashing just the one button for your default attack did an effective enough job for most of the time. Ranged attacks do not exist but potions get dropped which can then be cast as spells giving you added elemental attacks of fire, ice and poison. These are effectively stored as one item in your one-slot inventory and used at the press of a button.  
  

BALANCE & PACE

Needless to say, there is no inventory or inventory-management to contend with while you're on your rampage which makes the pace of the game fairly swift. In short, plough through your level, kill anything that gets in your way, add skill points to one of four attributes, spend your gold on upgrades and then jump back into the action for another 5-10 minute run. Be aware though, each act comprises of just three short stages; two of which need to be completed three times with the final one being a boss. You'll need to complete levels multiple times to wrack up enough of those skill points and pay for enough upgrades to get your character up to scratch and worthy enough to take on the big boss. In other words: yes, the grind will be a necessary part of the path you take.    
 
   

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

You'll begin in a desert landscape and on sandy castle battlements battling warriors in Act 1 before moving onto forests filled with orcs, goblins and demons in Act 2. Caves and dungeons abound in Act 3 while in Act 4 you're off to the frozen fortress at the snowy abyss. The look and tile-sets for the actual environments does not significantly alter but enough is done to the colour-scheme, change in enemy types and various breakable items to give each its own flavour. The sounds of smashing pots, swishing weapons and the cries of enemies mainly fills the air. Finally, a great job has been made with the design of the menus. The icons and font-styles are all tastefully done and blend in nicely with the overall aesthetic.    
      
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

Unlike the usual action rpg, Runic Rampage has no map yet comes with its own level-select screen. This is divided into four unlockable acts that are tabbed along the top. Click on a completed act and you are given three stages to choose from. The first two are subdivided by three levels each and the last is that boss fight. You'll level-up and collect gold as you go with the obvious ultimate aim being to kill the final Act 4 boss. There are attributes including: attack, defense, agility and greed (gold collecting) to put skillpoints into and these go up to 40 points each. Weapons and spells are bought and upgraded and there are also armour sets to collect. A level ends by the looting of a chest which allows you to pick items from a choice of six. 

CONCLUSION

In short, Runic Rampage is the younger brother of all those heavy Diablo-style games such as Grim Dawn, Path Of Exile and Titan Quest. There is no inventory filled with cluttered-up items; maps are non-existent and there isn't even a mini-map in the corner as you play! In addition, all loot is either gold which goes into an invisible bag to be used later or a spell which is clearly shown as an icon in the bottom right corner and activated at the touch of a button. Rather than uncovering and exploring new environments at a steady pace then, the game is focused on completing acts and repeating levels in quick succession as part of the grind to get stronger. This makes RR the archetypal super-casual action rpg for beginners or for those who don't want to think too much while slaughtering - and there's nothing wrong with that!