The Great Rebellion

Review

A group of globalist oligarchs have created the Lucis-Lux Corporation. Their objective is first to control all humans and their possessions, and when the first part of their plan is accomplished, the next step is to eradicate all humans from the face of the Earth. What was once known as Europe has been hit the worst, and most of its people have now been genetically altered and received brain implants to facilitate their control. However, a small group of individuals are determined to defeat the evil Corporation's plan. That is where you come in, citizen 10.28 - by joining the force of The Great Rebellion.

The Great Rebellion is a fast-paced pixelated action-roguelike platformer game developed by Kvltgames and published by AIP on the 2^nd of February 2024 on the Steam platform.

I really enjoy an excellent action-roguelike platformer game, and I must admit that this is a beautiful gem of a game to be discovered by all lovers of the genre and beyond! This game has it all  - gorgeous retro graphics with randomly generated levels to ensure each of your playthroughs is different, including repeating a level (normal difficulty) or restarting a new game with permadeath settings (hard difficulty). It is a fun and quirky story with dark humour and a stunning soundtrack, and the control inputs are just outstanding. And, of course, you have a comprehensive skill tree to round it all up.

The game consists of six levels, five of which have one boss to eliminate at the end, and the sixth level has two bosses to defeat (same boss, really, but you'll fight him twice). As I mentioned above, each level you play is randomly generated, giving the game plenty of replayability. The game is presented as a scrolling platformer. You'll start in the landing room, as I like to call it. Then, depending on your starting level, you'll have to go from one room to the next, which can be up, down, left or right. If you are unsure where to go, check the map, as it will show you. You can't miss the doors as they’re represented by a vertical or horizontal yellow line. As you enter a new room, you might need to defeat one or two waves of enemies. A pink hexagonal portal will appear after successfully defeating all the enemies in the room. It is pretty helpful as you can teleport yourself at your leisure, travelling back to rooms that might have items to collect that you didn't need last time.  For example, if your health or armour were at total capacity when you left the room, you would have had no use for hearts and shields.  But as your health and armour become depleted over time, you could teleport back to the room and pick up any hearts or shields that were left there.  Or let’s say there’s a weapon that you didn't want at the time, but after locating the Gus Fawkes store, you might want to go back for the weapon and sell it for some coins, which will help you purchase other goodies displayed in the store. Each level has eight to ten fighting rooms to go through, including the boss fight. All of the six levels have a different theme and different enemies. There are a few other rooms, some of which have crates with goodies, but you must have a card to open them. One of these rooms will be the store. However, some rooms might have a box with a shield icon! If you smash the box, a companion will be released.  Perhaps the ghost of the Red Baron, Joan of Arc, Tyr or Ragnar, to mention a few.  They will follow you throughout the levels, giving you additional powers. But beware, they can take damage by enemy projectiles and fade away, too. There are people to rescue too, and as soon as they have been liberated, they will be heading to the Waldgang secret hub.

As you defeat a boss and, therefore, a level, you too will be heading to the secret hub where you can talk to the people you rescued. Some will have some goodies for you, while others will be happy with only a chat. The most important aspect of the hub is that you can upgrade your skills at the Gus Fawkes store; just make sure you have enough social points in your wallet.

The Great Rebellion is a big and pleasant surprise for me. The controls are super tight, and I haven't encountered any issues whatsoever, which is unusual these days. On top of that, the price is reasonable for what you get. Yes, I finished the game on the normal level of difficulty in around 7 hours but don't forget, the normal difficulty is without the permadeath. The next level of difficulty is definitely harder, and if you die, you start the game all over again.

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com

The Great Rebellion Steam Store Page