The Indie Informer

Imagine if Hades joined a punk band that took way too many gigs playing at Renaissance fairs. That hopefully paints a vivid enough picture of Reignbreaker, a new action roguelike by Studio Fizbin (Say No More, The Inner World) and published by Thunderful. Roguelikes come in many shapes and sizes, but those modeled specifically after Hades have only just begun making their first runs. Supergiant Games’ superb Greek mythology epic served as an epiphany for the genre, demonstrating that an action-packed run-based framework can still boast a compelling narrative and characters. I’ve been curious to see if and when other developers would begin taking pages from its playbook, and Reignbreaker appears to be shaping up as a worthy contemporary.  

I took Reignbreaker for a spin during Gamescom. This anti-authoritarian adventure sees players controlling Clef, a former child soldier turned rebellious anarchist on a quest to plunder a corrupt kingdom of its riches. Sticking it to the establishment like this is as punk rock as it gets, hence why the game has a pronounced punk aesthetic, from graffiti-laden metal walls depicting giant painted middle fingers to the bold, hand-drawn brush lines and a loud color palette reminiscent of an old fanzine. It’s a look that gives Reignbreaker a unique and effective visual identity.

A villainous Queen reigns supreme, and players must battle through the depths of her stronghold, guarded by lock-operated medieval machines and other hazards. In addition to pummeling foes using her powerful fists, Clef wields a Javelin, a giant key-like weapon resembling a jousting lance. This powerful tool comes in many flavors. It’s an effective melee weapon that can annihilate multiple foes with wide radial swings. The Javelin can also perform ranged attacks, firing bullet spreads or enemy-piercing projectiles. Reignbreaker features around a dozen different weapons to find, and you can equip two different Javelins at a time, which can be swapped on the fly using the left trigger. With so many enemies often vying for Clef’s head, a quick dash keeps me darting around the battlefield to keep my adversaries guessing.

All enemies have keyholes. After you knock them on the ropes, finishing them off for good requires hitting a shoulder button to “unlock” them, so to speak, by shoving the Javelin into these holes and turning it like a lock, causing baddies to collapse into scrap heaps. The urgency in executing this finishing blow reminds me of absorbing foes into the dagger in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time since enemies recover if left incapacitated for too long. 

The medieval punk art direction lends itself to creative enemy designs. Many resemble a hodgepodge of disparate parts; one early boss is best described as a multi-legged, knife-wielding, wire-filled torture cage with a bomb-spewing face. As I’m smashing apart these strange threats, Studio Fizbin community manager Ian Stewart tells me the character design is inspired by kitbashing, the hobby of building model figures using pieces from multiple different kits. He hands me a physical model of the enemy I’d often face during my demo: a clock tower bell sporting mechanical spider legs and a massive keyhole on its face. It’s nice to admire this creature up close, as I don’t allow it to live long enough in-game to get the same appreciation. 

The isometric hand-crafted levels are randomly rearranged each run, and have environmental traps (such as retractable spike floors) that can be used against your opponents, encouraging mindful maneuverability on the battlefield. During runs, you’ll choose to wield several boon-like perks to augment your abilities and increase your chances of survival. Between runs, you’ll equip new Javelins and, like Hades, experience story advancement in the form of cutscenes featuring illustrated character portraits. I didn’t get a good sense of the storytelling in this small slice, so the quality of Clef’s tale remains to be seen. 

The more overtly Hades-inspired elements include an evolving narrative that advances between runs, and conversations unfold between sharply illustrated character portraits. If it wasn’t obvious yet, Reignbreaker proudly wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and Hades fans will likely settle into the game’s familiar rhythm pretty quickly. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and the best compliment I can give is that Reignbreaker’s combat is similarly responsive and fast-paced as Hades. It’s not quite as good, but it’s not far off the mark.

Although my time with Reignbreaker was brief, I had a good time dismantling the Queen’s mechanized protectors. The game’s cool art direction helps it stand out, and if the storytelling and strategic depth can even approach Zagreus’ and Melinoë’s adventures, Studio Fizbin may have gold on its hands. We’ll have to wait a while to find out since Reignbreaker doesn’t have a release window, but it’s slated to launch on PC.