We are in the year 2091 and as cyberpunk literature wants the planet Earth has turned into a dystopia made of neon, cybernetic grafts and unscrupulous multinationals. The streets are full of desperate junk that do not know what to do with their lives.
Everything is metal and rust and the sky itself seems to be suffocated. RUINER, the first title of Reikon Games, a Polish studio made up of highly experienced developers with behind them such as The Witcher and Dying Light , puts us in the shoes of a disquieting unnamed character, whose face is covered by a strange electronic helmet, which has only one goal: to kill the boss of Heaven, the most powerful multinational in the city of Rengkok , the place where the whole adventure takes place.
His principal has not explained anything to him, apart from telling him that if he does not he will kill his brother, held hostage somewhere. The plot develops along the course of what is basically an action with an isometric view, where most of the time is spent massacring hordes of enemies using white weapons, such as clubs or swords; or firearms, such as machine guns, shotguns, freezing spokes, grenade launchers and so on and so forth.
WEAPONS AND AGAINST THOSE WHO USE THEM
The game starts with a long tutorial that immediately makes one of the fundamental characteristics of the game: it’s very difficult. The first clashes are punitive, but they are nothing compared to what lies ahead.
The basic mechanics are simple to explain: in addition to running and fighting, the protagonist can shoot or use one of his special abilities (which consume a separate bar placed under that of the energy), such as a barrier, a shock bomb, the slowing down of time, an explosive bomb, and so on. Skills can be unique, or linked to others. They unlock and empower by spending on karma points
(practically experience points with another name).Weapons, however, apart from the starting ones that are fixed (a melee and a firearm), can be collected from the corpses of the enemies, or from boxes and other containers , some of which are hacked to be opened ( hacking is a simple sequence of keys to press).
They all have a limited duration due either to bullets, or to durability. On the other hand, enemies can be gang henchmen, mercenaries who defend Heaven, cybernetic soldiers and variants. It matters little, since their only goal is to get us out: there are those who
try to take it to the bar, who shoots, who chooses the path of explosives and so on. Apart from a freely explorable district of Rengkok, Ruiner ‘s gameplay is formed for the most part by long fighting sequences that take place in linear levels, in which we often find ourselves surrounded.
GAME STYLES
The combat system is definitely the best part of Ruiner. With various measures, Reikon Games has succeeded in making the frantic and at the same time physical clashes, without depriving them of a pinch of strategy.
In Ruiner you die a lot and often, from the earliest stages. Sometimes the number of enemies seems overwhelming, but in reality you just start using all the tools available to dominate even the most difficult clashes. For example, at the beginning it is difficult to take advantage of the shooting sequences,
that is the ability to shoot several times in a row by setting intermediate steps, but when you master them you realize how useful they are in many situations.
