Of Guns, Loot, and Lost Connections

Some Early Access games barely feel like Early Access at all. Their foundations are finished, the mechanics are mostly polished and all they really need are additional stages or enough expositional substance to hook you on. RIFTSTORM isn’t one of those games.

In its current state, Confiction Labs and Agate’s roguelite looter-shooter is pretty janky. During my time with the pre-release build, performance could stutter even on fairly burly hardware with settings dialed down. These habitual hiccup were a reminder that RIFTSTORM is very much a work in progress. Optimization is often one of the last pieces of the development puzzle, so it would be irresistible to condemn RIFTSTORM for that ahead of its Steam Early Access launch on August 11.

Come for the Guns, Stay Because Nobody Else Did

Importantly, underneath that roughness is a game with an enticing hook. While the game bills itself as a co-op PvE looter-shooter, my own shorthand would probably call it Hades with guns, grenades and online co-op for up to three Weavers. Yes, that’s the nomenclature for operatives who belonging to the secretive Mythic Protocol, who slaughter supernatural nasties, gather resources, and get missions from a blue robot-lady. Yeah, there’s an attempt at creating lore, but I didn’t find it too compelling. With RIFTSTORM, you’re here for the chaotic firefights, loot, and hopefully camaraderie. Just know that the last wasn’t fact-checked, since I didn’t see any of my game industry peers in the lobbies.

A bit of explanation: the Hades comparison stems from the perspective and rhythm of combat rather than RIFTSTORM being just another copycat. Its isometric levels funnel players between encounters, while temporary Lythogram upgrades allow a build to evolve over the course of a mission. Think of these are your basic ‘select one of three different perks’ mechanic from damn near every bullet heaven game. The developers states there are more than 100 different Lythograms. But in my own experience, I started gravitating to the same ones, building a ring of orbs that would help me gun down spectral adversities.

No Strings Attached, But Plenty of Power Lines Strewn About

And when the action does heat up, RIFTSTORM gets gloriously messy. Guns chew up clusters of foes, grenades provide a satisfying AOE blaze, and once readable rooms decent into frantic kill boxes once replacements start spawning in. Simply pumping ammunition into the nearest target isn’t always the answer, either. Certain encounters demand that you prioritize certain adversaries, so you need to find and kill the puppet master rather than their impenetrably-shielded minions.

Often, RIFTSTORM throws around enough effects to resemble an occult fireworks display. With online partners, there’s the potential for synergistic builds and abilities than might turn sheer chaos into something truly engaging. But that’s based on my experience with single player, where foes provided protracted wind-up animations that let me gun them down before they charged me. And here’s the good thing: looter shooters aren’t known for their solo experience. While RIFTSTORM couldn’t be recommended to staunch individualists, solitary gunplay is at least fair.

Failure Leaves Scars, Not Empty Pockets

Mercifully, enemy pressure scales down reasonably well for a solo Weaver, making the game more lenient that most of it’s peers. The developers explicitly describe it as an “extraction-lite” experience rather than a hardcore one. Part of that distinction it rooted in not letting long period of progress instantly evaporate. Failed runs can leave weapons that are scarred with negative modifiers rather than simply deleting them from your inventory. The good news is that any damaged equipment can be repaired or salvaged.

This approach has one frustrating detail: RIFTSTORM is always online, even when playing alone. During my time with the game, connection dropouts could abruptly end a mission, making the requirement more than just a unsubstantiated objection. Losing a run because you made a bad tactical decision is a fundamental for the genre. But effectively losing because your connection hiccuped is considerably harder to swallow.

Rough Seas, But a Potentially Promising Storm

Still, this is what Early Access is supposed to be for. RIFTSTORM isn’t arriving disguised as a finished game with a roadmap stapled onto it. Its developers openly warn that higher threat levels, progression, enemy balance, and yes performance all are works in progress. Traditionally, the difficulty of responding to player feedback while still chasing the game’s original aspirations. Confiction Labs and Agate can do it, but it’s going to take some work.

A present, RIFTSTORM is rough, occasionally frustrating, and technically inconsistent. But when a room fills with monsters and a carefully assembled build begins to tear through them, the game’s potential is easier to see. If the developer can refine the game’s combat loop, this storm just might be worth riding out.