by “That’s a lot of blood. I like it. I want to bathe in it.”
Look, I’m just gonna say it–roguelikes are so good man (er, well good ones are good anyway). Caveblazers is another Tier 1 release that fits the bill. Of course once you’ve played one roguelike, you’ve played them all (conceptually) so I won’t go into great detail over things like “Tons of items! Equipment combinations! Classes! Randomization!” so much as what makes Caveblazers unique or specifically fun.
First, Caveblazers is faster-paced than your normal roguelike. Not only do you live and die in an instant, but the speed in which the actual game runs is quicker than most. You move fast, enemies move fast; projectiles fly in the blink of an eye–you need to be up and active to play this (especially if you have the arrowhead relic turned on). This makes Caveblazers a game where your awareness, quick movements and precise attacks matter more than finding “that broken equipment combination” or “the perfect way to grind XYZ stat.” In fact, there aren’t actually levels or stat-grinding at all, so you’re completely relegated to your class’s gear/perks and anything else you find while you’re delving.
The game also has a little bit of a plot that keeps things fun and makes all of your deaths feel a bit more light-hearted. The bosses are a nice touch as well, and there are quite a few of them that each feel relatively distinct–I’ve found about 9 so far, but I think there are a couple more. Something else that I like is that overall, while finding arguably “better” gear can make a run easier, more often than not it’s more about playing the game smart, avoiding the enemies’ attacks, and being adaptable while playing fast-and-loose with whatever the game gives you. Hoarding generally doesn’t help much (unless you’re saving specific items for crafting on an altar) so it feels very grab-and-go, which is great if you like moving fast. I’ve beaten the game twice at this point, and while I don’t know if I’m in any rush to 100% all of the game’s content I’ve have had fun messing around with the relics (game modifiers) and I have a personal goal to beat it at least once with each of the 24 classes. I definitely recommend this one–it’s good if you have a couple minutes or a couple hours.
