Rogue Point
Preview
A confident rookie that needs more time in the academy
by Jordan Helsley
previewed on PC
Tactical Entry
Rather than a straightforward mission structure, Rogue Point is more of a rogue lite (you get it), complete with branching paths and campaign-limited upgrades and cash. On offer are three of the promised four locations, and a handful of different objectives in those locations. They start small, an office building with a few dozen rooms, and end big, a multi-level oil rig. The smaller introduction was nice, but I found myself wishing I could simply skip the office building, as I'd already plumbed all of its rooms, and changes between runs were little. The mall felt a bit more complex, but oddly straightforward because MERX, the bad guy mercenaries, had cordoned off most of the stores and walkways. The oil rig, on the other hand, was massive, complex, and had access doors that needed to be opened by a completely detached control panel. I have to take them at their word that the full release will feature "hundreds of ways to play," but that at least two of the four total locations became old in a handful of hours leaves me skeptical.
Before deploying, you outfit your soldier with equipment based on the money you've got and the unlocks obtained for each weapon. If you're feeling risky you can roll the dice on a supply drop, a $1,000 (the starting amount for a fresh campaign) random loot drop that can come with a decked-out gun and some flashbangs, a couple medkits, and many things in between. It's a relatively low-risk, high-reward situation in the current economy that I found myself primarily rolling the drops just to see what the weapons felt like. And even failing a mission with a moderately-acceptable performance rewarded me with a couple grand, so I could still snag a cheap gun if the drop came up (functionally) empty. Although a second failure ends the campaign run, it was nice to get a second chance to try out new equipment or strategies before starting fresh, provided I didn't blow one of my restarts on the first level.
Campaigning Through The Streets
Moving through the campaign also allows for permanent unlocks that usually come in the form of cosmetics or weapon attachments, but internal skill rewards also come up at the end of these missions that can shape the gameplay of future missions. Like a good roguelite, the batch of three buffs can sometimes lead to some difficult decisions, but they feel worthwhile and can help members fortify their role on the team, which is critical for success.
Rogue Point is a team experience, and there's very little negotiation on that fact. Luckily, the teamwork I got to experience seemed to work fine. The contextual ping works decently well (though it doesn't go through windows), and there's even a countdown emote so everyone can theoretically perform synchronized actions. Before even entering a mission all the players can view the tactical map, and even draw routes to plan out the attack. All of these seem to try to elevate the matchmaking experience, but it ultimately falls just short, requiring something much closer to efficient voice comms to succeed with regularity.
Goin' Solo
Playing Rogue Point solo is an exercise in frustration, but it was a great way to see the mechanics in their purest form. I was surprised to find that there are no AI squad members, and it doesn't appear to be in the launch plan. You can still throw up your "3, 2, 1" hand gestures, but it will be in vain, and it will also get you shot. It's fine for the game to prioritize co-op, of course, but it makes the game a tougher sell and puts a darker cloud over possible sustainability. And without any backup, a difficult game becomes nearly impossible.
Shooting feels nice, especially as debris from stray bullet impacts on file folders and cubicles litters the air. Getting shot, on the other hand, feels uncharacteristically bad, and mostly in an antiquated "enemies never miss" sorta way. Bullet impacts also lack the feedback to adequately let you know where they came from. Sometimes it ends up feeling like health just melted away for no reason.
The more glaring issue is that the MERX have eyes everywhere and stealth is a myth. When I first entered the mall, which starts you inside the building, I was careful. I walked slowly, surveyed the tiny area I was in, and I exited through the single wide-open door to a hallway that led to the main mall area. The instant I peeked around the corner of that hallway I caught a sniper bullet. This was immediately after extracting from the office building which asks you to survive for 60 seconds as enemies come at you in waves, no matter where you attempt to hide. At least at the office I'm hidden until I break a window or kill a guy.
More Training
Right now it is tough to recommend Rogue Point. All of the imbalance I felt was of course present in the squad games, but I was left wondering if one of my mates was being too loud, or I didn't feel the effects of the enemy fire as much when dispersed among four targets. There is plenty of appeal in the roguelite structure, the combat is the right kind of chaotic when the bullets are flying in tight spaces, but the other pieces of the formula need more tuning. If the content they're promising launches with the game (and what looks to be workshop-like support for custom missions), there might be some more replayability than I felt with the selection of missions, but it's tough to care about the variety of ways and locations you can get shot in the head by omnipotent aimbots.
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