Developer: Amulware
Publisher: Amulware
Platforms: PC
Roche Fusion – Review
Last summer we’ve previewed Roche Fusion, the fast-paced shoot ’em up brought to us by the indie game development studio Amulware. This deadly game has quite a nostalgic touch to it as the game features a hint of arcade. The game has improved much since last summer and is now available on Steam.
Story
As a fast-paced shoot ’em up, Roche Fusion has no storyline that a player can follow. The game simply requires you to play it, a normal feature in the genre. That being said, we might as well move on to the parts that do matter.
Graphics
Visually, the game is quite simple yet it the simplicity of it all makes the game even more great, if not perfect. As it is a space shoot ’em up, the background has a space-like atmosphere with a plethora of colors, stars and even planets. None of these are stationary, which certainly is a welcomed feature as you will truly feel like flying in space.
The user UI during the gameplay is quite basic, consistent of lines and icons but it does the trick and you can see everything with one quick glance. Yet another feature that is quite needed as the gameplay is fast-paced and you will not have time to inspect the UI for long periods. The true feeling of being the pilot of the aircraft increases when you notice that the UI tilts when you move your space ship left and right.
The upgrade stations you’ll encounter after completing a section or wave, now look like true stations which you can fly in thanks to a subtle yet powerful visual change – runway lights. While the dynamic backgrounds are colorful, the enemies are easy to spot thanks to their vibrant colors such as green, red and blue. All of this makes the color pallet of Roche Fusion feel like too much for your eyes but it’s truly not.
Sound
The soundtrack of Roche Fusion is an upbeat techno style sound which often reminded me of techno tunes from the 90’s. All-in-all, the soundtrack fits perfectly with the fast-paced action the game has and the combination of audio and visual design is perfect for its genre.
Gameplay
As for the gameplay, for the most part Roche Fusion plays like any shoot ’em up space shooter. Space Invaders, Asteroids but also a more recent game of the genre, Titan Attacks, comes to mind, although Roche Fusion does have more dynamic visuals. Both keyboard and controller can be used for the game. My personal preference is the controller but as you can rebind your keys, any type of player will be able to enjoy the game regardless of the equipment.
At first, you’ll be playing the game in easy mode where you can unlock several things such as a normal mode, upgrades and even ships. The upgrade almanac shows you which upgrades you’ve seen or used in games before. In total there are 12 unique upgrades, 11 passive upgrades and 8 active upgrades. These upgrades are a huge part of the gameplay, as you can choose between 3 different upgrades once you’ve completed a section of the level. You’ll know that you’ll reach an upgrade station when you’ve gone into a warp mode. Some of these upgrades can be deadly and overpowering when combined but there are some hilarious ones such as the Rainbow of Doom or the Black Hole.
You’ll be playing the game with the ship ‘The Beard’ for the first few times until you’ve managed to complete the requirements to unlock a specific ship. There are 5 additional ships you can unlock, each having their own specific model and weaponry, meaning they also have a different gameplay style.
Not only has the game received subtle visual changes, there are some subtle changes to the gameplay as well. One subtle, yet drastic change that was immediate noticeable are the green orbs than have a chance of dropping as ‘loot’. When flying close to these orbs, your ship will absorb them and it will receive boosts such as damage and fire rates. Additionally, if you have grabbed a companion as an upgrade, your companion can get boosts as well.
The replayability is simple outstanding in this game. Each new game you play is completely different from the previous ones thanks to the randomization system. The animated backgrounds, soundtrack, enemies, upgrades and even the mini-bosses is different each time, which ups the replayability of the game to an extremely high level. Truly, you won’t be able to get bored of the game – unless you get bored of the genre itself.
Conclusion
The gameplay of Roche Fusion has not changed much since our preview but there has been subtle visual changes to the game that do feel significant in a whole. By adding a plethora of upgrades and even more subtle changes to the gameplay such as the green energy orbs providing power-ups, the game has truly reached a new level of simple awesomeness. Any fan of the space shoot ’em ups genre should get the game immediately as it will become their favorite game of the genre.
Roche Fusion - Review,
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Wow… Just wow… We have worked really hard on this title, but this is beyond our expectations!
Thank you very much!
It’s truly a wonderful game and while I was never a true fan of the genre, Roche Fusion has made me fall in love with it again!
Would love to try this one out myself. Loved the music in the trailers.