Title: SULFUR
Developer: Perfect Random
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Price: Free (Demo)
Reviewed on: PC
Hours Played: 5.5 hours
What makes roguelikes, as a genre, so captivating is the unknown. The player has no idea what is waiting for them in the next room, no idea what kind of power-up they might pick up, and no clue the kind of enemy type they might face. This clouded mystery surrounding the games in the genre is what makes them so addicting: once you’re hooked, you’re hooked.
My experience with roguelikes always led to this same conclusion and formed a standard I want met with any game in the genre. Thankfully, Perfect Random’s new roguelike game SULFUR scratches that same itch that the likes of Hades and Dead Cells have previously.
Story
The demo opens to the player driving down a moonlit forest. A witch flies by on her broomstick and into a cave, as if beckoning you to follow. Right as you enter, however, your Amulet speaks to you. You find out you’re a priest who belonged to a church that the same witch burned down, killing everyone inside.
You also suffer from amnesia, forgetting the names of the people around you, including yourself. The Amulet tasks you to traverse the Goblin-infested cave to catch up to the witch, and kill her—and everything else that stands in your way.
The main hub of the world is a small settlement with a handful of NPCs that provide information on the kind of world you live in, what “Sulfur” is, and why its okay to smoke it through a pipe.
Each NPC has a unique character design that really does stick with you. Their varying aesthetic and dialogue quirks kept me engaged in what they had to say. Ralphie and Stiff-leg are my personal favorites. Not only do these residents tolerate your horrible amnesia, they also sell equipment that aids you in your goblin-killing escapades.
Gameplay
After talking to every NPC and selecting every dialogue option, I walked to an entrance of the goblin cave down the road. At this point, I recognized the gameplay loop. Like any roguelike, you progress, die, get sent back, and progress a little further.
In the intro sequence, you pick up the two most important weapons in the game. The first is the “Wakizashi” katana, a sword that deals both close range damage and removes various obstacles in your way. The other is the “P38 Dirk” handgun that will follow you through death. It is the main weapon you will rely on at the start of most your runs.
In roguelike fashion, different rooms are randomly generated, along with different loot and consumables. These can be picked up from the dead bodies of enemies, chests hidden away in the different rooms, or crates that you can break open with the Wakizashi.
With a surprising amount of content in this “demo,” it felt like every other item I came across and picked up was something I’ve never seen before: from gourmet food to military-grade weapons. Thanks to these drops, the once-difficult area can suddenly become a cake-walk. This addicting mechanic kept me engaged and wanting to jump back in the loop to see what more I can find.
The expansive demo provides several enemy types. At first, you encounter a handful of enemies. The spear Goblins, the baby Goblins, the archer Goblins and the cowardly Goblins, who really only scamper away until they find other goblins to use as “Goblin” shields. As you progress through the demo, you come across feral dogs, ghosts, alchemist Goblins, and Goblins that protect themselves from your bullets with wooden armor.
All of these enemies require the player to take a different approach. Each has a weakness that you can expose, incentivizing you to go back into another run to figure them out.
The 2D art style present in SULFUR is unique and aesthetically pleasing, but when you’re in a moment of stress, surrounded by enemies, it suddenly feels janky and hard to focus. This often caused me to fall to my death down a cliff I hadn’t noticed before.
The Amulet can whisk you back into the main hub, along with all the items and consumables you’ve collected during your quest. You can store these items in a storage chest for later use or to sell to the NPC’s. This helpful feature can keep your rare finds from disappearing forever.
For the Amulet to do this however, you would have to fill it with the Blood fountain, located specifically in the halfway point of the Goblin cave. This works as another sub-objective, to at least keep pushing until you get to the fountain, and return back to safety to catch your breath before jumping right back into danger.
Final Score (Four Out of Five Stars)
SULFUR is a roguelike that checks all the boxes for me. Mysterious NPCs inhabit every room, and the game features layouts that will keep you running around like a mice in a maze. There is loot that can possibly make or break your run, and the countless enemy types constantly keep you on your toes.
The cutesy character design of some of the enemies are also very misleading as those tend to be the ones who can really throw you off, while other enemy designs highlighting their potential weakness. The animations, worthy of admiration, helps invest you into the Goblin hunting. From the baby Goblins crawling towards you to the satisfying reload animations, everything just seems to mix well, as though mixed in the giant cauldrons you so often see in the game.
My only complaint about the game, and something I hope to see addressed in the full release, is utilizing the 2D art style to emphasize the environment and surrounding areas. This is needed especially in the Goblin caves as the rooms become stale the more hours I put into it, and only really feel alive when enemies are present in the room.
Everything SULFUR does as a roguelike fed into the growing addiction, giving me the urge to jump right back in the cave because you know that it’s going to be different this time around. I could be throwing a fit over a death and five minutes later jump for joy as I complete a successful run. This is a harmless gamble I think everyone should make.
I’m plugging this at a solid 4/5 stars, a must-try for any fan of the roguelike genre.
Featured Image: Perfect Random
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