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Into the Pit is the first big title from Nullpointer Games and it’s being published by Humble Games. They seem to usually find great new upstarts to highlight. Did Humble Games find another gem or is this indie title a little rough around the edges? The reviews for Into the Pit are a bit all over the place so let’s break down some consistent things this retro-themed first-person shooter does right and what the game could have done better.
8 Best: Retro Style
The art style is the most pronounced thing players will notice upon starting up Into the Pit. It looks like a cross between a classic PC game like DOOM and a bit like the pixel art from early PS1 games.
The style works rather well for the mood the game is trying to set. The dark backgrounds juxtaposed next to the vibrant colors of powers are a sight to see. Many indie games have tried this retro style before but Into the Pit really nails it on a whole other level.
7 Worst: The Story Presentation
Everything else about the production value is a little lackluster. The story follows the Outlander, as he is called by the villagers. He’s part of an occult family of paranormal hunters and is sent to investigate the mysterious happenings in said village.
The Outlander doesn’t speak out loud and neither do the NPCs. It’s hard to gel with any character because there is just no spice to them in the text. The overall story doesn’t go many places either.
6 Best: Dueling Fists
There are no traditional weapons in the game. At the start of each run players can equip two powers, one in each hand, that are randomly generated. These range from slow-moving firebombs to spread shot-like shotgun blasts of energy.
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Each time players complete a maze, they can gain powers or upgrade current ones. For example, players could potentially add a bleed effect to that bomb core. The variety of powers and upgrades is satisfying for a roguelike.
5 Worst: The Loop
The overall loop in the game is hard to get into at first. It begins when players submit runes into a portal which then affects boons granted to players on their next run. The upgrade path is slow as everything is dictated by finding villagers. They appear randomly on runs and if saved, they can affect what players can buy in town.
The randomization can sometimes be plentiful while other times players could go hours without finding a single person. It’s a repetitive roguelike that does have permanent upgrades but it takes too long to really feel any sense of reward. This may cause players to jump off of Into the Pit faster than other roguelikes.
4 Best: Monster Design
The design of the monsters deserves a special nod aside from the overall art style being cool. Monsters look good and are varied in shape, size, and abilities. There are humanoid monsters, some that fly, some towering ones that are stationary and the list goes on.
The further players dive into the titular pit, the more gruesome demons they will see. It seems like it would have been easier to reuse a handful of enemies repeatedly but the developers decided instead to go all out. Into the Pit has quantity and quality with the enemies.
3 Worst: Not Much For Options
Into the Pit does not have a lot of options compared to other indie games from 2021. For example, there are no difficulty modes or features to make the game more accessible to casual gamers.
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The options that are there are normal in design such as allowing players to reset the control scheme and adjust the volume settings. The game is pretty barebones and it would have been nice to see more effort put into these options.
2 Best: Chamber Choices
Once players dive into the portal, they will come into a room with four pathways. Completing each of the four paths will then unlock the ability to dive further into the void. Furthermore, each chamber has two choices, giving players eight different paths to choose from at any given time.
Some chambers will be more monster-infested but dish out better rewards. Other rooms will be small with quick bonuses like the ability to heal. The design feels like Hades in this way which is a good roguelike to mirror.
1 Worst: Load Times
Playing the game on any of the Xbox One consoles will result in slow load times. Because this is a roguelike, death is certain. That makes having to wait for these slow loads in-between runs more frustrating.
PC players might have it better and presumably, the modern consoles should run things smoother as well. Since the Xbox Series X is still hard to track down, it almost feels like playing Into the Pit right now on Xbox One is not worth the time. At least it is one of the games on Xbox Game Pass right now.
Into the Pitwas released on October 19, 2021, and is available on PC and Xbox One.
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