Pylon: Rogue

Pylon: Rogue excels because it knows what it is; a rogue-like RPG about skill, precision, and stacking a crazy number of skills. Its presentation is nice if a bit simple and some enemies sadly tend to blend into the environment due to lighting which can lead to unfortunate hits, but it’s still a solid experience.

A very challenging hack and slash that will require quick adaptation, decisive accuracy, and a great patience with frequent death. The game is graphically pleasant and fun to play and even throws in a range of different tactics and mechanics. If you like hardcore challenges, this is definitely a game to try out.

Although Pylon: Rogue provides fun, the lack of upgrades that carry over, aside from unlocking more items, may deter players. Enjoyment might diminish after so many runs, depending on what you’re looking for in a title, but that’s simply the nature of the genre. However, if you like rogue-likes, such as The Binding of Isaac, and enjoy difficult titles, you’ll likely enjoy this.

Designed to play in short sessions, Pylon Rogue attempts to straddle the line between catering to casual or hardcore gamers and doesn’t quite deliver to either. Challenging games can be enjoyable, just look at Dark Souls, Nioh or any number of NES classics, but in Pylon Rogue there is no sense of progress being made to make the challenge rewarding and the shallow, accessible design doesn’t generate enough interest to continue trying.

A colourful but tedious experience that never lives up to the excitement or intrigue of its idols.

Nothing about my time with Pylon was really positive. I suppose the game looks okay, runs smooth enough, and has great gamepad support, but when it’s just not fun to trek through, what is the ultimate point?