Kiborg is an upcoming third-person action roguelite developed by Sobaka Studio. In the game, you will be playing a convict in the worst prison in the galaxy for crimes he did not commit. With the only means of escaping is that he has to fight his way out. Along the way, he will accrue different weapons, and upgrades and take on enemies large and small. In the available demo, we got to play early, and I got to experience a little talk, and a whole lot of action, something that Kiborg will excel in if you give it a chance yourself!
Floating Brickhouse Action
Kiborg has a lot of the standard third-person beat-em-up actions. You have light and heavy attacks, spinning attacks, and a dodge. As well as weapons that you can find throughout your run. The weapons can range from melee options like a bat, knife, or cleavers – to gun options that vary from pistols, rifles, and shotguns, each with their own level of usability in each run. Knives are quick but deal little damage while the others are slower but more effective. On the other hand, when it comes to the guns, every pistol, rifle, and shotgun has variation in what power they pack. Some pistols, for example, can either have a lot in the magazines, but not pack a lot of punch in each shot, or have fewer shots with more power. I did really like how every gun’s magazine can be refilled by just whacking enemies and speaking of which.
But how about the normal combat? Well, when it comes to the hand-to-hand stuff, that is where Kiborg feels the best. You can use light and heavy attacks depending on the foe you are attacking. You will have a lock-on feature you can use to ensure you stay on target. All simple enough, but the enemies make each encounter a lot of fun. You will have standard goons, like those that use hand-to-hand combat or gun wielders – as well as more tankier foes and robots that carry bombs that will explode and kill you if you do not get out of the way.
The only lacking part of the demo was the available boss. It is so easy to beat due to the predictability of the move set, where all I had to do was dodge the moment, I saw the sluggish wind-ups and chip away at the health bar. Suffice it to say, outside of this, Kiborg felt really fun to play, and the way the levels flow is good, (but not without their faults).
The Passives and Power-Ups in Kiborg
At the beginning of each run in the game, you will be able to pick between power-ups. Kiborg has a unique presentation for them, as they are visual enhancements to your character’s limbs. One power-up I got gave me a really good pistol that would pierce through foes. It allowed me to skate around enemies and take them out without getting my hands dirty until it came time to refill the magazine. Another run granted me an extra combo attack at the end of a combo, for much-needed extra damage.
Another cool bit to Kiborg is the passives you unlock. Some of my favorites ended up being the ones that gave me a gun and melee weapon to start each run with. But as with every roguelike, each run is dictated by the runs and what you earn from each. Every level will either have a new gun to choose from, health recovery options, or the ability to buy power-ups. While it feels obligatory, the overall feel of the game is very solid as a result. Every sub-genre element felt fresh and fun due to the gameplay and presentation.
Near Perfect Technically
I ran Kiborg on my custom-built PC. It consists of a Radeon 6600, 16 gigabytes of RAM, and a Ryzen 5 5600G. The game ran pretty much flawlessly, outside of a few bugs and glitches. One bug had an enemy behind an energy barrier, preventing me from hitting him and having to restart the run. While the other was a weird glitch where a chainsaw wielder had his model mesh stretched from his spawning point.
Outside of those, my handful of runs otherwise went very well. I just hope these issues can be resolved for curious players who love the idea of Kiborg, run breaking bugs can deter people easily. The only other part of the demo I found enjoyable was the music. It is a classic rock soundtrack that really adds to the cool feel of every combat encounter.
Closing Remarks on the Kiborg Demo
Overall, the demo for Kiborg was a lot of fun to play. I did clock in a good number of runs and loved the variety, challenge, and fun found in each one. The gun and melee weapon options are awesome, as is the combat. I also really enjoyed the generous health and recovery systems in place. The only thing I am hopeful for, is a great story to motivate beyond the gameplay. The combat is the best part, but I at least want to have a connection with the main character by the time I help him escape the prison. I feel it would behoove the developers to add just enough to make that escape all the more memorable.
If you would like to try the demo for yourself, you can find the Steam page for Kiborg here. The full game is slated for a quarter 2 release window, so around June or July if you enjoy the demo.
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