Xbox Game Pass is the gift that keeps on giving. Just as we start eyeing up Scourgebringer as a game with real potential, it pops up on the service for us all to play right now. Yep, Microsoft, you can keep doing that! Scourgebringer is out now on Xbox One (including Xbox Game Pass), PS4, Switch and PC via Steam.
You’d be forgiven for not having heard of this one before. This is something of a traditional Metroidvania, but with many elements dialled up to 11. For one, there’s the platforming, which seems to be reaching for Celeste or Meatboy levels of intricacy and death. Then there’s the combat, which involves both sword and gun-play, but with near Dead Cells levels of flourish and dynamism. Particularly in the boss battles (the trailer shows some fantastic beasts, including Judge Boulderbuilder, which sounds like a daytime TV show waiting to happen), the action is almost bullet-hell-like, as the screen fills with missiles. Who knows how you’ll handle it, as the game only includes offensive abilities, and no defensive abilities. The trailer does show off a natty ‘deflect’ attack that jedis the missiles back at their owner.
Also turned up to 11 are the pyrotechnics and animation. Sure, this is a retro-pixel looking game, but all of the VFX bells and whistles have been attached to make it look really flipping cool. This one looks like it’s going to be satisfying to watch. With Downwell’s composer Joonas Turner on board too, it should sound the business too.
Progression and depth is here in triple-scooped quantities, by the look of it. There is a mahoosive Zelda-like map to navigate through (including levels that shift as you traverse them), and it looks like you will be constantly fine-tuning and upgrading your character.
Features include:
- Dive into fast-paced rogue-platforming gameplay described by Eurogamer as “Dead Cells meets Celeste”
- Slash and shoot your way smoothly with super fluid platforming controls
- Sharpen your skills with a frantic combat system focused on attacks only
- Dash forward to the otherworldly adaptive sounds of Joonas Turner (Nuclear Throne, Downwell, Broforce…)
- Defy hordes of unspeakable enemies and giant bosses holding the secrets of the Scourge
- Explore the infinite depths of an ever-changing dungeon
- Uncover mysteries and find mementos of previous explorers to unlock reality defining secrets
We have high hopes for this one – so much so that we included it in our pick of the Xbox One games for October 2020 article. Developers Flying Oak Games haven’t produced too much of note so far, beyond NeuroVoider, but Microsoft must have seen something in it to bring it to Xbox Game Pass. Expect a review imminently.
Scourgebringer is out now on Xbox One and will cost you £14.24, or free on Xbox Game Pass. It’s also out on PS4, Switch and PC via Steam.
Game Description:
From the developers of NeuroVoider, ScourgeBringer is a fast-paced free-moving roguelite platformer. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious entity wreaked havoc on all humanity, ScourgeBringer puts you in the shoes of the deadliest warrior of her clan: Kyhra. Help her to explore the unknown and slash her way through ancient machines guarding the seal of her past, and maybe the redemption of humanity.
