Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Rebel Engine to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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Table of Contents

What is Rebel Engine

Rebel Engine is a fast-paced boomer shooter out now on Steam. The game combines innovative mechanics with a quirky story, flashy animations, and colorful design to create an experience unlike any other.

Hook

The sentient robot citizens of Ultima City are governed by the powerful Concrete corporation. Each citizen’s fate sits in the hands of the human CEO, Entropy. Those on top can enjoy the best the city has to offer, while those at the bottom are met with viscous oppression.

You are an enslaved construction bot, destined for endless combat in the arena for entertainment. After your latest defeat, a mysterious AI by the name of Salvador apears and offers you freedom in exchange for aid in toppling the evil Concrete corporation. With nothing left to lose you agree, setting off a high stakes, action pact adventure you will never forget.

Gameplay Loop

Players fight off waves of enemies in arena style combat, collecting new weapons and abilities along the way. Combat is fast-paced, with loud explosive colors to get that heart rate pumping, and keep it there. Players will hack-and-slash or shoot their way through their enemies.

What makes Rebel Engine unique is its reload mechanic. Rebel Engine breaks away from the traditional reload mechanic seen in other shooters. Instead of a manual reload, players will need to actively switch between weapons. Meaning, a gun reloads while a different gun is being used. To keep to keep up the flow of combat, players will need to constantly switch between guns.

Difficulty and Accessibility

Rebel Engine is difficult by design, especially if you aren’t used to gameplay. The game has settings that help adjust the difficulty to make the game more accessible. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the settings if you ever get stuck.

Review

Rebel Engine has a fun and colorful story with a gameplay loop that is unique, but also isn’t going to vibe with everyone. When the game works, the tight combo system creates an exhilarating adventure full of loud explosions. Unfortunately, the performance dips and a few of the mechanics made the experience a bit too awkward for my taste. Adjusting difficulty does help a bit, but it is hard to ignore the issues. Unfortunately, my save was erased and I didn’t have it in me to redo all the progress I had made.

Aesthetic

The world of Rebel Engine is vibrant and colorful. It is a world full of flashing lights, loud explosions, and a fantastic soundtrack to get you in the mood for killing. I am a huge fan of the colorful, cartoonist world, especially when it comes to the robot and weapon design. Exploration is limited, but when so much is happening at the same time, you barely even notice.

Story

Rebel Engine‘s story leans heavily on its humor. The game made me laugh a lot, and there was some very solid voice acting to get me through the story. I am a huge fan of the voice behind Salvador, and couldn’t ask for a better companion. At least for the bits of the game that I was able to get through.

Gameplay

I wish this game had a demo because the gameplay isn’t going to vibe with everyone. I love the innovative approach to the genre in theory, but it feels clunky in practice. The game is set up to encourage users to switch between all weapons, including melee, but going in for a melee attack feels like a losing strategy.

Kiting enemies with the game’s innovative gun play seems to fair a little better, if you can master the mechanics. This is probably a skill issue, but the reload mechanic never clicked with me. It never felt smooth and I was often missing out on damage because I couldn’t get the timing right. The auto aim feature is thematic, but made the camera feel a little too hectic. The game is already hectic enough without it.

Performace

When the game worked, the experience is exciting, but I often hit performance dips on my RTX3060. I probably need an upgrade, but it handles more demanding games better. I never hit a bug that killed my game or ended my run, but it is noticeable during heavier encounters. The reload mechanics make the game feel clunky, the added clunkiness doesn’t help. Messing with the settings does help, but it is something to note when trying out the game.

Does it work on the Steam Deck?

It works fine on the Steam Deck. I prefer using a keyboard and mouse, but the handheld experience isn’t unplayable. It really comes down to preference, and the keyboard and mouse felt a lot more natural and accurate. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get cloud saves to work and I unfortunately lost all my initial progress. I didn’t like the game enough to go back and try it all again.

Conclusion

I really wish this game had a demo because that reload mechanic is what makes or breaks this experience. Other than that, the game has a fun colorful story with some solid voice acting and amazing soundtrack. The atmosphere and atmosphere got me to invest as much effort as I did, and the humor helped soften some of that frustration. Unfortunately, the mechanics never clicked with me. I tried very hard, but it just felt too clunky. In better hands, the experience has the potential to be the high-speed hack and slash game of dreams, but not in my tired old hands. Adjusting the settings helps, but not enough to vibe with.

If you like fast-paced games where acurray and combos are important, then pick up Rebel Engine. The game offers a challenging unique experience with enough fun to be worth the price tag. If you aren’t used to the genre, or don’t like these types of fast paced Hack-n-Slash games, then this isn’t the game that will make you start liking them.

You can pick up Rebel Engine on Steam.