RahnalH102's Rather Redundent Renditions of Really Righteous Romps of Risk and Reward, Real-Talk™

RahnalH102

I'd put more in the title but it ran out of room. Anyway, I like this idea and while I lack certain "painful" titles that would truly make this like it is for others, this will still be a chore of sorts.

Anodyne
Angvik - Needs mini-review.
The Banner Saga
Bastion
BioShock
BioShock: Infinite
Borderlands
Borderlands : Claptraps New Robot Revolution
Borderlands : Mad Moxxis Underdome Riot
Borderlands : The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Borderlands : The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
Borderlands 2
Broforce - Needs mini-review.
Brutal Legend
Child of Light
Chucks Challenge 3D
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition Needs Mini-Review
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
Darksiders
Darksiders II
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Deus Ex: Human Revolution + The Missing Link
Diablo III - Needs mini-review.
Dishonored
Dino Run DX
Divinity: Dragon Commander
Dota 2 Needs mini-review.
Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition
Duck Game
Dust: An Elysian Tail
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Dragonborn still incomplete.
TES Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Enter the Gungeon
Evolve - Needs review copied over from other thread.
Endless Legend
Fallout 4
FEZ
Final Fantaasy VII
FlyN
Forge
Foul Play
Freedom Fall - Needs mini-review.
Freedom Planet
Garrys Mod -Needs Review
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Grow Home
Guacamelee!
Guns of Icarus - Needs mini-review.
Hell Yeah!
Humans Must Answer
I Am Bread
Jet Set Radio
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
The Last Remnant
LISA
Love
Mark of the Ninja
Mirrors Edge
Moonrise Game devs have dropped this game. We'll see what there there is to review.
Naruto Shippuden: UNS3FB - Needs mini-review.
Nihilumbra
Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Overgrowth
PAYDAY 2 Needs mini review.
Prince of Persia
Proteus
Rayman Legends
Rayman Origins - Needs mini-review.
Reus
Risk of Rain
Rogue Legacy - Needs mini-review.
Sanctum
Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Sine Mora - Beaten the story, but that was so quick and there is so much more to do.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Skullgirls
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Generations
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
Sonic Spinball - FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
SpeedRunners
Source Filmmaker - Not a game, but I'm doing it.
Spirits
Starbound - needs mini-review.
Storm
A Story About My Uncle
Strider
Strike Suit Zero
Strike Vector
Styx: Master of Shadows
Super Hexagon - Hello darkness, my old friend ...
Symphony
Team Fortress 2
To the Moon
TrackMania United
Transistor
Tribes: Ascend
Undertale
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Volgarr the Viking
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
The Witcher 1 & 2
Worms Revolution
XCOM: Enemy Unknown



Latest Edit: Updated List After Recent Sales.

RahnalH102

Tonight will be a night of installation as I don't have Borderlands on my laptop. My desktop is till in limbo. I really need to fix that since it's a (theoretically) simple fix ... ya know what, forget that. I'll get my Desktop back up and running first. Now to figure out exactly what the problem is.

Tushon

Amnesia should be the game you are half way to owning because most of us are going to go through it. I don't think Source Filmmaker counts as a game but I suppose that is your call. Garry's Mod probably counts as something to play 10 hours of.

RahnalH102

I have Source Filmmaker on because I sometimes need "excuses" to get started on things and I would like to learn this program.
Lot's to do in Garry's Mod, except I don't have a Counter Strike of any kind so some modes in it I can't participate in.

Amnesia ... I was hoping someone wouldn't mention it but I knew that was likely just wishful thinking. $20 bucks though, but I doubt that is an excuse anyone would except. This would be my first Horror genre experience and not just my first Horror game. My own nightmares as a child kept me from seeking out anything else in that realm of imagination. I do like hiding though. Something I've been doing all my life. Also due to said nightmares.

....

timuchan

+1 for what might be the best title in this sub-forum.

RahnalH102

Was able to start on the Borderlands DLC today. Soloing this is still fun, but not having a friend to play with can make it rather annoying and sometimes even boring.

RahnalH102

Okay first thing I'll explain my method a bit. At first I was just messing around in regular Borderlands because I had forgotten how to access the DLC. Leveling up and expanding inventory space doesn't hurt though. After I noticed the DLC zones in the fast travel system it clicked and I picked one. At first I was just gonna go at it whatever way it occurred to me but after getting some other DLC spoilers it kinda changed it up. So I hiked it out to Jakob's Cove.

Borderlands : The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned Completed.
What more can I say than it is Borderlands but with some "horror" and other flairs (Is that a tree?! By the Angel it is!) There are a few new enemy types that keep things relatively "fresh" as far as zombies and swamps can get. Humor and references abound as usual: Finding ECHO records of "Hairy" mentioning his van the Misery Machine and his pet "Scraggy". Fighting a hug mob while waiting for "red tape and paperwork" to be dealt with so your ship out of here can be sent in. Etc. It doesn't add anything as far as new weapon mechanics and the like go but the other DLC are supposed to have the new loots. It's short enough it probably doesn't matter much.

Overall I enjoyed this romp through zombie island and would recommend, like for most Borderlands sessions, bring a friend or 3 to amp pu the fun and difficulty (as this was a bit easy.)

Borderlands : Mad Moxxis Underdome Riot Mostly Completed
This DLC basically adds Horde mode. Enter an Arena, fight waves of enemies, 5 waves make a round and 5 rounds makes a match, with loot drops after every round is completed. The mechanics of the game are altered throughout the fights. From enemies having increased or decreased stats, to certain weapon types only begin effective, to shields and health for both sides begin altered. There are 3 starting arenas and harder modes are unlocked after completing them all. Again bring friends as I assume that would make it much more fun. Oh yeah, it also adds a bank for yo to store loot and whatnot. I've completed almost all the arenas so I figured I'd post my report on this one.

RahnalH102

I need to get good at taking screenshots. My thread will feel bland specially when compared to these others. Trouble is I'm usually so engrossed I forget I have the option in the first place.

primesuspect

F12 --> Steam Cloud --> Link to image

RahnalH102

I know it's that simple, and that may contribute a bit to why I forget it. it mostly goes something like this: "Hmm that was a Kodak moment. I wish I had screensho- ... *sigh*" Like TF2 for example, I've only ever taken screenshots in it when others (BobbyDigi) mentioned they were.

That may become a thing of the past now. During tonight's playthrough I kept remembering to try and take good screenshots. Nothing notable really happened though as I kept getting my !@# handed to me since the 3rd DLC apparently does not scale to level. Thankfully I'm only a couple levels away from being on par with it. time to go upgrade my pack a bit then.

RahnalH102

General Knoxx update: I've leveled up to be on par with the content and it's still kicking my !@#, but OMG DA LUTES! Definitely a contender for best DLC for borderlands. We'll see when I finish Claptrap's afterwords. Was trying to take screenshots this time ... but for some reason Steam in-Game was not running so only regular screen-capping.

Off topic: I saw Sims 3 on the Midweek madness and now I have a penny left in my Steam Wallet.

primesuspect

Agreed. General Knoxx is the best of the Borderlands DLC. Claptrap's revolution is still really good, but Knoxx is the best.

RahnalH102

Two updates on different topics:

Borderlands related: I found that I can't take Steam screenshots nor regular "Print Screen" screenshots. Ah well.

Another addition to the list: Mass Effect 1 & 2. My friend gifted them to me. I don't think it counts as a "troll" gift in this regard as he didn't remember I was participating in this.

primesuspect

You can skip ME 1&2 for this competition if you want.

RahnalH102

hmm well I'm gonna add ME2 to the list since I haven't beaten it on console yet and my bro has the console now so that not likely to happen. I have beaten ME1 as implied, so I'll at least be able to freely get the first playthrough setup for ME2 later on. Haven't updated much due to large influx of work at the job and birthday issues (ME Collection was one gift.)

RahnalH102

Evidently this challenge does nothing in regards to making me stop buying Steam games. Strike Suit Zero is now added to my Library. Also my brother got me into Planetside 2. 5 games in the last week. 2 by my own hand.

RahnalH102

I got home from work and for some reason wasn't feeling like TF2 today so I thought "ehh I'll see if I can get around to finishing Knoxx." However, I left my computer on from this morning and noticed in the task bar that Steam was downloading something. I check it. It's Dragonborn.

My resolve is renewed. The Borderlands series will be done.

Also I was reading some stuff (quick character bios) about Fire Emblem: Awakening and all I can think of is "I need to work more so I can get more money and have more freetime."

midga

I'm curious how good Strike Suit Zero is.

I also did Borderlands on the 360, but unfortunately never got through the Claptrap DLC. I've tried a few times to play through it again on the PC, but the first area always bores me so much that I can't get through it solo...

RahnalH102

midga said:

I'm curious how good Strike Suit Zero is.

From what I gathered from other people, the main "flaw" is that it seems to have a rising difficulty that some people hated. Others noted that your NPC allies are pretty much useless and that the enemies are super bots. Hence probably the difficulty curve mentioned. I see it as part of the theme of the game. The description pegs the Strike suit as the last ditch effort for an Earth that's about to be obliterated so naturally I would think that is how the bots would be. Other than that people enjoyed the aspects of it immensely.

We'll see when I get there.

midga said:

I also did Borderlands on the 360, but unfortunately never got through the Claptrap DLC. I've tried a few times to play through it again on the PC, but the first area always bores me so much that I can't get through it solo...

I see that ellipses there. As I stated implied (I have a habit of doing that) in the parent thread, I'm down for multiplayer. Except for Darksouls. !@#$ invaders.

midga

Well, when you get to Borderlands, give me a holler

RahnalH102

Finally, after Awakening some Fire Emblems,

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Probably one of the best DLC for Borderlands, if not the best. Still need to beat Claptrap's and then I can have a complete say on that matter. However Knoxx brings a lot to the table that would be hard to beat: an increased level cap, more powerful (and expensive) loot, a new rarity, new vehicles, new enemies, and of course new humor. This was also a bit of the School of Hard Knoxx (sorry) for me as I had my !@# handed to me many a time. Not that difficulty is a bad thing. It's not without things I found annoying though. The constant road driving can be fun at first but it got boring and tedious for me rather quickly. I enjoyed it and would probably recommend it to any Borderlands players.

And that concludes my masked relay from inside a Crimson Lance male enhancement ad transmission ... [bzzz] EnGORGE! [bzzz]

midga

RahnalH102 said:

a new rarity

RahnalH102

Claptrap's New Robot Revolution Completed.
I couldn't sleeep last night so I busted through what was left of this one. Still hate you insomnia.
Probably the most humor filled DLC of all. It stars Claptrap so what where you expecting? Chronologically, it happens after all the previous DLC, as previous bosses from all instances of the game return. Apparently Clap can perform a form of Necromancy. You basically go around making Swiss cheese out of Clap Traps and Trap controlled enemies, with the occasional group of bandits that found wearing tinfoil hats to actually work. And good Lord the money! I actually went from 400k to 999,999 while playing through this one. I believe this is due to the Knoxx DLC though as I tried Claptrap's first before I knew there was a timeline to these DLC, and the loots weren't nearly as good before I installed Knoxx. Over all Claptrap's Robot Rebellion was a fun little romp with plenty of stuff to shoot and laughs to be had. It doesn't add to the game mechanics like General Knoxx's DLC did, but what more could you really need beyond that?

Despite this I'm still not done with Borderlands yet. I need to complete a few more side quests and then give a whirl at the Secret Final Boss that I am hopelessly underleveled against and won't be unless I start a second playthrough.
"There will be pain." " Oh so much pain!" ~ The Twin Emperors

primesuspect

Carry on! Fight the good fight

RahnalH102

I just tried fighting the good fight against Craw and his crustacean crew. I got slapped by one of the lesser minions and went from (rounding up here) 1700 shield + health to 75 health. Naturally I was owned the next second. During the bleedout I was able to make a few consecutive crit shotgun blasts to a minions eye. His health budged maybe a 1/20th. I can't beat em yet. being level 46 fighting level 62s and a level 63 boss kinda makes it that way. Other then that i grabbed some Pandora Fried Rakk for Marcus' broken heart, found a gold plated sniper rifle that acts as the ultimate spawn between a shotgun and a sniper rifle, and collected a ton of Clap Trap parts, some gold fish, a pizza slice or two, and some panties. Why Clap Trap's had those I don't know. I don't want to know.

Also, I'm sorry I didn't think of this before but if Steam's overlay won't work, Raptrs may be able to, and it did.
SCREENSHOTS!


Nothin' like watchin' the night sky and the auto-turrets blasting bandits with your buddy.


I'm going to Disn-[Tarturus Station] !


Behold! The Clap Mind Trap! At least that's what I call it.


You are here. Not that knowing that is much good to ya!


Lutes! Lutes everywhere!


You, will die. Your massive amounts of "da moneyz" can't save you. Also, see that completed "Wanted Dead" mission? I cannot turn it in for some reason. Darn bugs.

And with that, I believe I am ready to move on to Borderlands 2. I'll still play Borderlands if anyone needs a shooting buddy. Just let me know.

RahnalH102

Before I get into the new mini-reviews, the following games are to be added to the list:
Anodyne (Already done, review incoming.)
Bioshock (I haven't been able to get this to run yet so may not get to this one.)
Bioshock Infinite
Darksiders I + II
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Proteus
Reus (I can never spell that right the first time.)
Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves
To The Moon (I'm gonna set a "Times I Balled" counter up for this one.)
Worms Revolution
XCOM: Enemy Unknown

RahnalH102

Borderlands 2
What can I say that hasn't already been said about it? It takes the original, adds much more of what worked (gun types, characters, humor), fixes & reworks a few things (multiplayer ease, menu conveinvece) and polishes the heck out of it all. Now that's not to say it's a perfect game. There are a few glitches, an occurrences of questionable game design here and there, and of course you can slap some opinion on whatever else you want. I had a regular glitch in the inventory selection that made it near impossible to browse my inventory, and I'd have to exit out of the menu and return. An annoyance, but certainly not game breaking. The good far outweighs what bad there is. The story is good, the characters are engaging and hilarious, fun gun mechanics, easy to play with friends, and more.

If you loved Borderlands, you'll love Borderlands 2 just as much if not more.

Screenshots!

Two things to note here:
1. The extra bits to help make the BA look BA.
2. Even the scope lenses can have etching, and other design the same way the guns themselves can be etched, have ermine, etc.


Aww yiss!


I messed up this shot. Can't really see it here but that Spiderling was actually walking on air for a bit. Figures it decided to be normal when I remember to take a picture.

Onward to the next game which will be Bioshock if I can get it to work. Some more mini-review are gonna happen first though.

RahnalH102

Anodyne
A retro style action adventure (think Legend of Zelda on the Gameboy) developed by two guys. Anodyne (anything that relieves pain or distress. Think Aspirin or Morphine.) has creepy undertones that become more apparent as you progress through the relatively short adventure. Overall, said adventure seems to be a mental one of the protagonist's. Though never directly stated, the conversations and concepts all could be inferred to be expressions of mental observations. So basically the "story" will be hit or miss depending on your interests, as it will either pique your curiosity as to what the hell is wrong with Young (the protagonist), or it will be too muddled and you just won't give a $%#@.

Gameplay wise it's very simple. You run around the overworld to the "dungeons" (which range from an abandoned temple, an apartment complex, a nightmarish flesh/blood marsh, and more), solving simple puzzles, and beating the boss for a key to the next dungeon. The first 3 dungeons follow that while the next 3 you can enter in any order.If you've ever played a Zelda game you'll see what the developers were designing around. Although it's not as clear cut in that a Zelda game usually tells you where to go next, and in Anodyne you gotta find the gate the key goes to on your own. You fight and solve puzzles using your trusty broom you found lying in a cave. You can augment the broom using extension but beyond that the broom is your only weapon and tool.

Oh right ... mini-reviews. Sorry.
A simple and rather short adventure game that has nice style, ambiance, and soundtrack, which make it really stand out on it's own. The story is hit or miss depending on your preference/mental capability. I still don't understand quite a good bit of it. The gameplay is simple but enjoyable, and gets really interesting after you beat the "final" boss and unlock the full power of the "Swap" extension to your broom, allowing you to actually move the environments tiles. Essentially they give you the power to break the game and give you new optional puzzles with it based on that power.

It's a good game in most facets, but can take some effort for it to really shine. I recommend it if you've played a Zelda or other such game (specially older 8-16bit ones) and are looking for something a little different or a little timesink.

RahnalH102

A Story About My Uncle
A First Person Action Platformer, and the first published game by Gone North Games. A fun, story driven game. A father is prepping his daughter for bed and she wants a bedtime story, he decides to tell her about the adventure he had in his youth chasing after his Uncle. You play as the father as he recounts the story, jumping and plasma-grappling from floating rock to floating rock with the empowered ADVENTURE SUIT left behind by his Uncle. Each level adds something to the mix that keeps things fresh as you advance. Multiple grapples, rocket boots, and more. There is a fair bit of collectables, Easter eggs, and references strewn throughout the levels. Even a certain 20% remark popularized by a small equine. The story is rather short, but each level has it's own separate time attack and grapple challenges that can add to your playtime as well has hidden story elements to find. I won't lie, the story made me cry, but I'm softie who cries at the slightest stimulation so your mileage may vary.

Overall it's a great debut game for Gone North Games and I look forward to their future endeavors.

I found multiple YouTube addresses, all the videos they linked to were unavailable .

ASAMU-ception

The environments look great! There are a couple more setting then this but I won't go into them.

RahnalH102

I can't sleep. Have a review for a game not on this list, but is oh so deserving of one.

(This specific image is not from ingame.)

There is a version of this for the PC. I however got the WiiU version caused my E-Shop wallet had built up enough bonus cash on it to make this a freebie I became interested in this after , all of which is well deserved. I don't have my capture card setup so no screenshots from me specifically.

Due to certain aspirations, I've been meaning to try and be a bit more critical of the actual design of the games I touch in this endeavor. To try and explain WHY the game is good at something or bad at something. Shovel Knight is probably not the best start for such a thing because it does everything so well. It combines tried-and-true mechanics from classic games to provide new experiences as a whole, yet remain a solid tribute to it's predecessors. The most apparent of which are Megaman, Super Mario, Duck Tales, The Legend of Zelda, and a bit of Castlevania (TURKEY IN THE WALL!).

The levels are unique to each other, and follow a certain theme that even the boss for each level is designed around (Megaman.) There are special items (also themed after their specific level) in each of these levels that can make your passage though the level easier, but are not required to beat the level or its boss (In various degrees: Zelda, Megaman, and Castlevania.) This statement is inferred and may note be 100% true. I say this because I never NEEDED an item to beat a boss (most bosses utilized key features of the environment you just went though,) and on one level I missed the item entirely but still beat the level no problem. This is one of the many ways you can dynamically adjust the difficulty of the game.

All the item, armor, shovel, health, and magic upgrades are optional. Even the majority of checkpoints are optional since they can be destroyed for a usually significant gold gain. Only the checkpoint in the beginning level and the one before the final boss are indestructible. There are even feats/achievements for completing a level/the game while handicapping yourself. Huzzah, bragging rights!

Speaking of upgrades, you buy these various power ups with the gold you find out in the field. Even the level specific items contained in big blue chests you'll need to buy from the (incredibly limber) entrepreneur Chester. Basically the better your score in a level, the more powerful you can get.

As you can tell from that pun in the last paragraph, humor abounds in this game. Would you expect something else from a game with the title "Shovel Knight" ? The majority of this is done through puns, there is even a feat/achievement for listening to every one of a certain characters puns. These are fairly well spaced out though, and there are plenty of other occurrences of wit such as the alternating "Level Start" messages and boss dialogue. "For Shovelry!" Oh wait that's a pun too ... well I didn't find many of them too cringe worthy .

The overworld is reminiscent of Super Maro Bros 3 with fixed but branching paths and roaming enemies. Some of these enemies are actually bosses that grant a significant gold bonus upon defeat, and a bit more flavor to the world.

Now that I've actually read the platform specific features, I would recommend the 3DS version if you have a 3DS. You get the same thing (and free updates coming in the future) no matter what platform you choose but 3DS appears to have the best bonus features, with an interesting Battle Arena, PlayCoins > Gold conversion, 3D, and quick select on the bottom screen.

In Summary:
Shovel Knight is a humorous love letter to classic games yet remains a unique experience of its own. It's challenging, but never feels impossible. It's fun and will make you laugh (or at least giggle ... or cringe.) A solid game made by a solid crew of veteran developers (Yacht Club Games was founded by former WayForward devs.) I highly recommend it.

I dig this game, and I'm sure you will too.

RahnalH102

Risk of Rain
Chawaa, I love this game! SO GOOD!
Gush over, serious now.
Risk of Rain is an action-platformer with heavy rogue-like mechanics. Made by Hopoo Games, a 2 man crew of college students. You play as one of 12 characters and try to survive as you make your way across a somewhat randomized alien world collecting powerups from the lost cargo of your ship.

Audio and Aesthetics:
The art style of the game is a simple but detailed bit style. Environments are toned back while the sprites for characters, mobs and bosses are bright and pop. You may lose track of yourself under the mass of activity that later hectic segments of the game can get to. The music really sets the mood for each level or fight while matching the games style. You can listen (and buy should you like it) the official soundtrack here. Give "Coalescence" a listen, I feel it sums up the experience pretty well (fitting since it's the track for the final level).

Levels and Progress:
There are 6 tiers of level environments you must progress through. You must find the teleporter in each level, activate it, survive & conquer the mob rush, and then use the teleporter to move on to the next tier. The first tier has 2 possible environments you'll spawn in, the next also has 2 and so on until the 5th tier and 6th tier which are one environment each. Each level (except for the final level) has a couple different possible layouts, and powerup drops and shrines are randomly scattered throughout the level, further randomizing each play through. As you make your way through the enemies, you'll earn gold and exp. You'll need the gold to unlock cargo chests or activate certain shrines and get the power up inside. Any leftover gold you have is converted to exp at the end of the level. The exp and level system tries to keep you minimally on par with the advancing difficulty.
Sunken Tomb - a 3rd Tier level

An Imp Shrine - Pay the fee and spawn 10 little and fast imps. Kill them all in time to get a powerup. Fail and you've wasted your time and money.

A Unique Factor:
A key feature to Risk of Rain is that there is a timer to your top right. Every 5 minutes (in "normal" difficulty) the difficulty gets harder. Enemies will spawn faster and faster and they'll be tougher and tougher, gaining more health, damage, and new abilities. This can culminate in super amped boss monsters constantly spawning in. This makes the game dynamic in how you choose to progress. "Do I get to the next level as fast as I can so that the harder enemies and bosses aren't so hard? Or do I stay and farm up powerups and exp?"

Artifacts:
While exploring a level you may come across a strange gate similar to the teleporting pads. These gates hold an artifact that you can grab after completing a simple (if you have the right character or items for the job) puzzle. These artifacts give you another lever to adjust the difficulty by altering or adding core gameplay items. For example, one artifact called Glass, will drop your health to 10% of what it should be but you'll deal 500x more damage (glass cannon). You choose these effects at the beginning of a run along with the ambient difficulty and your character.

An artifact in it's gate.

The character/difficulty select screen with everything unlocked.

Classy Characters, Classy Items:
There are 12 survivors to play as but you'll start out with only the Commando. Naturally as you play and as you accomplish certain feats, you'll unlock the rest. You'll play as a energy bow weilding huntress, a noxious beast, a robot janitor and more. There is a handy section of the main menu that details how to unlock each class and other items. Each character is setup similar to a simple moba champion (one item is even a BIG nod to DotA/DotA2). Each character has 4 unique abilities with the 4th ability usually being something game changing.

Below is the Loader, a melee class, setting up his Tesla Coil and grappling to a boss and mobs for a smack down.

(Courtesy of the official website for the game.)

There are 110 powerups that appear in the game (the various icons at the bottom of the screen), and most won't appear until you unlock them through the listed means. The items have all sorts of effects that range from simple health regen and faster attacks to upgrading your character's 4th ability and calling down a deadly (to you, your allies, and your enemies) meteor shower. There are two types of items, regular passive upgrades and on use items. The items follow a rarity system that affects how often they drop and allows you to estimate their effectiveness or type.
White>Common, Green>Uncommon, Yellow>Unique Boss Drop, Orange>Rare and Powerfull, Light Orange>Use Item

Lot's of nuance and variety keep the replay value relatively high. I've sunk at least 72 hours into this and that's playing solo.

Multiplayer:
Risk of Rain has both Online and Local Multiplayer for up to 4 people. This is a strength and weakness for the game. Online has no official dedicated server or connection method. You'll have to ad hoc it or find a server setup by fans of the game. Should you get connected, you need to keep in mind that this is still a rogue-like game and is especially unforgiving in multiplayer. Powerups are not shared and if one of you dies, you remain dead (sometimes with a humorous message above your corpse ((rekt)) for the rest of the level. During that time, you do not gain any exp. So should your buddy or buddies make it through you'll spawn in at the next level but will be gimped as far as levels and powerups go. Also, depending on when you died it can be a LONG wait. If all goes well though you and your friends should have a good time.

Summary:
Risk of Rain is a rogue-like action platformer with fun mechanics and intriguing style. Many characters with different playstyles combined with over a hundred power ups, randomized environments, many dynamic difficulty modifiers, and enemies give the game great depth and replay value. If you like rogue-likes or a challenge then I recommend this title. There is a demo available at both the game's official website and it's Steam Store page.