Game Review: Rift Rangers

By JT

Players: 1
Platforms: PC

With the world being under attack a fighting force known as the Rift Rangers are here to save the day. Taking on the role of one of the four Rangers, you are tasked with defeating hordes of monsters and surviving a long and difficult 20 minutes, having to juke your way through and wedge yourself between enemies without getting hit. All the while you're placing various weapons on the battlefield to utilize as you see fit. With every upgrade the battle for life becomes easier, but saving the world is never that simple. Rift Rangers takes inspiration from Super Sentai (or Power Rangers if you prefer), with gameplay reminiscent of last year's Vampire Survivors. However, Rift Rangers brings its own style, music, and its own type of upgrades that work well for how this game's world. There is much fun to be had here, and it’s been a privilege to play it. Let’s take a good look at Rift Rangers and see if it’s worth your time and money.

Unlike the aforementioned Vampire Survivors with its darker color scheme, Rift Rangers is more light-hearted and has a more vibrant color palette. The gameplay itself made it easier to get into games of similar style and difficulty. Previously, I never felt like playing a Dark Souls game, but somehow this game makes me want to dive into that level of madness. Rift Rangers gets very difficult at times, but never feels punishingly so. The ability to kite mobs one way or the other is something you need to learn or you risk being surrounded without an exit plan. This happened to me a lot. Each time a monster dies it drops some experience used for RiftTech upgrades. RiftTech are powerful weapons you drop on the ground that you use to defeat the mobs. You must take over control points which add additional upgrades across the board, whether it be to health, running speed, or RiftTech upgrades. Unlike experience that upgrades only one piece of tech, capturing a control point can upgrade all your tech in one shot. The faster you capture points the better, as they become almost essential to good runs. Throughout my own runs, I’ve relied less and less on a health upgrade, and rarely ever did I upgrade running speed.

Aside from in-battle upgrades, you can add some permanent upgrades from the main screen, including the range that you pick up items from. It’s good practice to keep on top of upgrades and choose a build that works for you. Luckily, you’re able to refund 100% of your chips used for upgrades and reconsider things throughout all your time spent within the game. Each Ranger also has a different unique ability all their own. Yellow Ranger has an ability that allows you to dash whilst being invulnerable for a short time. The Black Ranger can deploy and set off bombs immediately, clearing a path when necessary. The Blue Ranger gives all RiftTech a temporary increase in attack speed, which can do devastating damage the higher your upgrades. The Green Ranger can use his ability to teleport all existing RiftTech in the field to your position, allowing for added protection especially if you’re attempting to capture a point and you left your tech outside the circle of mobs – which I did a lot because everything gets overwhelming at one point or another. Each Ranger has their own singular RiftTech they begin with as well, and you'll quickly find one that works best for you, as you are only allowed four different types equipped at once. Experimenting with different combinations of tech could be very rewarding early on, allowing for an easier playthrough at higher difficulties.

When you first warp into battle, there are barely any mobs and your first capture point is nearby. Things ramp up with time though and soon you will be swarmed before you know it. Any time you stop can mean a hit and possibly death, so your choices are to upgrade and keep moving, or die where you stand. Each run is timed for 20 minutes, with each type of mob spawning in at various intervals, including boss mobs that can make runs significantly difficult if not dealt with early enough. There are many different RiftTech weapons to choose from, such as Mighty Maul which tosses hammers straight down at your enemies. His ability is only limited to a more downward angle, which means he must be placed above the enemy for the most part; right above a capture point is often the perfect place. The Ultra Saw shoots a whirling blade towards enemy mobs, allowing for easy mob control the further it is upgraded. The Mega Ray is mostly used for controlling mobs within a shorter range, which is very useful for securing a control point until it can be captured. Much of the RiftTech I found myself using helped to give me breaks here and there while I was able to collect a lot of experience for upgrading. There are no bad RiftTech weapons either, as they all have their own short-range and longer-range uses. Some items can curse an opponent, so that when the opponent dies, they explode and damage any other mob around them. This means that unsuspecting mobs can be destroyed quickly with the right combination of RiftTech and upgrades. Killing a certain mob may drop a power up which allows one to four of the RiftTech to be used automatically by your character. Hammers may come flying out, lasers may shoot out and attempt to kill nearby mobs, or you might even just start shooting arrows at random mobs.

Rift Rangers has no substantial story, and not much of an ending, but it definitely does not disappoint beyond that. The gameplay is really where things shine and there is a lot of fun to be had just steamrolling through mobs and eventually finding yourself nearly steamrolled yourself. The 2D sprites on screen give off a bit of 90s nostalgia, recalling the look and feel of classic SNES games. For each piece of RiftTech that pops up on screen one can immediately identify it. “Oh, that’s acid rain! I’m going to get that!” In that way, it feels as if it’s not wasting any sort of time getting back to battle. You can just look, click, and go. There are many times where pieces of artwork failed to convey enough information for me to gauge the situation quickly and get back to battle in a timely manner (here’s looking at you, Borderlands). With RiftTech, there is an indication on-screen as to how many are on the field, and if the crystals are filled in, and then they're there. From the upgrade screen to the battlefield itself, the artistic design choices made getting back into the action quick and easy. There's no sorting through long-winded menus here, and no sorting through unnecessary configurations. Just look through available upgrades, your unlockable items, and that’s it. No forced tutorial either, which is something I adore!

Every piece of music is curated for fast-paced action and gives one the feeling that you really ARE a defender of mankind. The retro-inspired Rift Rangers theme is a real standout, and once you hear it kick in you'll feel like you can overcome anything. Think the Power Rangers once they transform and slide into their giant zords. Some games fail at truly incorporating music into the gameplay, while Rift Ranger's sounds keep you engaged throughout. At times there may be a disconnect between game presentation and gameplay, but the music keeps everything focused from the very start. Right at the title screen, you hear what you want to hear from a game like this. It was quite unexpected to hear this level of sound production from a budget indie-developed game, but it added a lot to the overall experience. Everything was conveyed perfectly and you'll come away remembering the Rift Rangers long after you're done.

Keyboard controls are very simple and use the WASD keys to move, with other keys are used for the tech. The tech is also clickable though, should you choose to use your mouse to place down weapons instead. As far as gameplay goes, you drop in, stay for 20 minutes, and drop out. Everything is catered to the gameplay, and this is exactly as it should be. I had a blast playing, and this is a game that I will continue to try to get better at. This is a game centered on providing a challenge, and players seeking just that, while also wanting something quick and easy to understand, will find that Rift Rangers really delivers. Every missed opportunity to place down a bomb or arrows is possibly another loss on your part. Mobs will surround the player within seconds you're not careful. Much of this game seeks to keep you engaged, and it did just that for me. One thing that could set this game apart from others like it is to have a small co-op or multiplayer component. This isn't really necessary but it would make for good DLC; Just throwing that out there! 

At only $5 Rift Rangers is a steal! That's almost too good a value for a game this good. Yes everything is simple, from the control scheme to the battle system, but I would never have guessed the game's low price point from that. This makes for a great gift, for yourself or others. For the cost of a sandwich you can own a game that is very easy to pick up and play, and is very entertaining. There are some things I failed to mention though, like the random placement of capture points taking a little too long, and one can easily spend a minute or two of precious time trying to get to them. There is also little in the way of content, taking away from future replay-ability options. Difficulty is increased only through completion of the previous difficulty, so you must replay each level multiple times, at which there are only two at the current time of writing this review. Placing bombs can be an issue as I sometimes found myself pointlessly clicking only to find myself walking out further than I thought I needed to place them. Overall, Rift Rangers is a solid release, which is what something even AAA game developers struggle with at times. This is an indie game that is beautiful, with a lot of flare and great visuals. Hopefully the developers will add to the title at a later point. If they do, this could be one of the best indie titles I’ve played so far this year. Rift Rangers proves that lack of story can sometimes be a good thing. I’d rather have little or no story over one that bores me to death. Here's hoping we see more from the Rift Rangers in the future.

For More Information on Rift Rangers:
https://riftrangers.com/

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Story: D- (Not important!)
Gameplay: A
Graphics/Visuals: A
Sound/Music: A
Value: A+

OVERALL: A-

Pros:
+ Great gameplay. Solid, simple, and easy to understand.
+ Good use of visuals. Everything was on display very neatly and nicely.
+ Music sounds like it comes from an A-tier release.
+ Value is great for the cost.
+ No handholding in the slightest. Difficulty is exactly where it needs to be.

Cons:
- Lacking content needed for that solid A level and above.
- Only 2 worlds to explore and die in.
- Small things here and there that are annoying, but never game breaking.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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