Review: Face the World in CONVOY: A TACTICAL ROGUELIKE
A true roguelike game should be challenging, rewarding and give the players a strong sense of desperation. Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike does all that with almost no problems. I was impressed with the amount of tactical reasoning needed at just about every moment of the game while still being very active and entertaining in combat and exploration. Although Convoy suffers from some pacing and difficulty issues (that may just me), it stands as a unique roguelike with engaging gameplay.
Convoy is separated into two types of gameplay: exploration and battle. The exploration aspect is far deeper than expected. Players move their little truck around a hexagonal map that has a variety of terrains, events, camps and faction control. There is a great juggling routine using fuel to explore and being on the best terrain to optimize fuel. I felt a constant need to use the best paths and conserve fuel in order to make it to the next fueling station. On the easiest difficulty, I still found myself stretching every bit of fuel just to make it to my next objective. I think the game could be a little more accessible if there was a little more fuel given after finishing objectives or money to spend on fuel, but overall the balance was good.
The combat was also just as interesting, original, and well balanced. At first, I was getting demolished, my cars running into obstacles, getting demolished by enemy units, and dying very often. But after some time, I was able to better strategize, changing movement and attack patterns constantly and walling off enemies into obstacles for instant kills. I was surprised at how much the combat relied on strategy, and not just firepower, which shows how well this game is made. This doesn’t mean combat was ever easy. Every battle felt like a fight for my life and like one or two wrong moves would mean certain doom for my convoy. The balanced and heavily strategic combat is overall tough, but fair.
The only things that I found problematic about this game may not have been with the game’s design, but my lack of skills in a roguelike game. Distances of objectives, payments for winning battles, and other things just seemed a little too difficult for being on the easiest difficulty, but that could just be me. However, as I mentioned before, the game never felt unfair or unbalanced, it just felt brutal.
If you want a challenging, strategic and engaging game, Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike is a fantastic choice. Just be aware that there is little to no forgiveness, coddling, or wiggle room, which can be perfect for some players and frustrating for others.
