Rogue Glitch Ultra Review - The Switch Has A Rogue-Like Platforming Glitch

Rogue Glitch Ultra isn’t as mental as it appears, but that doesn’t mean you can phone this in. I say this because that was my approach, naively thinking I could speed through a reasonable amount of times and max out my chap. Not a euphemism for my penis.

This review would be a negative one until giving it a second wind. Let me be crystal on this: negative, as I didn’t enjoy it so much, and no reflection on the game. It’s just my preference.

Rogue-like’s can be a lot of fun, and based on my experience of the genre (predominantly review games), the standard is often high. The key element required is a reason to keep playing.

Rogue Glitch Ultra Review – Scratch That Glitch

There’s no better reason to keep playing Rogue Glitch Ultra when there are sooooo many unlockable items. You can’t say that Lino Slahuschek and Rarebyte couldn’t be bothered and only offered marginal gains per run. Ah… 0.1% increase in my fire rate. I take that back…

Of course, they could be bothered – there’s a lot of content in the game, but that irresistible hook has to be a reason to play. What if the actual gameplay is naff?

That was the initial hurdle in Rogue Glitch Ultra. My foolish approach was that I’d get it almost immediately, believing the aim was to keep moving rather than pick off enemies.

As an auto-shooter, you’ll get within close proximity to a bad guy and immediately attack. This takes some getting used to, as there aren’t that many auto-shooters besides something like Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot, so you have to break down that muscle memory. It’s the aspect of getting in close.

The Goro Method

Applying the Mortal Kombat Goro Method (that is, jump in and attack, jump back, repeat again and again), Rogue Glitch Ultra became quite formulaic, and despite having a strategy, it would be pretty easy to die.

Restarting strips you of all your powers, and the only way to have permanent buffs is by earning malware credits from boss battles and then investing in stats. Worse, these first few stages were almost always too tricky.

I wasn’t enjoying it, predominantly because I wasn’t good enough. Then, after taking an extended break from the game, I thought it deserved a few more attempts. This paid off. While my opinion has shifted, this isn’t going to be, “You MUST get this game”, but I certainly appreciate it more.

So… that’s the whingy, inferiority bits dealt with. Let’s inject this Rogue Glitch Ultra review more objectively by giving a few facts.

Attempt after attempt created more opportunities, and finally, I could upgrade my player stats, which made a difference. Let’s also shift this to easy mode. Oh… it has been the whole time!

In this version, as I believe the original Rogue Glitch game came out a few years ago, we have the following:

• 1-4 players – either local or co-op
• 150+ unique weapons and power-ups
• 18 characters and their associated skins

There are bound to be duplicate items that are slightly similar to others, but generally speaking, these power-ups really are game-changing. From faster fire rates to vampire-like health restoration for every kill, this game boasts a ton of options.

Power Me Up

As for the platforming element, it’s an interesting one. Characters can double jump – even more with items – and bounce and slide off walls far better than any Hayabusa ninja can. The trick isn’t so much in the platforming, but timing your jumps with attacks.

One of the moves in the game lets you jump on enemies as long as you pull down on the stick. This was one of my go-to moves, but if you forget to do this in the heat of the moment, you’ll take damage by default, perhaps my weakest point with this game.

The variety is good here, and the focus will be on the game’s features, power-ups and mods. Fundamentally, it’s a solid rogue-like, but I must admit that it stumped me for a while, and I was eager to finish it. 

Again, that opinion changed, and while this isn’t a go-to title for me, it is one I’ll objectively suggest to rogue-like fans who want something familiar yet… unique. The co-op option is a great addition, but Rogue Glitch Ultra isn’t for casuals, nor is it wholly elitist and aimed at die-hards. Regardless, it’s a challenge with heaps of rewards.