Review | Remedium Sentinels - Riding The Wave (of enemies)

Fresh to the scene of the rougelite autoshooter genre, Remedium Sentinels is already showing some remarkable promise. Developed by Sobaka Studios and published by Buka Entertainment, this dark, action-packed title will have you mowing down hordes of monstrous chimaeras and risen undead across a ruinous world with looping, rewarding fun.

Ok, but what if we all redownloaded Geometry Wars for the 360?

Remedium Sentinels brings you into an almost grimdark world. Most if not all of humanity are dead, converted into monsters and abominations alongside the local wildlife. You play as one of a number of unlockable sentinels, steampunk-inspired automatons that look almost alien within this gruelling mediaeval setting. That basic setup is for the most part, is it so far as a story goes. Perhaps it’s just the author in me, but the worldbuilding and narrative are certain elements I hope to see further expanded upon in future updates. Who built these sentinels? Why? Is there anyone else left, or are we truly the last bastions in a world overrun by dark forces? Despite leaving me wanting more story, autoshooters live and die by their gameplay, and Sentinels proves through its refined mechanics, soundtrack and style that it doesn’t necessitate a rich backstory to succeed.

 Almost reminiscent of the days of PlayStation 2, Remedium Sentinels utilises a simple but flat-textured design that keeps the chaotic battlefield easy to read regardless of how many enemies are swarming your screen. It does this whilst conveying everything it needs to about its atmosphere, utilising sparse lighting in fantastic fashion to highlight a sense of decay and ruin to the world around you. As mentioned, the sentinels almost feel otherworldly against this backdrop, and it’s the art direction that enables this, creating unique, standout designs for each automaton that offer a sense of personality despite the absence of dialogue. Enemy designs also showcase a strong variety, from chimaeras, to giant birds and dogs, to an array of mutilated undead. It does a lot to reinforce the sense that everything you’ll encounter in this world is hostile and twisted far beyond its original form.

Can I pet the monster? No.
Whelp, at least I can shoot it.

Sentinels elevates this further with a soundtrack that encapsulates both that grimdark aesthetic, as well as the energy, fear and endlessness of the hordes which assault you. Even the sound effects fit their purposes to perfection, every weapon at your disposal as distinguished by the noises they make whilst burning, slashing and piercing flesh as they are by their visual designs.

All this style plays a crucial role supporting the central mechanics of the game and keeping Remedium Sentinels’ identity distinct from the many similar titles. Even though its mechanics might not be particularly revolutionary, it has stood out thanks to its level of polish.

Strafe and weave, boys. Strafe and weave…

Mines, a repulsor, a mortar, a puncturing blade, a machine gun, and a circling saw blade. These are the current selections of weapons you’ll be able to equip through upgrades during each run, with each having five sets of upgrades in power and speed as well. This is to say nothing of the myriad of defence, experience gain, speed, damage, and repair upgrades you’ll also be able to equip. Balanced against a levelling system that rewards taking on harder enemies, and a limited health pool which encourages caution, this game is a definition of the ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ formula, lending it great replayability.

It goes further though, with the game rewarding dedication more directly. If you want to access new sentinels, you’ll need to work toward freeing them from cages found on the maps. Those maps themselves also require unlocking, pushing you to survive for at least ten minutes. Whilst tricky, these goals are finely balanced and aren’t likely to prove an overwhelming challenge for most. What will take some time are further upgrades and unlocks.

 Go to the ‘Unlocks’ tab on the main menu and you’ll find a number of unique achievements. Some of these achievements are what will open access to new maps and sentinels for you. Others will add in additional powerful upgrades to choose from during your runs, such as transmutation upgrades that unlock once you’ve maxed out certain weapon systems and provide big boosts to speed and damage potential. Go to the ‘Upgrades’ tab and you’ll find a place to spend all of the ‘scrap’ currency you’ll collect during runs. These purchases give permanent boosts, improving everything from your health and speed to the number of projectiles your weapons wield.

This is sure to end well.

All this points again to the success of Sobaka Studios in establishing a strong starting premise and laying down well-integrated mechanics that give Remedium Sentinels a lot of charm, replayability and balance. There remain a few minor issues. I’ve found parts of the map terrain to occasionally be a hindrance to mobility, catching on them from time to time. Difficulty spikes from map to map can also almost necessitate a bit of grinding, which won’t be for everyone. These don’t overshadow the game at large, however, and in fact, there is only one major issue I can think of that the game will benefit from addressing. I was left wanting more.

Remedium Sentinels has had a strong start, but the current content only lasts so long. More maps, more enemy types, more story, and more sentinels would all benefit the game massively, and given its early development, it should be obvious that this is one issue that can certainly be solved in early access.