Boned Again: Survivors Review

It seems that at the moment, whenever I see roguelite in the description of a game, I jump at the chance with open arms. Boned Again: Survivors is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4|5, Nintendo Switch 1|2 and Steam. This experience is developed by Chepurniy Yevgeniy and published by TERNOX at a budget price of just £4.19. With roguelites seemingly dominating the gaming space in the indie scene at the moment, will this one be worth your time?

Gameplay

The premise of the game is simplistic, and the gameplay loop caters for gamers of any skill level. You enter each run, and you have to fight the waves of enemies and collect the gold that they drop when killed. This gold can be used to purchase and upgrade abilities between runs. There are different biomes, and success allows you to progress to each of the four on offer.

During combat, you level up, and you choose from three different upgrade cards per level. This has a Vampire Survivors-esque vibe to it, where you select a different power or weapon every time you level up. Choosing different abilities may alter your strategy with each run, and this is what makes the game a lot more interesting.

Visuals & Audio

Boned Again: Survivors features a 2D pixel art style that stands out in a small area, complemented by a charming backdrop. The solo developer has done well to blend the style with hordes of skeletons and bosses. I liked that the UI is very minimal and easy to understand, with small timers indicating when the next attack will be ready to be implemented. The animations with coins sprouting out from fallen enemies, amongst healing potions and upgrades, are both satisfying and rewarding.

The music is very reminiscent of early 90’s generation games, which could be quite repetitive to some, but for us older gamers, it’s a nice salute to the past. Aside from the soundtrack, sound effects are pretty minimal, with feedback heard from slaying enemies, absorbing potions and menu selections. It functions exactly as you’d expect from a game in this genre.

Final Thoughts

Boned Again: Survivors is a roguelite that gets the basics right. There is an addictive gameplay loop here that offers spontaneous and varied patterns with each run. Combat is tight, responsive and performance on Xbox Series X and S is superb. This is the perfect game to close out a long session with, and I found myself dipping into this for a good few weeks after several hours with Borderlands 4.

This is one of those experiences where you get that “just one more run” mentality, and before you know it, an hour has passed by without realising. For the price of less than a beer, it is well worth the investment for a good handful of hours in return.