Core Devourer Demo Preview
How many twin-stick shooters can one possibly play?
Apparently, a lot. Look, if that “one more round” bug bites within the first 15 minutes or so, you will have to pry the controller out of my hands. In the case here, I lost 6 hours before realizing it was 4 AM. And this was just a demo!!
Developed by Hubber Studios, Core Devourer is a roguelite, bullet-hell, twin-stick shooter. From the Steam description: “Hunt down huge hordes of droids, absorb their cores, and become the strongest cybernetic being. In this sci-fi action-packed roguelite, you unlock weapons with unique effects, craft powerful gear, and create endless combinations of upgrades for your character. Make your choice and break the game.” What is not to like? But how long can you survive?
Like most games in this genre, you start off with practically nothing. The energy rifle you have barely has any pop and the horde will be swarming like crazy. Then you level up and the power of lightning, fire, or even poison just rips through enemies. It helps a bit but eventually, the horde is too much (at this stage of the game). At the end of the run, and similar to Hades, you can upgrade your weapon in various ways and each subsequent run gets a little bit easier. The current demo has 4 weapons to use but the full release will have at least 8 at your disposal. Each weapon also has an alternate fire that can be used although it has a brief cooldown.
Killing enemies drop experience that when picked up will level you and present a choice of three power-ups. Be mindful of the passive buff they provide (range, damage, movement) as those could end up being even more powerful than the actual power-up. These power-ups will randomize their rarity with epic and legendary providing a more passive boost than a common choice. Power-ups are infinitely stackable so if something fancies you, go for broke.
In addition, to experience dropping, you will come across three forms of currency that will be used post-run, after dying. The more enemies you kill, the more you take home. Bosses are summoned at certain intervals of kills and this can be seen on screen. Bosses will drop the rarer currency needed to unlock upper levels of upgrades. Besides the aforementioned weapon upgrades, you can unlock components (this is currently not available in the demo). These are passive boosts that can be brought into each run with you. Players will have the option to install specific passives, upgrade them, and even dismantle the ones they do not want. There is also a talent tree that holds a neat little twist. Like most games, each talent can be upgraded multiple times. At max level, players can discharge a talent to access overload which makes it slightly stronger but at a cost.
The more you play, the more you can understand the type of playstyle you want and how these talents can help you get there.
Core Devourer is still in development but the demo is now available to play on Steam. Even with the limited content available, this is still proving to be an entertaining and extremely addicting game. It is a must-play for fans of all these genres and I, for one, cannot wait to get lost again in just “one more run.”
