Oblivion Override Early Access Review
It was inevitable that Dead Cells would implement Castlevania into the game as the latter served as the main inspiration. Fittingly, only a few short months after that, a game would release into Early Access that clearly draws inspiration from Dead Cells. To be honest, I am shocked it took this long the way Dead Cells was and is continued to be received.
Developed by Humble Mill, Oblivion Override is a roguelike action platformer. For Dead Cells fans, you will see commonalities almost immediately from the combat basics to level layouts and even in-level merchants. This is no cheap clone though. Think less Ultron bots (cannon fodder with no original thought) and more Orphan Black sisters (same baseline DNA but their own distinct personalities). While the Dead Cells blueprint is clearly evident, after a run or two, you will see the true uniqueness of Oblivion Override.
When you start the game, you take control of a Mecha, Crimson. Crimson is one of two available mecha, with Lee unlocked as you progress through the game. Whether it be Crimson or Lee, every game will randomize your starting weapon.
There are swords and daggers and even warhammers but those are boring. How does a wok sound that can be thrown like Captain America’s shield? Perhaps a baseball bat that hits baseballs is more your speed. A giant lollipop saw??? As you make progress or fail and try again as it was, you will find weapon tokens to bring back to the armorer.
Once done, they will appear randomly at the start of every run and on that run as a drop. All weapons have a secondary attack which packs a bit more wallop but has a short cooldown. Most will take out several enemies at once like the Wok’s secondary which hits 4 before returning. Unlike Dead Cells where you can spend money to upgrade your weapons, weapons in Oblivion Override level up via experience. This can come in the form of an item drop or by recycling other weapons you find. Eventually, you learn how to reforge your weapons which adds secondary stats like increased crit rate or more damage to a boss.
Weapons are not the only thing that increases in power. Crimson (and Lee) level up or evolve during the run. When doing so, you are given the choice of 3 options to improve yourself. Choose wisely as you can only choose 8 different evolutions (this is upgradeable). Options range from additional charges of dash, increased crit rate and DMG when attacking from behind, or increased health. After choosing an option once, there is a chance for an enhanced version to become an option that is just a more potent version of the previously selected ones. All evolutions belong to specialties. By selecting multiple evolutions of the same specialty, a specialty skill is unlocked such as having a robot heal you when you drop below a certain health or dealing additional damage at the end of a combo.
There are countless builds to play around with depending on your specific playstyle. Additionally, evolving can be done anywhere and anytime. The game will notify you when you have enough Nanites to evolve but the menu can be accessed whenever you are not in combat and as long as you have the necessary nanites, you can add new evolutions or remove existing ones.
In the current release of the game, there are 3 main levels with 6+ bosses. Levels are fully explorable with many secrets to find. Similar to Dead Cells, there are teleporters scattered throughout that allow fast travel back to any other teleporter that has been found. If you play anything like me, you will have the “fog of war” completely uncovered before moving on to the boss fights. In the early goings, you may even find NPCs that will report back to home base and help you out before a run.
As you explore or just sprint to the finish line, you will collect a number of currencies to use in-game. The main one, at least while on a run, are Scripts. These are used at the various vendors that can be found in each level. They are also the currency that resets to zero when you finish and/or die. Other currencies include nanites, SFT (kind of like NFTs but not useless), and Zavitz. Nanites are needed to purchase permanent upgrades such as increased weapon damage, the ability to find secret rooms, the ability to revive once after dying, or how many Scripts you can start out with on a run. Zavitz are used to purchase new features from Mr. Xie such as random supplies in level and healing locations.
SFTs can be used to unlock new weapons from Nico provided you find the weapon on a run (similar to Dead Cells’ blueprints). Once unlocked, your Mecha will either start the run with that weapon or it will be added to the pool of available weapons that can be found and used during a run. This may all seem overwhelming but unlike this paragraph, not everything happens all at once.
Oblivion Override only recently launched into Early Access and there is already the beginnings of a game that will surely provide hours of entertainment. From great-looking levels, extremely fun combat, a bit of comedy from the NPCs, and nailing down that “one more run” feeling, this is a game to keep on your radar. The full release is currently planned for January of 2024 at which point there will be another mecha, mecha-specific upgrades, and more weapons to name a few things in the works. If you like Dead Cells, this is the game for you. If you like roguelike action platformers, this is the game for you. If you just like fun, this IS the game for you.
