Robot Recycler Ryn Demo Impression
The mini-games are fun in short bursts, but that's just a tiny fraction of what's available to build. A lot of polish still needed to bring out the best to offer and it will be tricky line to walk to avoid becoming too ambitious with its systems.
Rablo Games has been incrementally growing a reputation behind the scenes as an indie developer that takes risks with its gameplay. With its debut title Healer's Quest , it mixed comedy with an auto battler. In Necro Story , combat progressed to including on-screen actions to make it more interactive. Their latest title, Robot Recycler Ryn , is the most ambitious one yet. There's a lot of polish still to come on this active-time auto battling RPG that includes a lot of crafting mini-games. RPGamer got the chance to take a look at a early build demo that shows off the robot creation process and some basic combat situations.
Robot Recycler Ryn takes place in a world where scavengers known as Recyclers are highly sought after. Recyclers are technical wizards who are able to build powerful robots piece-by-piece using the parts found in a post-apocalyptic world as its premiere group, the Recycler Rumble League, gains in popularity and influence. In this demo, there was no hint at the state of the world or how the story will evolve, focusing instead on how to build the robots and test them out in combat.
[caption id="attachment_187341" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Bending the sheet metal just right, or wrong in this case.[/caption]
Robots are comprised of five pieces that are each hand crafted. First, a set of legs is needed to keep the robot upright during combat, then a body piece, two arms, and there's a space for a head, but the demo didn't have any that could be created. Options were for two different set of legs and body pieces to show a bit of visual variety. Three weapons were provided: a sweeping laser, a single blaster pistol, and a shield. Despite the limited options, customization was highlighted due to how different each finished robot could look, the variety of enemy designs, and how each piece could vary in quality. The default amount of resources that the player had access to only created one robot, so it was best used trying to match up against each enemy individually to avoid being overwhelmed.
Before sending the robot out to fight they have to be fully built. A basic blueprint for the part's casing is drafted using a few different shaped pieces to make the outline. This minigame is just a copy and paste affair, taking the part that's needed and moving it over, with the only customization being how well the welding gun solders the pieces together. More fun comes from the next steps, as finalizing the part involves molding zinc in various ways. Raw ore is pounded flat into sheets after being heated up, and then can be cut in half and bent with pliers to fit the shape that the blueprints require. Using a variety of drill bits, players get to drill into and shave down pieces that match up as best as they can to a handy blueprint. Small details like heating and cooling pieces are necessary, then assembling each piece of zinc together creates a finished piece for the robot. How well the player accomplishes each aspect of this process is then graded and the final result is given stats based on how well it was formed. Overall, this is a fun enough diversion that will be interesting to see its expansion in the full release, but at this basest form it is rudimentary enough that for those without a builder's mindset can feel it takes away from the fighting.
[caption id="attachment_187342" align="aligncenter" width="640"] An imposing blueprint, but drilling the specialized pieces is flexible, just needing to be an approximate recreation.[/caption]
After each part is fully assembled and a robot is created, they can be tested in the arena. Videos showcasing Robot Recycler Ryn 's final product make this feel much more dynamic, with the player character hiding behind the robots and repairing them as the auto-battling actions happen in real time. The speed of this being done looks generous, giving players time to react. This demo does not go that in-depth, instead just showing how the auto battling aspects would play out with a created robot versus a decent variety of enemies, with up to three on the screen at a time. However, with no onscreen avatar, there's not much to see beyond the flash of lasers and blaster fire until one side is defeated. Winning gains some resources, though with limited access to zinc, there are no more pieces available to build. The heart of the gameplay lies with the protagonist, and hopefully future demonstrations will show them darting around and doing more.
[caption id="attachment_187343" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A robot shooting a laser at an enemy during the auto battle sequence.[/caption]
Robot Recycler Ryn is a continuation of the risky gameplay decisions of Rablo Games' titles. It makes its best showing in the trailers, and what we can see of players building their robots piece by piece and leading them to success still makes for an enjoyable loop. The mini-games are fun in short bursts, but that's just a tiny fraction of what's available to build. A lot of polish is still needed to bring out the best on offer and it will be tricky line to walk to avoid becoming too ambitious with its systems. Ambition is admirable, and this is a studio that keeps learning with each title, so there's hope for the quirky charm of these robots, friend and foe, to be enjoyably built and battled when the final release is ready.
Disclosure: This article is based on a build of the game provided by the publisher.
The post Robot Recycler Ryn Demo Impression appeared first on RPGamer .
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