• FPS roguelike Roboquest recently left Early Access for its 1.0 release.
• The game is discounted by 20 percent for just a few more hours.
• A demo is available if you want to try before you buy.

Launched into Early Access in August 2020, we have kept a close eye on indie FPS roguelike Roboquest which just recently launched its 1.0 last week on 7th November. Those familiar with release sales know that they only last for a week, and this is no exception.

The 20 percent off discount on Roboquest ends today, in just 10 hours at the time of writing. Head on over to the Steam page to pick this one up folks. Here in South Africa the base price is already very fair at R349.99, and it is even more of a bargain with the launch discount bringing it down to R279.99. Overseas the base price is $19.99, discounted to $15.99.

But we’re working a bit backwards here to get you onto the Steam page ASAP. Like many Steam users we threw Roboquest onto our wishlist and we have been patiently waiting for the 1.0 release for years. We’re massive fans of the modern incarnation of the roguelike genre and Roboquest promised it combined with fast FPS shooting and a very Borderlands art style to go along with it.

“Roboquest is a fast-paced FPS with Roguelite mechanics playable in singleplayer or 2 players co-op. Shoot and run your way through randomly generated environments, pick-up upgrades along the way and blast the powerful big bad bosses you encounter. Upgrade your basecamp and unlock persistent upgrades to customize your playstyle and dive further on each subsequent run,” reads the official game description.

If you’re not sold on the description, the sale or the launch trailer which you can watch below, Roboquest does have a free demo, again also available on the Steam page. We have played through the demo and it reaches the first boss so the exact time it will take you to complete depends on your skill and how many times you die. It took us around 45 minutes over two runs to reach the end, and by then we were sold.

The controls here are incredibly tight and the shooting is a lot of fun. The overall feel is very polished for an indie title and we were having a blast shooting down evil robots. In that 45 minutes of play we got to see a decent variety of guns, powerups and locations so we’re interested to see just how much content there is in the full game.

We are also interested to see just how Roboquest stacks up against Gunfire Reborn, another indie FPS roguelike that went through the Early Access process and launched to much acclaim. We put just over 16 hours into Gunfire Reborn which is a decent amount but by roguelike standards we barely scratched the surface as several problems with that game stacked up to leave it after that time.

Back to the Roboquest demo and, as fans of difficult roguelikes like Enter the Gungeon, we knew we were in good company when the game recommended the hardest difficulty as the base experience. This is, of course, just a recommendation and those who want to enjoy an easier time can do so. This is also a nice option as the hardcore nature of the genre can sometimes be an impenetrable wall for those trying to get in.

While we’ve mentioned Steam several times because it’s our preferred platform and it has Early Access which allowed Roboquest to be made, it should be noted that this title is also available on the Epic Games Store, PC Game Pass and GeForce Now. Cross-platform play is also available across these options.