Rotwood is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with rogue-lite elements from the creators of Don’t Starve. Read on to learn about this exciting new party game that builds upon the tried-and-tested beat 'em up formula of games like Castle Crashers.
Rotwood
What is Rotwood about?
Rotwood starts out with you and the fox, Flitt, crash-landing your helicopter in the woods after being smacked by a Boss Rot. In this world, strange and dangerous creatures called Rots roam the dangerous forests surrounding you. It’s up to you to look for the missing crew members you lost during the crash.
Rotwood Release Date Details
There’s currently no information on when Rotwood will be released at the time of writing, but we’ll update this article if it comes up.
Rotwood Demo Review | The New Castle Crashers
Rotwood will undoubtedly be compared to Castle Crashers because it feels a lot like a modernized take on the legendary game. It features a totally different but equally charming art style. Instead of playing as knights, you play as different animals. It plays very similar to Castle Crashers where you clear out areas filled with mobs of enemy units, along with the occasional boss fight.
What makes it better than its legendary 16-year-old counterpart is the improvements they made to modernize the formula. Castle Crashers’ combat, despite being able to upgrade your character, becomes kind of dull after several hours since all the weapons and all the characters more or less share the same movesets. This isn’t the case in Rotwood. You’ll have different movesets depending on the weapon you’re using. Expect slow and hard hits when wielding war hammers, and agile thrusts and slashes with spears. There are also skills that you could equip once you’ve unlocked them, unlike in Castle Crashers where each character has just one set of skills that are unique to them.
What I love about this game is how they were able to incorporate rogue-lite elements into the Castle Crashers formula. Each expedition you start will let you pick between options for power-ups. You’ll then occasionally be able to choose more the farther you get in the run. Examples of these power-ups are projectiles being fired every three attacks, and a chain of lightning that zaps enemies whenever you land heavy attacks. This makes it so that every run is unique, and you’ll feel your character grow more capable the deeper you are in your run.
I was only able to play the demo solo, but I could already tell that the game would be loads of fun with friends. After all, Castle Crashers was ridiculously fun, even with its very simple gameplay loop. The slightly more complex gameplay and the different synergies you could discover in Rotwood will undoubtedly show you and your buddies a good time.
Game8 Reviews
Rotwood Product Information
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| Title | ROTWOOD |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 25, 2024 |
| Developer | Klei Entertainment |
| Publisher | Klei Entertainment |
| Supported Platforms | PC |
| Genre | RPG, Action, Adventure, Beat 'em up, Roguelike |
| Number of Players | 4 |
| ESRB Rating | Rating Pending |
| Official Website | Klei Entertainment Website |
