The art style is a bit of a miss, but that's subjective.  Outside of that, Teleglitch a masterful implementation of a top-down shooter roguelike.
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
Date published: Feb 6, 2014
2 / 3 stars

Editor's Note: Some spelling errors have been revised since the original publishing of this review.  Maiya's copy of this game was given to her as a Steam gift by a friend.


Let me just start by saying that this is a game you'll either like or you'll hate. It's very unforgiving and to be quite honest, like most roguelikes the random nature of the game can mean you may end up wasting entire swaths of your time just to get to a level that will absolutely punish you and you will die. A lot of people have trouble with that kind of gameplay, while others find it rewarding. This is more a commentary on the actual roguelike genre than the game itself however, but it is such an integral part of the game that I feel it nonetheless bears mentioning. If you are the kind of person that gets frustrated by those kinds of games then this game is, without a shadow of a doubt, not for you.

Teleglitch utilizes a very low-fidelity graphics style. Given the sound design and the lack of music, I am inclined to believe this is a conscious gameplay decision. While the sort of voxel design it has certainly does seem rather unique, I can't say it really clicked for me. It just doesn't seem to have enough creative soul to it to justify that appeal. It certainly does have a very kinetic feel to the gameplay and graphics both however, so that bit was nice.

The gameplay mechanics themselves, however, work very well and it truly does the sort of roguelike survival thing very well. The gunplay is very simple point-and-shoot, however it does have line of fire mechanics that are done surprisingly well given the perspective, and each of the guns you have handle in a very different fashion. Some of the more powerful weapons such as can bombs or the high explosives involve a very survival-esque risk/reward mechanic whereby you can use them and they will be very devastating to the enemies, but given the timing window they could also be very damaging to yourself if you do not use the weapon skillfully. I find there generally enough of a skill ceiling to the gunplay and crafting that I find myself playing more in spite of an aesthetic that I don't find pleasing, which is praise for the game if I ever heard any. As well, the difficulty of the game is obviously something the developer has put some thought in. The levels themselves may be random but the progression itself has obviously been carefully tweaked, and they have abated the frustration of having to start over by including what are essentially checkpoints in that if you get up to certain levels you can start over from a further point than the beginning.

All in all I would say that is a mechanically-well-designed game that is somewhat let down by a very sparse flavour to the aesthetic and theme. I would still recommend it to someone that is a fan of that sort of roguelike however, as it is a very strong game in that genre. It doesn't add anything terribly new or innovative, but what it does, it does very well.