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A.I.M.2 Clan Wars returns
[freebies.indiegala.com] If you missed this FREEbie, this is your chance to get an epic science fiction first-person action RPG game for a limited time.
The 193rd GalaQuiz will be LIVE soon, win up to $50 in GalaCredit!
[www.indiegala.com] The GalaQuiz will take place in less than 15 minutes from this announcement Today's GalaQuiz[www.indiegala.com] hints are up. The theme will be Resident Evil (Movies).
Launch into the Fray with Rocket Arena on Xbox One
Summary
Rockets rule everything in Rocket Arena, an explosive all-rockets 3v3 shooter from Final Strike Games
Learn about what’s hurtling your way when Rocket Arena launches on July 14 on Xbox One
Get ready for intense, in-depth gameplay, powerful heroes, and — you guessed it — lots of rockets!
Welcome to a world where the rules are written in rocket fuel.
Rockets rule everything in Rocket Arena, an explosive 3v3 shooter where you’re never out of the action. Master your hero’s unique rockets and abilities to rule the arena and become a champion! Try out an ever-growing roster of diverse heroes with distinctive powers. Unearth new strategies and tactics based on your squad, explore a wide variety of dynamic maps, and discover the true depth of rocket gameplay.
Ready to roll? Pre-order now on the Microsoft Store to get the Epic Roller Derby Rev Outfit!
Rocket-Fueled Heroes
Explore a growing roster of fantastic heroes, each with distinctive personalities, backstories, and rivalries. Master your hero’s powerful abilities and signature rockets and get the most out of your squad.
Death-Defying Action
Never say die, because in Rocket Arena, you can’t! Taking too many hits will blast you out of the arena, but not out of the action. Ride your rocket right back in, survey the scene, and return to the fight.
Reach New Strategic Depths (and Heights)
Rockets are easy to use but challenging to truly master. Learn how to time your dodges, lead your targets, and use well-timed items and gadgets like the Rocket Magnet, Trip Mine, and Speed Boost to change the course of combat. Become one with your rocket and you will rule the arena.
Explore a Bold New World
From tropical ruins of The Gemstone Jungle to the high-tech, utopian Boom City, the world of Crater is home to many exotic locales. Each map is filled with hidden tricks, traps, and lore to explore. Use your rockets to jump, climb, and explore the environment. There’s a world of possibility, so grab your rockets and take off!
Evolve Your Heroes
The sky’s the limit for your heroes. Every match you play with them earns experience, unlocking Rocket Parts, Totem Parts, and spectacular outfits you can use to customize their look. You’ll also unlock powerful artifacts as you play — mix, match, and level them up to give your heroes impressive new stat boosts and effects! You’ll need every edge you can get to rule the Rocket Championship Tour.
Change the Game
There’s more than one way to play. Dive into Knockout for classic 3v3 competitive action, or warm up first against RocketBots and test out your favorite combos. Compete to score goals in Rocketball, control zones in Mega Rocket, and go for the gold in Treasure Hunt.
Sonic the Hedgehog film producer snaps up Disco Elysium screen rights
In a move some might call “very disco, man,” production company dj2, which co-produced the film Sonic the Hedgehog, has announced it’s secured the rights for a television series based on ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium.
The 2019 game, which racked up prize after prize during last year’s award season, tells the story of a drunken detective stumbling through a murder mystery that threatens to set a small town ablaze in a fictional universe inspired by Robert Kurvitz’s 2013 novel “Sacred and Terrible Air.”
It’s been widely praised for its use of text and irreverent humor to stand out in the narrative storytelling space.
For its part, dj2 has been creeping around the world of video game adaptations for a few years. It’s secured the rights to adapt games ranging from Skulls of the Shogun to Dontnod’sLife is Strangeand Vampyr.
Today’s announcement does not come with any attached writers or distribution studios, meaning the project still has a long way to go before it hits the small screen.
If adapted, the show would feature 100% more “sorry cops” than real police do, as they have lately committed to showing how not sorry they generally are.
There have already been many delays this year, and now to add to this, Universal Studios in Japan has officially postponed the launch of Super Nintendo World. Sorry folks, but the park will no longer open this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s not exactly a surprise after the 2020 Summer Olympics got pushed back to 2021 for the same reason. The opening of Super Nintendo World was meant to line-up with Tokyo 2020, but the plan is to now hold off until Fall or next year according to Nikkei.
Community: Check Out 12 Switch Games We Missed, Recommended By You
Over three years since Nintendo’s console first launched, Switch eShop has so many games available to download that it’s impossible to keep up with them all. While we do our best to review as much as we can based on what we think you’ll be most interested in, there are inevitably good games that will slip through the net.
With that in mind, a little while ago we asked Nintendo Life readers to send us brief recommendations for games we didn’t manage to review but they’ve enjoyed. Thank you to everyone who responded! We received a big digital bagful of recommendations for a wide range of Switch games.
We’ve picked a dozen of the recommended games across the genres and highlighted them below. Some reader comments have been edited for brevity or minor spelling and punctuation errors. We’ve also included a trailer for each game, too.
If you’ve got a recommendation, you can send them to us by following the instructions at the end of the article. If we get enough, we may run further recommendations in the same vein. So if you’d like to see more, keep ’em coming.
In the meantime, let’s take a look–in no particular order–at some NL reader recommendations…
Publisher: Digerati / Developer: JoyMasher
Release Date: 8th Feb 2019 (USA) / 8th Feb 2019 (UK/EU)
Nintendo Life reader TG16_IS_BAE had this to say about Odallus: The Dark Call, an homage to 8-bit action games:
This is a game that is a treat, especially for people who have been gaming for the past few decades. It’s full of surprises and borrows a lot of mechanics from other retro games of yore that are used in fun and inventive ways. The overall dark tone and aesthetic of the game is what really calls to me, as well as an outstanding soundtrack. It’s dark, gritty, memorable, and DOES NOT hold your hand, so get ready for that, too! Fans of things like Demon’s Crest and other Metroid-style games will find a lot to like here.
Also known as ‘Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus’, this game is delightfully charming and, above all, filled with mystery and magic. It plays like a 2D Zelda in a sense, seeing you traverse areas in order with a dungeon at the end. As you explore the world, you meet creatures that teach you their runic, musical language that you can use to solve puzzles, a system that is integral to the experience. The soundtrack is atmospheric and appropriately understated, and the pixel artistry is beyond amazing.
User Randomname19 recommended one of the few non-Nintendo titles compatible with the Labo VR Kit:
A hidden gem I really enjoyed is Spice and Wolf VR, the first third-party game that used the Labo VR headset.
It’s based on an anime I didn’t know about before, but I liked the two main characters so much that it made me watch it, since it’s essentially an episode of the series in real-time 3D. The only downside is that its very short, so the price could put some people off. There’s an interactive mode, but it’s interesting for only a few minutes, the main attraction is the story mode.
Publisher: Northplay
Release Date: 6th Dec 2018 (USA) / 6th Dec 2018 (UK/EU)
User BKPyrexx recently stumbled on this one in an eShop sale:
About two months ago I purchased a game from the eShop titled Conduct Together!. It was on sale for about ten cents, and I decided to get, for a quick laugh, what I assumed to be a lackluster and terrible game.
I was surprised to find that two months later it is unironically one of my favorite games on my switch. This game is not only a very tricky and rewarding experience to play with its fast-paced and hectic gameplay, but there is a huge amount of hidden jokes and attention to detail all around. Even the tutorials make fun of how surprisingly difficult the game is. I would highly recommend this game for anyone to play.
NL reader Jeff also had good things to say about Conduct Together:
Picked it up at a penny (US eshop, currently) put 30 hrs into it. It’s a puzzle game where you control trains and switches. Sounds easy, but gets super addicting, especially if you HAVE to get a perfect rating, like I did. And it gets hard when you have 5 trains, 4 switches, obstacles and a tiny course. Fully 4 player co-op compatible too.
Developer: Samurai Punk
Release Date: 29th Nov 2018 (USA) / 29th Nov 2018 (UK/EU)
NL reader Mohammed had this to say about a game we’ve got wishlisted, but never got round to pulling the trigger on:
The game is Screencheat: Unplugged. It’s a split-screen multiplayer first person shooter where everyone is invisible, so you have to, as the name implies, figure out where your opponents are by looking at their screens. It’s a really unique concept, and in my opinion it’s executed well, and it’s reminiscent of old FPSes of the past.
Release Date: 25th Oct 2018 (USA) / 25th Oct 2018 (UK/EU)
NL user Shard1 had this to say about this “high-end piano music game”:
Pianista: The Legendary Virtuoso is a great game. Sure, it’s a port of a mobile game, but it changes the experience to suit the switch and makes it a console game instead of a mobile game.
Pianista is a rhythm game which has you pressing buttons in time as if you were playing classical music on a piano. The aesthetic is simply not one that you find often in the rhythm game genre and I believe that it stands out as a hidden gem on switch if you greatly enjoy that type of music.
Pokemon Go's Bug Out Event Now Live, Adds A New Shiny Pokemon
Pokemon Go's solstice celebration has ended, but a new event is underway in the game. The Bug Out is now live until 10 PM local time on July 1, giving you a chance to catch lots of Bug types and earn other rewards.
Throughout the event, Bug Pokemon like Scyther, Venipede, and Dwebble will be appearing in the wild and Raid Battles much more often than usual, and you'll have a greater chance of hatching Bug types from 5 km eggs. You'll also have your first opportunity to catch another new Shiny Pokemon: Shiny Dwebble.
Additionally, certain Bug Pokemon will be lured out by Incense at specific times during the event. You'll have a much better chance of attracting the following Pokemon during the specified time frames when you use an Incense:
The Most Pythonic Way to Compare Two Lists in Python
Problem: Given are two lists l1 and l2. You want to perform either of the following:
1. Boolean Comparison: Compare the lists element-wise and return True if your comparison metric returns True for all pairs of elements, and otherwise False.
2. Difference: Find the difference of elements in the first list but not in the second.
Let’s discuss the most Pythonic ways of accomplishing these problems. We start with five ways to perform the Boolean comparison and look at five ways to perform the simple difference, next.
Boolean Comparison
Short answer: The most Pythonic way to check if two ordered lists l1 and l2 are identical, is to use the l1 == l2 operator for element-wise comparison. If all elements are equal and the length of the lists are the same, the return value is True.
Problem: Given are two lists l1 and l2. You want to perform Boolean Comparison: Compare the lists element-wise and return True if your comparison metric returns True for all pairs of elements, and otherwise False.
Let’s discuss the most Pythonic ways of solving this problem. Here’s a quick interactive code overview:
Exercise: Glance over all methods and run the code. What questions come to mind? Do you understand each method?
Read on to learn about each method in detail!
Method 1: Simple Comparison
Not always is the simplest method the best one. But for this particular problem, it is! The equality operator == compares a list element-wise—many Python coders don’t know this!
The following method is what you’d see from a coder coming from another programming language or from a beginner who doesn’t know about the equality operator on lists (see Method 1).
# 2. Simple For Loop
def method_2(l1, l2): for i in range(min(len(l1), len(l2))): if l1[i] != l2[i]: return False return len(l1) == len(l2) l1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
l2 = [1, 2, 3]
print(method_2(l1, l2))
# False
In the code, you iterate over all indices from 0 to the last position of the smallest list as determined by the part min(len(l1), len(l2)). You then check if both elements at the same position are different. If they are different, i.e., l1[i] != l2[i], you can immediately return False because the lists are also different.
If you went through the whole loop without returning False, the list elements are similar. But one list may still be longer! So, by returning len(l1) == len(l2), you ensure to only return True if (1) all elements are equal and (2) the lists have the same length.
A lot of code to accomplish such a simple thing! Let’s see how a better coder would leverage the zip() function to reduce the complexity of the code.
Method 3: zip() + For Loop
The zip function takes a number of iterables and aggregates them to a single one by combining the i-th values of each iterable into a tuple for every i.
Let’s see how you can use the function to make the previous code more concise:
# 3. Zip + For Loop
def method_3(l1, l2): for x, y in zip(l1, l2): if x != y: return False return len(l1) == len(l2) l1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
l2 = [1, 2, 3]
print(method_3(l1, l2))
# False
Instead of iterating over indices, you now iterate over pairs of elements (the ones zipped together). If the lists have different sizes, the remaining elements from the longer list will be skipped. This way, element-wise comparison becomes simpler and no elaborate indexing schemes are required. Avoiding indices by means of the zip() function is a more Pythonic way for sure!
You first create an iterable of Boolean values using the generator expression x == y for x, y in zip(l1, l2).
Then, you sum up over the Boolean values (another trick of pro coders) to find the number of elements that are the same and store it in variable num_equal.
Finally, you compare this with the length of both lists. If all three values are the same, both lists have the same elements and their length is the same, too. They are equal!
# 4. Sum + Zip + Len
def method_4(l1, l2): num_equal = sum(x == y for x, y in zip(l1, l2)) return num_equal == len(l1) == len(l2) l1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
l2 = [1, 2, 3]
print(method_4(l1, l2))
# False print(method_4([1, 2], [1, 2]))
# True
From the methods except the first one using the == operator, this is the most Pythonic way due to the use of efficient Python helper functions like zip(), len(), and sum() and generator expressions to make the code more concise and more readable.
You could also write this in a single line of code!
sum(x == y for x, y in zip(l1, l2)) == len(l1) == len(l2)
# 5. map() + reduce() + len()
from functools import reduce
def method_5(l1, l2): equal = map(lambda x, y: x == y, l1, l2) result = reduce(lambda x, y: x and y, equal) return result and len(l1) == len(l2) l1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
l2 = [1, 2, 3]
print(method_5(l1, l2))
# False print(method_5([1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3]))
# True
The map() function combines all pairs of elements to Boolean values (are the two elements equal?). The reduce() function combines all Boolean values performing an and operation. Sure, you can also use the more concise variant using the all() function:
Method 6: map() + all()
This is the same as the previous method—but using the all() function instead of reduce() to combine all Boolean values in a global and operation.
# 6. map() + all()
def method_6(l1, l2): result = all(map(lambda x, y: x == y, l1, l2)) return result and len(l1) == len(l2) l1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
l2 = [1, 2, 3]
print(method_5(l1, l2))
# False print(method_5([1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3]))
# True
If you want to learn something new every day, join my free Python email series for continuous improvement in Python and computer science.
Short answer: The most Pythonic way to compute the difference between two lists l1 and l2 is the list comprehension statement [x for x in l1 if x not in set(l2)]. This works even if you have duplicate list entries, it maintains the original list ordering, and it’s efficient due to the constant runtime complexity of the set membership operation.
What’s the best way to compute the difference between two lists in Python?
a = [5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
b = [4, 5, 6, 7] # a - b == [3, 2, 1]
# b - a == [6, 7]
Let’s have an overview in the following interactive code shell:
Exercise: Run the code and think about your preferred way!
Let’s dive into each of the methods to find the most Pythonic one for your particular scenario.
This approach is elegant because it’s readable, efficient, and concise.
However, there are some unique properties to this method which you should be aware of:
The result is a set and not a list. You can convert it back to a list by using the list(...) constructor.
All duplicated list entries are removed in the process because sets cannot have duplicated elements.
The order of the original list is lost because sets do not maintain the ordering of the elements.
If all three properties are acceptable to you, this is by far the most efficient approach as evaluated later in this article!
However, how can you maintain the order of the original list elements while also allow duplicates? Let’s dive into the list comprehension alternative!
Method 2: List Comprehension
List comprehension is a compact way of creating lists. The simple formula is [expression + context].
Expression: What to do with each list element?
Context: What elements to select? The context consists of an arbitrary number of for and if statements.
You can use list comprehension to go over all elements in the first list but ignore them if they are in the second list:
# Method 2: List Comprehension
print([x for x in a if x not in set(b)])
# [3, 2, 1]
We used a small but effective optimization of converting the second list b to a set first. The reason is that checking membership x in b is much faster for sets than for lists. However, semantically, both variants are identical.
Here are the distinctive properties of this approach:
The result of the list comprehension statement is a list.
The order of the original list is maintained.
Duplicate elements are maintained.
If you rely on these more powerful guarantees, use the list comprehension approach because it’s the most Pythonic one.
Method 3: Simple For Loop
Surprisingly, some online tutorials recommend using a nested for loop (e.g., those guys):
# Method 3: Nested For Loop
d = []
for x in a: if x not in b: d.append(x)
print(d)
# [3, 2, 1]
In my opinion, this approach would only be used by absolute beginners or coders who come from other programming languages such as C++ or Java and don’t know essential Python features like list comprehension. You can optimize this method by converting the list b to a set first to accelerate the check if x not in b by a significant margin.
To become successful in coding, you need to get out there and solve real problems for real people. That’s how you can become a six-figure earner easily. And that’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?
Practice projects is how you sharpen your saw in coding!
Do you want to become a code master by focusing on practical code projects that actually earn you money and solve problems for people?
Then become a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 06-28-2020, 01:17 PM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
What it means when a game is Optimized for Xbox Series X
Here at Xbox, we’re building the future of gaming by putting players first, ensuring that you are at the center and in control of your gaming experience. Whether you’re exploring an expansive library of Xbox Game Pass titles with more than 10 million of your fellow gamers or taking your gaming on the go with Project xCloud, it’s clear that the future of gaming is brighter than ever.
Nowhere is that more evident than with Xbox Series X, our fastest, most powerful console ever. Not only will Xbox Series X set a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility, it will empower the world’s greatest developers to create games that launch us into the future of gaming. Putting players first also means introducing a host of new features and technologies to improve their experience.
Optimized for Xbox Series X is the indicator for games that take advantage of the full power of Xbox Series X. Since Xbox Series X offers developers unparalleled power and speed, this empowers them to create the experiences they want and embrace a range of features and capabilities based on what is best for their individual titles. When you hear a game has been Optimized for Xbox Series X, you’ll know that the developer has either natively designed or fully rebuilt their game to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of our most powerful console ever.
Games featuring the Optimized for Xbox Series X badge can showcase anything from virtually eliminating load times via the Xbox Velocity Architecture, heightened visuals and hardware-accelerated DirectX raytracing powered by our custom, next generation GPU, to steadier and often higher framerates up to 120fps. Titles displaying the Optimized for Xbox Series X badge can include:
Brand new games built natively for the Xbox Series X such as Halo Infinite.
Previously released titles in which a developer has enhanced their title using the Xbox Series X development environment to dramatically leverage the power and features Xbox Series X has to offer, like Gears 5.
Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll be getting when you’re playing a game that’s been Optimized for Xbox Series X:
Groundbreaking Visual Fidelity Immerses You in Your Games
Powered by DirectX 12 Ultimate and with support for hardware-accelerated DirectX Raytracing—a first for consoles—select games will produce more dynamic, realistic environments. DirectX Raytracing means that you’ll see true-to-life lighting, accurate reflections and hear 3D spatially accurate acoustics in real time as you explore the game world. Ultimately, DirectX Raytracing enables developers to create more physically accurate worlds. To give a better feel for what this may look like in practice, we asked Manuel Fernández, Co-founder and Programmer from Out of the Blue to share what they’re most excited about for leveraging DirectX Raytracing in Call of the Sea:
“In Call of the Sea, the island has a great importance as we tell the story as a dialogue between the player and their environment. Thanks to the power of Xbox Series X and DirectX Raytracing, we will have the chance to make the island even more present, almost come to life. Players will have the opportunity to enjoy the island’s stunning environments in beautiful 4K, allowing for a greater immersion and an overall better experience.” – Manuel Fernández, Out of the Blue
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Next Generation Framerates Offer the Pinnacle of Precision
Games that have been Optimized for Xbox Series X use the power of the new console to deliver higher, steadier framerates, with a performance target of 60 frames per second at 4K resolution. Some games will even be able to support framerates up to 120 fps or variable refresh rates, allowing developers to offer players heightened realism and more precise controls for fast-paced action. We also talked to Technical Director at Codemasters David Springate about optimizing DiRT 5 for Xbox Series X, to give you a better feel for how increased framerates could improve next gen games:
“DIRT 5 is a fast, action-packed amplified off-road racing game and being able to play it with 120fps options on Xbox Series X is incredible. The power of Series X means that the game looks stunning at 60fps, and we’re also able to offer amazingly smooth, responsive gameplay at 120fps while still looking gorgeous. Racing fans know frame rate is king and DIRT 5 will deliver on this. Players will experience the strongest sense of speed and responsiveness at the highest frame rate. It’s such a great, smooth experience – I hadn’t experienced another racer like it.” – David Springate, Codemasters
Faster Load Times Will Get You Gaming More Quickly than Ever
Optimized for Xbox Series X isn’t just about gorgeous visuals and better framerates. It’s also about virtually eliminating in-game load times thanks to our Xbox Velocity Architecture technology. XVA combines a custom solid-state drive, custom hardware and integrated software to greatly decrease load times both in and out of games, meaning gamers will be able to spend more time playing and less time waiting. As an example, for titles that have large, open-world environments, these experiences will feel even more dynamic, as developers will be able to leverage the massive increase in processing power and the ability to stream assets in extremely quickly to not break immersion. Developers will also be able to effectively eliminate loading times between levels and create fast travel systems that are just that: fast. We talked with Mike Rayner, Technical Director at The Coalition to hear what he’s most excited about for leveraging the XVA for Gears 5 and here’s what he had to say:
“As a game developer one of the most exciting improvements that far exceeds expectations is the massive I/O improvements on Xbox Series X. With the Xbox Series X, out of gate we reduced our load-times by more than 4x without any code changes. With the new DirectStorage APIs and new hardware decompression we can further improve I/O performance and reduce CPU overhead both of which are essential to achieve fast loading. As we look to the future, the Xbox Series X’s Sampler Feedback for Streaming (SFS) is a game changer for how we think about world streaming and visual level of detail.” – Mike Rayner, The Coalition
Wondering which games are Optimized for Xbox Series X? Below you’ll find a list of titles confirmed to be Optimized for Xbox Series X to date. As this list grows in the weeks and months leading up to Xbox Series X launch, we’ll keep it updated to reflect any additions.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Bright Memory Infinite
Call of the Sea
Chivalry 2
Chorus
Cyberpunk 2077
Destiny 2
DiRT 5
FIFA 21
Gears 5
Halo Infinite
Hitman 3
Madden NFL 21
Marvel’s Avengers
Outriders
Scarlet Nexus
Scorn
Second Extinction
The Ascent
The Medium
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
We hope this gave you a better idea of what it means when you purchase a game that’s been Optimized for Xbox Series X, which ensure that the player is at the center of the gaming experience. We’ll be sharing more on Optimized for Xbox Series X and adding titles to the list above in the coming months.
As you might recall, Mojang’s new Minecraft spin-off – Minecraft Dungeons – is receiving a new DLC pack next month. Now, in the latest post over on the Minecraft website, it’s been officially confirmed “Jungle Awakens” will be arriving on 1st July.
The first pack will include three new story missions and new weapons, armors, and artifacts. There’ll also be new mobs such as the Leapleaf and Whisperer, and the Jungle Abomination. If you’ve bought the Hero Edition, you’ll already have access to this content when it’s released. If not, you’ll need to upgrade your standard copy of the game by purchasing the Hero Pass.
Alongside this will be the release of the Lost Temple dungeon – a free update, containing some new items, a few game balancing changes, and pandas – yes, you read correctly! Below is a first look:
Review: Colt Canyon – A Twin-Stick Roguelike With Razor-Sharp Gameplay
Twin-stick shooters generally have a lot in common with one another. Most of the time, they’ll throw an absurd amount of enemies in your direction, and it’s often an exercise in basic survival against the odds, with bullets flying in every direction possible. Colt Canyon certainly displays aspects of this, but it’s an altogether more subdued, deliberate experience – and it’s all the better for it.
Set in a typical Western setting (meaning cacti and tumbleweed are particularly abundant), Colt Canyon sees you take on the role of a cowboy who must save his partner from a gang of outlaws. As you progress through the game you’ll quickly unlock new characters, each of which are equipped with their own unique weapon and traits. It’s a fast-paced experience, but there’s a surprising focus on stealth, and it actually feels very similar to games like Hotline Miami in this regard; you’re rewarded for meticulously combing the environment and taking out enemies without being seen, and there’s a wonderful rhythmic feeling to the gameplay once you overcome its steep difficulty curve.
The view is top-down, and graphically the game is heavily pixelated. This artistic style certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it works well for the most part and suits the grimy, brutal setting of the Wild West. But really, it’s the gameplay that truly shines here. The game initially walks you through how to shoot, reload, and all the other basics, but crucially it also teaches you how to unleash a stealth attack.
It’s tempting, at first, to treat Colt Canyon like every other shooter and go in all guns blazing, but that simply won’t work. For starters, you won’t have enough ammo, and you’ll frequently need to plunder crates for more, but the enemies in this game are also incredibly adept at killing you. Once a group of them notice your presence, it can be very difficult to make it out alive. This is where the stealth attack comes in.
Pressing ZL allows you to perform a dodge roll, which on its own is great for leaping out of the way of incoming bullets. But if you also press R mid-roll, you’ll perform the stealth attack. This is a one-hit kill move that you’ll quickly become reliant on if you’re to make it through the levels alive; not only is it deadly, but it will also grant you bonus ammo if executed perfectly, which definitely helps to even the odds a bit. Plus, it’s incredibly satisfying to perform, as each successful attack is accompanied by a spray of blood across the sepia-toned earth.
Of course, the gunplay itself is also incredibly fun. You’ll constantly have fairly limited ammo, so it’s important to make every shot count; moving the right analogue stick brings up an aiming reticle that you can move in and out as well as every possible direction. Moving it further out causes it to expand, which makes missing your intended target far more likely. Some enemies die with one shot, while others may take 3 or 4 to defeat, so you need to make sure that if you are discovered, you’re always fully prepared.
To help you along the way, you’ll also come across prisoners that you can free in exchange for an upgrade. You’ll generally have a choice of about 3 or 4 to choose from, and these can include boosts to your health, premium arrows that deal more damage, and more. You can also hire the prisoner to help you take down enemies, if you wish. It’s a simple system overall, but the upgrades on offer make a real difference to your chances of survival.
As is the case with all roguelikes, the levels themselves are procedurally-generated, meaning no two playthroughs are the same. Roguelikes seem to be like Marmite a lot of the time, but if you’re one who’s normally not too keen on randomly-generated games, we’d urge you to give this one a go. Its level structure is fairly open, meaning that you’ll always have multiple options available to you, so you can tailor your approach to each situation. Crucially, the game never feels like it’s unfairly stacked against you.
We should also note as well that the developer has informed us of an upcoming patch that wasn’t quite ready for review. This will apparently unlock more weapons and loadouts, make smashing loot crates faster, and improve the overall balance of the game. We didn’t have much of an issue with these aspects in the first place, but it’s nice that they’re getting improved regardless.
Conclusion
Colt Canyon is an excellent roguelike with razor-sharp gameplay that’s incredibly addictive. The rhythmic action is comparable to titles like Hotline Miami, and there’s a constant temptation to have ‘just one more go’. Some may not be too keen on the heavily-pixelated graphics, but it’s the gameplay that truly shines through here, and once you’ve conquered the steep difficulty curve you’ll find this to be a fine addition to the Switch’s growing selection of roguelikes.