Shoulders of Giants Play NYC Preview - Slice and Shoot Without Mercy

Who doesn't want to team up with a giant robot, especially one that uses a huge sword? In Shoulders of Giants a pair of unlikely characters, a marksman frog and a warrior robot team up to restore life to the universe 1 planet at a time. The beautiful array of mute and lush colors highlighting how life is returning to this decaying universe.

Players take control of a sword-wielding robot and a sharp-shooting frog on a dangerous alien world. The goal is to return light back to the universe where everything is on the edge of annihilation. How, by slaughtering your way through hostile forces that constantly regenerated but stop once the area is restored.

The preview build involved me going from location to location unlocking key areas by destroyed specific parts of a structure. All while hostile enemies attacked me. Thankfully the combat was a lot of fun as both the robot and frog complement each other.

The robot has access to a sword and the frog a revolver. Each one can grab new weapons, I was able to get a hammer for the robot and a shotgun for the frog. You can only carry 1 so choose what matters more to you. Abilities offer more advantages such as dodging, an AOE blast, and more. Each ability is linked to a hotkey and has a timer linked to it, it's basic but effective.

Combat is easy to grasp and maintaining control is easy enough but never too easy. Various enemies with specialized attacks and defensives can lead to a snowball effect that leads to your death. In short, combat is fun and fluid and the enemy you face will keep you on your toes.

The art direction is colorful and breathtaking at times. The main characters are well-designed, looking like they came from Blizzard's Overwatch. The enemies resemble large moving globs from Gang Beasts. The landscape is dead at first, with a large array of dark and moody hues that instantly become more lively as you restore the light. Showcasing the difference you're making as enemies who travel through the restored area slowly perish as grass and other flora start to grow.

Shoulders of Giants shows a lot of promise for delivering a great atmospheric roguelike. The combat is efficient and fluid and the visual design is appealing. Seeing the world grow more full of life highlights progression and fighting your way to this goal is fun. For an early build, the gameplay was impressive and more on the way fans of roguelikes should keep Shoulders of Giants on their radar. 
 

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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