If you like the kind of puzzles that involve setting off intricate chain reactions, Rogue Voltage might be for you. Released into Early Access on Steam last week, it’s a turn-based roguelike adventure that has you messing with the innards of a machine to defeat a parade of post-apocalyptic critters that look like they’ve been dropped in a vat of nuclear goo. Wire together different modules, hit the switch, and watch your contraption whirl into action with a flash of electricity.
It’s a strange meld of Slay and Spire’s roguelike deckbuilding and Pacific Drive’s tactical machine configurations. It wouldn’t feel out of place in a Zachtronics line-up. Different modules serve different purposes, but the two differences are ones that create power and others that consume power for effects. Modules sit on a square grid and are connected by placing tactile wiring between input and output jacks that share the same colour.
The goal is to make powerful chain reactions using the modules available to you as efficiently as possible. I had a quick play of the game’s free demo, and how you achieve this differs from round to round. You can’t just create one module setup and use it for the whole run. Modules can overheat, have a cooldown timer, or are defunct due to a status condition inflicted on them, so you need to rethink your rig on the go. Creating, storing, and harvesting energy becomes a module juggling act, as you’re constantly switching up your build each turn to fit the changed situation - it’s pretty cool.
There’s also some time manipulation stuff too. A timeline at the top of the screen shows the character’s and enemy’s initiative and you can push enemies back and force them to wait longer to act. Initially, I wasn’t into this element as much as the machine tinkering, but time bending becomes important as you explore different areas. Enemies started to become more mischievous, like encasing my modules in a thick crystal coating I had to break or putting bombs in my inventory that I had to put my precious energy into otherwise they would explode. Pushing them back on the timeline gave me more time to prepare for whatever chaos they inflicted on me.
Messing with the modules was unsurprisingly the best part of my short time with the demo. Seeing the electricity spark through the wires and watching each module kick into gear was super satisfying, as was taking the time to create the perfect network of wires and components to unleash a devastating combo.
Rogue Voltage is currently out in Early Access on Steam, alongside a free demo. Developers Horizont Computergrafik say that’s where the game will stay for 12 months, so we can look forward to a full release sometime in 2025.
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