At a time when the Cyberpunk genre is starting to make a comeback, especially when early reviews of Blade Runner 2049 are praising the lofty sequel to a cult classic, Ruiner arrives at the perfect moment. Developed by Reikon Games and published by the twisted minds of Devolver Digital, Ruiner is a top down action game that requires frantic decision making in a broken world that needs change.
Ruiner puts players in the role of a psychopath out for blood who is guided via a Daft Punk-style headset by a mysterious hacker friend. The psychopath’s goal is to find his kidnapped brother and severely hurt those responsible. This is set to a back drop of a society being fed pleasant sensations via virtual worlds, putting citizens in a state of euphoric ignorance. As with any good Cyberpunk tale, an evil corporation is behind this nefarious plot to control society, hiding under the name HEAVEN.
Judging from what I briefly played at PAX East back in March and the two new trailers, it’s pretty easy to see that Ruiner is grounded in more than just brutal action. In fact, the actual gameplay could be sub-par and I feel like I would still find this game fascinating. It’s the kind of game I want to study a bit deeper, like from a literature perspective to really dig at the symbolism, commentary, and such. This is provocative violence.
Fiddling around with that early build of the game, I found it to be an engaging action game. Easy enough to understand that one could pick it up casually, but deep in its themes for those that want to spend more time with it. I will add that this game runs fast; actions have to be thought of quickly and players will find themselves frantic more often than not. Time will tell if the game does well critically or financially, but Ruiner has my hopes that it does so cause I love the style being shown that much.
Now, who wants to strap on a neon helmet and bash in some skulls?
For more information, check out the official website.
