RELOADIAN Steam Demo Review
Verdict: Maybe
A side-scrolling action roguelike with clean art and sharp platforming, where attack inputs queue so hard that dodging o
I played RELOADIAN for two hours, tried all three characters, got pretty far through the demo, and I genuinely could not tell you whether I had a good time or not. That is not a complaint. It is the most honest thing I can say about it. Something was stopping me from fully enjoying it, and I could not pin down what at first. RELOADIAN is a side-scrolling Action Roguelike from Bucketplay Inc. You pick a hero, fight through waves of enemies, navigate jumping puzzles, and work towards a boss at the end of each chapter, finishing the demo with a final boss for that run. Co-op is available online and cross-platform, but I played solo. My verdict is Maybe.
RELOADIAN is a maybe if you want a side-scrolling action roguelike with strong looks and platforming, but you need to tolerate rigid attack commitment or find a build that works around it. Try daggers and dash-speed synergies, consider co-op for revives, and treat the demo as a taste test rather than a sure yes. I finished most of the slice solo and still cannot tell you I had a good time, which is exactly why Maybe fits.
Pros
- Art and animation quality sell the fantasy even when combat frustrates
- Double jump and wall jump platforming sections feel sharp
- Daggers plus post-dash attack speed can make a run finally click
- Chapter bosses and a demo-ending final boss give the slice a proper arc
- Co-op and cross-platform support exist if solo queueing is the wrong way in
Cons
- Attack inputs queue with no cancel, so correct dodges can still arrive too late
- Mid-run timed damage boosts and multiple currencies feel mobile-first on PC
- UI suggests mouse control but relies on keyboard navigation in menus
- Mouse focus can drop out of the game window mid-fight
- Two hours across three characters left enjoyment ambiguous rather than settled
Art, movement, and the dagger run
The art is genuinely good. The animations are clean. The game looks like it should be fun, which is part of what made the frustration hard to place.
The Platformer side clicked best for me. Double jump, wall jump, getting the movement right through jumping puzzles. That part worked. Chests give you weapons, health potions, and ability upgrades in different types.
My best run was daggers combined with a post-dash ability that gave fifty percent extra attack speed. Low damage per hit, but an enormous number of hits, and the dash gave me a way to break up my positioning when I needed to move. That run felt like the game clicking. None of the others quite did.
The attack queue
The Action combat is where I kept hitting a wall. RELOADIAN commits your attacks. Hit the attack button five times and five attacks are going to happen in order, no matter what.
If you are mashing through a group of enemies and one of them telegraphs an attack, you need to dodge immediately. If you have already pressed attack four times, you are going through all of those first. Nothing cuts through it. I got hit by attacks I saw coming, reacted correctly, and took the damage anyway. Over two hours that frustration adds up, especially on bosses.
There is also a mid-run shop that sells thirty-minute damage boosts in a Roguelike beat-em-up. That is a strange thing to sell. Combined with the number of currencies floating around, it feels like a mobile game that has not been fully rethought for PC.
Solo limits, UI friction, and the honest Maybe
Online co-op has a revive mechanic that probably would have helped me more than once. I can see the game being more fun with other players, but I cannot speak to that side from this session.
The mouse controls need work too. The UI looks like it wants mouse input but actually runs on keyboard navigation with space to confirm. The mouse disconnected from the game window a couple of times and clicked me onto a different screen entirely. That kind of friction adds up next to the combat queue issue.
The demo was attached to the main Steam page with no separate user reviews showing at the time I played, and the full release date was not confirmed yet. I want to like this more than I do. That is probably the most useful thing I can tell you about it.
Game Info
- Developer
- Bucketplay Inc.
- Publisher
- Bucketplay Inc.
- Full game
- Out now ($9.99)
- Platform
- PC
- Multiplayer
- No
- Controller
- Yes
- Playtime
- 2h
Watch the video review: YouTube
Tags: Roguelike, Action, Platformer, Indie, Co-op, Hack and Slash, Multiplayer, PvE
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