There is something immensely satisfying about watching the particles and pixel environment blow up and react to the materials around it. This game highlights physics simulation and pixel retro experience.
Noita is a rogue-lite that includes a fully simulated pixel environment. Every pixel in the game is simulated and has the potential to make unexpected reactions. You are a mage that can find and create your own amazing and destructive spells. Every time you load into the game, it is procedurally generated level, so no two games are ever the same. The graphics have a Terraria feel to it with that added touch of dead cells. But in the end, this game is in a class of its own. It is not using Unreal Engine, Unity, or even Monogame. The fantastic developers have gone the extra mile and created their game engine calling it the Falling Everything Engine, which allows them to simulate every pixel in-game, creating the reactions when the different pixel materials hit each other.
The game starts simple enough; the tutorial is straightforward in that it shows the controls on a stone and lights up when you activate any of the corresponding control keys. It is an excellent way of giving feedback to the player without having to put them through an extended tutorial level. Multiple potential biomes can spawn as you play the game, but the starting biome appears to be the same. Its a cave with monsters that you kill for gold. As you get more gold, you can find portals that send you to an area that lets you purchase upgrades. These upgrade dimensions work in a similar way to Dead Cells.
There is plenty that makes this game stand on its own, though. The way the environment reacts to its surroundings makes it great. It is a rogue-lite game, which means the game will completely restart and regenerate the world. It caught me off guard at first because, at this point, it completely shuts down the game and restarts it. I think this is just to ensure all the states and generated world gets cleaned up and back to zeroed out state to begin generation again.
The gear and spells of the game depend on what wands you find and upgrades purchased in the upgrade dimension. There seems to be no limit to what kinds of spells you see and can craft. Many that you find have a limited amount that recharges when you enter the upgrade dimension, but there are other perks you can purchase to make them infinite and rain your might on all those foes you meet. Just be careful not to die in a fire, acid, or anything else that might hurt you. Otherwise, you will be finding yourself right back at the beginning without the power you once held.
When I was playing the game in its current state, It felt similar to Terraria, Dead Cells, and a few other games that I think drew on some inspiration. But this goes beyond just being based on inspiration. The world is generated in a way that has you searching for loot and never knowing what will come out. The monsters increase in difficulty as you progress. You have to anticipate the next way forward and how to get past certain monsters. Or better yet, get that infinite upgrade and bomb your way through the map making your tunnel. The best part of this game is there is no right way to play it. Be the aggressive run at monsters blow everyone up or the move slowly purposefully and get to the next biome. Or go all Leroy Jenkins and bomb your path taking on the monsters as they come. Watch out though for a frost monster that will freeze you and then take you out before you can do anything.
Game engines are all the rage lately. They make it easy for developers to work on their game without having to build their game engine and then a game after that. Big names like Unity and Unreal Engine, to name a couple. But the crew over at Nolla Games decided to turn on hard mode and build the game engine that would allow them to make the game they envision. I am delighted to see the fruits of their labor. The team has spent a lot of time creating a pixel-based physics simulator.
You might even be asking yourself, “What does that mean?”. You are not alone in this I think it has been asked enough that the team at Nolla Games answer it in their FAQ section. But in short, imagine that every tile pixel in-game can have a material associated with it. That material can have different properties. For instance, a tile with rubber properties might make the character bounce. They also have things like a melting point so that if they are on fire, they will melt away. I saw this happen when I lit a stack of coal on fire in the game. The path was no longer blocked, these properties can be applied to anything, it allows the water tiles to behave like liquid a fall in a different manner or even cause chemical reactions to occur based on these materials coming in contact. It’s so complicated that also thermodynamic models are implemented into this. Wow!
Rating
Rating Info
- Custom powerful engine written in C++
- High replay-ability
- Awesome spells that keep you looking for next enemy.
- Dynamic procedurally generated biomes
Check updates on the game on Steam or Itch.io developer blog, or follow them on twitter at @NollaGames and see what the latest changes that are happening in the game. Or send them cute pictures of cats, which was once something they didn’t want but now really enjoy as you can see on their FAQ. Don’t overdo it; otherwise, they might rethink their policy. Granted, the best way to show your support is to purchase their game!
Play the early access game on Steam or Itch.io now!