Convoy

Convoy's motor knocks and the suspension is a little stiff, but that doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable drive.

I'm frustrated that there's a great game here, laid a little low by grind, by sub-racing game insta-death factors and irritating, quote-drenched dialogue. This is, at heart, a small and simple game which tries to make itself bigger with unnecessary frippery rather than expanding its worthy core. It's perfectly serviceable as a land-based remix of FTL, but your next great, chaotic adventure Convoy is not. Yet.

Of course, Convoy Games is not the only developer with aspirations to emulate those titles. The roguelike market has become saturated over recent years, with many independent developers picking up on the sub-genre as a way to enter the zeitgeist on a small budget. Thankfully, Convoy is a game that deserves attention. Although the title stays a little too close to its roguelike blueprint, the open-ended nature and eye-catching, fluid battlegrounds make Convoy a thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly addictive journey into a post-apocayptic wasteland.

You’re blazing through the wastelands with two cars pumping out rocket barrages and gunfire on opposing bandits seeking to take out your mobile command vehicle. Scenery whizzes by as you make haste to prevent your cars from crashing into an errant mountain or building. Locking on to opponents and taking them out one by one, you emerge victorious, collecting some valuable spare parts and a tank of fuel. This is Convoy, a wasteland romp that channels the post-apocalyptic settings of Mad Max and mixes things up with the tactical roguelike sensibilities of FTL.

Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike gives moments of fun, decision-based adventure, even though it has some significant stumbles along the way.