Lone Ruin Reviews

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Lone Ruin is a hauntingly beautiful roguelike that makes up for its shortcomings with its visuals and gameplay. On top of that, this one runs wonderfully on the Steam Deck as a Best on Deck game!

I have a complicated history with roguelite games. They’re an absolute blast when done right, and an exhausting slog when done wrong. Lone Ruin has all the trappings of an excellent roguelite title. The trouble is, there’s just not enough game here to work with. It’s an appetizer that fancies itself a feast. If nothing else, the building blocks in place are properly solid.

I have a massive amount of love for roguelite games, I can’t help it. That’s even more apparent on the Switch, where it becomes so easy to pick up and play a game for 20-30 minutes when you have time without needing to turn on a TV and boot everything else up. Lone Ruin looked right up my alley then, being an isometric roguelite similar to that of Hades. This is the kind of game I’ve been looking for lately, having done everything there is to do in Hades at this point and waiting for th...

Lone Ruin is a stylish good time while it lasts, but players will want more before too long.

Lone Ruin nails the brief on what makes an appreciable roguelike – combining a slick and sexy aesthetic with a core gameplay loop that can be rapidly picked up, but is deep enough to beg for mastery.

If starting all over again drives you up the wall, then Lone Ruin probably isn’t for you. For everyone else, it’s a frenetic, fun and highly replayable outing that’ll have you coming back for more. But if you do find a strange meteor in your backyard, do the sensible thing and toss it in next door’s wheelie bin.

Lone Ruin is a hardcore, action-packed roguelike game to its core, and it absolutely shines on the Switch. If more content is added later on, this could be an early front-runner for the top indie game of 2023.

LONE RUIN is a roguelike twin-stick shooter with a specific focus on spellcasting releasing from Swedish indie studio Cuddle Monster Games. This is their second commercial release and the game kicks off with a bang as the distinctive visuals and thumping soundtrack get your blood rushing. Unfortunately, LONE RUIN sprints to the finish line far too quickly as credits roll long before you feel as though you’ve earned them.

Game genres don't get much more specific than roguelike twin-stick shooter yet here's another one; it's the promising Lone Ruin.

Lone Ruin is a solid roguelike twin-stick shooter, though this style and form has been done better elsewhere. There's a decent challenge and some replayability to be found as you repeatedly venture into the ruined city, but its brevity and lack of narrative drive fall short of the genre's greats.

It’s not hard to recommend Lone Ruin, particularly if you are into the genre. It’s a good price, atmospheric and a lot of fun. It’s not the longest game you will play this year. but you will still find yourself coming back for another go. Definitely check it out.

Lone Ruin will test your patience, but let’s all be grateful the arcade action comes without the arcade cost. The “just one more try” gameplay benefits greatly from the snappy load screens and menus, even on the Nintendo Switch version, making it easier to recommend this brutally difficult and magical indie hit from Super Rare Games.

Alongside references to the original Kao game, bashing barrels to find ducats, and unleashing fists of fury on a variety of troublesome foes, Kao the Kangaroo deftly finds a way to combine stereotypical platformer tropes to create a knock-out game. As a newcomer to the franchise, I am left wanting more from the brave marsupial, and can only hope that Tate Multimedia will continue its dedication to Kao.