Hacking in games has always fascinated me. I’m not smart enough (or skilled enough) to be a hacker in real life, so the concept has always been interesting. Rive allows you not only to hack enemies to make them fight for you, but also allows you to engage in an explosive “dance of destruction.” Rive is a Platformer/Shooter hybrid developed by Two Tribes that feels like shooters from console generations past, while giving a unique modern flavor.
Rive puts you in the role of Roughshot, a space scavenger that discovers an unidentified object in space. After fighting through waves of asteroids, Roughshot discovers that the object is a derelict starship that, strangely enough, has signs of (robotic) life. This is where the fun begins. Rive plays like a twin stick shooter mixed with a platformer. Using both joysticks (in the PS4 version) you move (and shoot) in a 360-degree radius. Additionally, you can utilize Roughshot’s hack beam in order to hack certain things in the environment. As you progress you will be able to hack more and more things, eventually allowing you to hack enemies, such as turrets and nurse drones.
Roughshot also has special abilities (that you can purchase) which deal more damage but can only be used when you have ammunition. Things like scattershot, cluster missiles and a tesla weapon are just a few of these handy special attacks. Using your special attacks wisely (especially during bosses) can make or break you. I found myself using special attacks too much, thereby causing myself to die at points where I needed to clear enemies out quickly.
The cool thing about Rive is the sheer variety of environments you play in. You start in zero gravity in an asteroid field, but other environments consist of underwater physics, standard on land gravity, and even riding on a fast moving train. Physics and movement play a serious role in Rive’s gameplay, requiring quick thinking and fast reflexes. I have to admit, though, that the transition between physics elements is seamless, and constantly kept me guessing on what the game would throw at me next.
The best part about the variety of the physics elements is that they change how combat works. Underwater you are forced to dodge enemies rather than killing them, while zero gravity allows you to move in all directions and avoid projectiles in unique ways. The game shifts perspectives relatively easily as well. Most of Rive is played in a sort of side-scrolling Metroidvania-esque format, while there are auto-scrolling sections, and even old school vertical (and horizontal) shooter elements like old school shooters in the vein of Galaga or Ikaruga.
Be prepared for the fact that death is inevitable. No matter how good you are, Rive is a challenging game that will keep you on your toes at all times. Each level is classified as a “mission” and has you traversing different parts of the ship collecting bolts and defeating enemies. Finding source code for various robots will enable you to hack them and will allow you to utilize them to progress further. The first source code you get is the source code for the Nurse Drone. The Nurse Drone follows you, and will heal you when you take damage. She can only heal you a certain number of times before she is destroyed, however, so you won’t be able to use her indefinitely.
All hacked enemies or constructs (aside from switches) have a limited use period, so using them wisely will help you immensely. Rive shifts and changes as you play, though each Mission has some variety of a theme, you may find yourself revisiting areas later on once you acquire new capabilities. Collecting Bolts from enemies or boxes allows you to upgrade your battle tank each level, but the requirement for each upgrade becomes more expensive the higher you upgrade.
For all the great and amazing parts of Rive, there are a few issues that are extremely frustrating. For one, there are no difficulty options. I can understand providing a challenge to players, but for those who aren’t as skilled, it would be advisable to provide at least a slightly easier option for them. The difficulty shifts and scales in what I would say is an imbalanced way. The very first boss fight that I played caused me to spend an hour trying to complete it. When I finally completed it, it was out of sheer luck. With that being said, most of the difficult parts of the game are difficult for one of two reasons.
The first reason is that many of the difficult areas are pattern based. Study your surroundings, figure out the pattern and exploit it in order to succeed. The second reason is more problematic. Some difficult areas are difficult in an imbalanced way. For example, you may defeat a boss, then go through a few challenging areas before finding a rather easy, calm environment. Out of nowhere, the difficulty may scale sharply, putting you into a rage-inducing grind that will have you screaming in frustration.
Despite this imbalance, Rive is intensely fun and provides plenty of laughs. The banter between the main character and the main antagonist is humorous and can be compared to the dialogue in Portal and Portal 2. Rive constantly not only makes fun of itself but also makes references to other genres and other types of games. Some of the dialogue even foreshadows what type of gameplay is coming. For example, at one point Roughshot makes a comment about side-scrolling aerial shooters, and then says “Well, guess I should lock my gun.” After this, you can only shoot horizontally, changing the way you play in a drastic way.
This sort of fourth wall manipulation (mixed with the entertaining voice acting) makes for a fantastic experience. While the developers say that Rive has a 6 hour campaign, it could easily extend to 10-12, depending on your skill level. Aside from the campaign there is a speed running mode for those in the speed-running community, as well as a mode called Single Credit mode.
Rive is a game that will test your patience and your skill. Despite the few issues it has, it is truly a game worth playing. Two Tribes has done incredibly well on Rive, and if you like shooters, platformers, or anything in-between then Rive is something you will greatly appreciate.
A Playstation 4 product code for Rive was provided by Two Tribes Publishing for the purpose of this review.