Rogue Company is an exceptional shooter in many regards. It gets the moment-to-moment gameplay flow just right, allowing for some intense firefights, though it does falter somewhat when it comes to the movement side of things. In this Rogue Company Second Opinion we’re going to explore everything that makes this game both good and bad, with a particular focus on how Hi-Rez Studios has built a game for a community of cross-play lovers. If that sounds good to you, let’s get into it.
Simple Yet Deep
The beauty of Rogue Company is its simple design. Players are given a handful of Rogues to begin with, whom they’ll be using throughout the small collection of match types. Each Rogue is equipped with a couple of unique abilities, differentiating them enough from one another to bring a level of skill to the game. If you know how to play a particular Rogue extremely well, then you could dominate in a multiplayer match.
Every Rogue can be upgraded within a match, allowing players to equip new weapons, or improve their capabilities. For example, you might opt to have a larger magazine in order to provide a larger window in which to kill enemies. You can also entirely skip the melee upgrade, perfect for players who never use this ability, and instead prefer to lean on range and speed. As you complete and win more matches, you’ll earn in-game currency to purchase more Rogues. This is what drives players to continue on to just one more match. It helps that the range of game modes on offer is varied enough that you don’t get bored very easily.
Variety is the Spice of Life
There are three base game modes in Rogue Company. Strikeout is the most basic, a Team Deathmatch mode with tickets for team lives. Demolition is the most competitive game mode, with one team planting a bomb and defending it, and the other attempting to disarm it. Extraction is somewhere in-between the two. It places a control zone on the map that players need to fight over in order to win the match.
Over the course of the game’s time being in early access, Hi-Rez Studios have held events where new game modes have been introduced for a short period of time. The feedback from each has been helpful in informing future updates, and seems to be something that the developer is dedicated to continuing to support for the foreseeable future. If you thought that some of those game modes sounded familiar, you’re right. Rogue Company feels like a game made up of parts of some of the most popular shooters on the market. Demolition matches are undeniably inspired by Rainbow Six Siege’s similar game mode. It’s also pretty clear that Extraction is inspired from Overwatch‘s control point game mode. It would be easy to say that the Rogue system, a collection of characters with varying abilities, is also taken from both of these games.
However, Rogue Company pulls it all together in a way that feels fresh. Even when we have new team-based shooters launching every other week, this one stands out amongst the crowd as something special.
Fun Over Features
As part of putting together this Rogue Company Second Opinion, I notices that it’s extremely clear to me that Hi-Rez Studios has prioritised the player’s experience over adding in fancy features. That’s not to say that the gameplay is bad, it’s just not as polished as it could be. Movement can feel clunky, and it certainly did to me on the Nintendo Switch version. This even extends to shooting, a core part of the game. As you play more though, you develop your play style to work around these limitations.
The game also ins’t the best-looking that you’ll find on any platform. One again, it doesn’t look terrible, but it could certainly look a lot better. Edges on Rogues and maps aren’t anywhere near as crisp as they are in other similar titles. There’s also quite a generic feel to aspects such as the plan players launch out of, as well as the buildings in each map. None of this seems to bother players though, myself included. Everyone is playing just to have a good time, and there’s one to be had if you can look past these limitations. Graphics snobs will never allow themselves to enjoy the game, but anyone looking for a good time will instantly.
Cross-Play Gold
The best part of Rogue Company is the fact that you can play with anyone, anywhere, on any platform. For many developers, it’s a struggle just to get cross-play working between Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Here though, everyone is welcome in a single match. The only exception is PC. But to be honest with you, there was never a time I spent longer than 2 minutes waiting for a match to begin due to player count.
Cross-play is just the start though. As this Rogue Company Second Opinion should show. Now the game is free-to-play across all platforms, and features cross-progression. This means that you can hammer out a few matches on your Xbox One. Then go out and play some more on your Nintendo Switch. Finally, having all the progress count on the same account. I don’t know about you, but this is a feature I’m still looking for in premium games, especially on the Switch. Whilst some developers are finally making the move to add this to their games, it’s already in place here. If you enjoy a multiplayer shooter, and want to be able to play across at least two platforms, I can recommend Rogue Company purely for this aspect alone.
Verdit
Overall, Rogue Company is a complete package, even if it does look like a budget one. There’s a lot of game here to be had. The fact that you now don’t need to pay for it makes it astoundingly good value. I would like to see some improvements made to visuals and movement over time. But that’s something the developers can work on as time goes by. Right now this is a game you can get in on the ground floor of. A multiplayer shooter with a growing community, and one that loves what they have. Avoid the toxicity of other similar games, and start your career as a Rogue today. That’s the summary from this Rogue Company Second Opinion anyway.
