StormEdge Review

The latest game to fuel my roguelite addiction is StormEdge. Developed by Shieldbreaking Games and published by HypeTrain Digital and Edigger, you (and potentially someone else) will be taking control of one of the five mages of the StormEdge guild to go on an epic quest to stop the elemental storms and save the world. Stumbling upon this game while browsing the Tiny Teams 2024 event page, I just had to try it out when I could, and this was up for review conveniently enough. I always expect great things from small teams with passion, but is this another indie darling in the making, or should I just play one of the other games I picked up? Let’s see!

Let’s start off with the presentation. Done in a pixel art style, the sprites are incredibly animated with tons of frames but are fast and snappy. And despite all the effects that will fill the screen, it’s still clear what you and your enemies are doing so you can react accordingly. It’s great. The music is pretty good too. I liked the tracks that played throughout a run, even though most of the time I tune them out.

But enough of that, let’s get into a run. There are five characters you can play as, with two unlocked at the start; Ulrich and Chenoa. The game does not hide who each character is and who you’ll unlock, which is… fine, I just wished to be surprised. Each character plays differently, with unique strengths and synergies with relics (upgrades stats for a run) and schools of magic (which are chosen at the start of every new run and area).

...I accidently turned on co-op.

But how do you fight? Well, you have basic attacks, counterattacks, a dodge, a conjuration, and a Secret Art to use against your enemies, but your main focus is on doing combos. Executing attacks in a row leads to more devastating moves and performing Perfect Dodges executes special skills. Simple in concept, but very complex depending on your current character and build. It's high risk, high reward, and you are given some space to play aggressively with a rechargeable health elixir. Plus, the faster you get through encounters, the more chests you unlock at the end of the area. This is actually quite enjoyable as it both makes playing fast fairly accessible, but also rewards you with better odds of making it through current and future encounters unscathed. And, if you’re struggling, there are a few accessibility features that grant some bonuses to make your run much easier.

I did find a favourite playstyle in Lily the Ice Mage, who can create homing ice crystals after she performs a Perfect Dodge. Paired with Storm magic, which can create harmless ripples she can dodge off of, she can wipe out entire waves and rooms in several seconds and —  with the right upgrades — regen health like it's nobody’s business. After that, all I need to worry about is her damage output.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are only five acts, including the tutorial. The previous acts are essentially preparing you for the final act, where you’ll have to go through each area in one run, taking out every boss you’ve encountered along the way. It’s a little strange to set up a good chunk of your playtime as training and preparation, but I kind of liked it. There is still growth, and it happens a lot more quickly than other roguelikes I’ve played.

However, in order to get to the end, you’ll need to select what reward you want in a branching path, from upgrading your basic skills, to obtaining relics, or learning more techniques from your chosen school of magic. Now, it would be better if I could see the entire path instead of only seeing three or four spaces ahead, just so I could plan a little more before committing to a choice of reward.

Between your runs, you’ll be hanging out at the camp, where you switch characters and spend the diamonds obtained on the field to upgrade them. To be honest, though, it does seem a little unnecessary, as it’s basically a glorified menu, with the only thing I found really useful was the training field and the several books that all lead to the same skill menu. There’s no one to talk to outside of cutscenes. It’s still a nice place to relax and test out any new characters, or get some practice in, but I think there could’ve been more done here.

StormEdge has a two-player co-op so if you’ve managed to rope in a friend or a family member, you can complete the act together… or, if you're slightly crazy, try and play two characters at once. It is very easy to call in a second player to join the fight, but they will have to stay until both of you die or beat the run.

Now, onto what bothered me throughout my playthrough. While I enjoyed it overall, I think there were some faults here or there, but these were the main issues.

Ulrich is considered the main character, so he’ll be the only one to talk to bosses in cutscenes no matter what character you choose. I find that a little disappointing, as there could’ve been some really cool interactions with characters and helps expand their characterisation outside of the paragraph included in the Character menu.

The other issue? I hated the snow boss, as they took advantage of the region’s Freeze mechanic. If you don’t stand near a fire, you’ll get frozen in place without anything to do. If this happens during this particular boss fight, they will blast you repeatedly, taking you from 100% health to dead in only a couple of seconds. Yeah, boss fights are supposed to be challenging, but this doesn’t exactly seem fair. Plus, once they hit certain health thresholds, the fight just stops as they power up. You can’t do anything during it and it happens every time you fight them, which really grinded my gears. In contrast, maybe because of my builds when fighting them, the final boss is shockingly easy. I can melt the guy in seconds, twice over.

I admit, I was too busy dodging and attacking to take screenshots.

StormEdge is a pretty good game with fun mechanics and an amazingly animated style, but I do feel there just could’ve been more done to really push it further. I’ll definitely be playing more even after getting the ending.