Robothorium is a game released by Goblinz Studio. At first glance, it seems like your typical indie, turn-based JRPG. And this is indeed true in some respect: you have your team of five robots facing off groups of enemies that range in numbers, with moves based off of your speed stat. However, this game also adds an element of dungeon crawling, where you get to explore different locations depending on where the mission is located or where you are at in the game long-run.
Robothorium is set-up and the premise is very interesting. The game predicts a future where advanced A.I. is a reality, and robots and humans have started to clash in philosophy and beliefs in who (or, depending on how you feel about robots, what) deserves basic rights. The player yourself are an A.I., S.A.I.A (which I was excited about, you’re not blatantly on the human’s side), who has been activated to help calm down the world and fix the planet.
Other elements are mixed in as side-plots: a virus that kills biological creatures that stems from cyborgs, the question of cyborg rights, and a black market that offers great deals and exchanges, as well as help throughout the game to complete your goal. Through your actions in the world, your allegiance to certain factions either solidifies or turns sour, which affects the missions generated in the world as well as bonuses you get throughout the game. Yet to me, that is where the most of the intrigue stopped.
The turn-based style that Robothorium embraces becomes repetitive and monotonous very quickly, due to the fact the enemies are not very interesting nor do they display the most diverse set of skills. I found that if I was of the same level as an enemy, the fight dragged on for a significant amount of time, but if I simply leveled up once I was swift to demolish my attackers and proceed to my next victim.
Furthermore, although you as the A.I. are controlling the robots, they each have their own personality that the game tries to show through some random exclamations during combat, as you can see here:
Yet even this nice addition gets annoying, as the same phrases get repeated and sometimes even block off part of what you are trying to interact with in the game. Sometimes they offer insight into the mission, and that is nice to see your robots reacting to their environment.
The customization options that are offered are quite extensive, allowing for players to choose between buffing their robots, making them extraordinarily fast, or constructing robots that can deliver powerful blows. This did not add to my experience by a huge percentage, although I can see how others would enjoy this more. To me, it seemed, once I had a team that worked fairly well consistently, I found no reason to make many drastic changes, ultimately making my robot arsenal obsolete except to send on side quests for some extra currency, items, and experience.
Later in the game the story line picks up even more, making the long fighting sequences worth it to see what the next development will be. Conspiracies are brought up, lies are revealed, and the state of the world (as well as its future) becomes at risk.
Overall, the basis and idea of Robothorium is what saves it: perhaps not entirely original, the fact that it combines a semi-realistic future of our current world and allows the player to create their own adventure makes this a decent game. It just might be hard to sit around for long periods, so take a break, and return to this one later.
End score: 6.5/10
Check Out the Robothorium Gameplay Trailer:
Robothorium is available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and Nintendo Switch.
Mac Review
I'm Zepora, a junior at UC Berkeley studying Economics. I grew up attached to my Game Boy playing the Pokémon games, but now I turn to my consoles as break from school work when I'm not busy with lacrosse. I prefer RPG's with a some action, such as Elder Scrolls and Assassin's Creed (which is my favorite franchise) but am also known to play Super Smash Bros until 3am with my friends.
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