Force Reboot! Here’s a non-stop FPS that’s in early access on Steam. It’s only £2 and so we decided to give the SOB a whirl.

From indie developer In404, it’s frantic mixture of roguelike elements with first-person shooter action is very appealing. But perhaps only for a certain type of gamer…

Don’t Stop Moving in Force Reboot, Dammit!

Yeah, if you read this blog often, but don’t play games, you’ll notice we’ll mention the roguelike genre quite a lot.

It’s a big deal in the indie game world, with titles like Downwell (2015) and Enter the Gungeon (2016). Basically, the whole idea is repetition. You start a game, die, then repeat over and over. Just with more advanced abilities and knowledge than the previous time.

Only recently have we come to enjoy the genre more. Although the genre is often a little hit-and-miss for us, Force Reboot is a solid example of it done right.

Some reviewers of the early access release note it’s very similar to 2020’s ULTRAKILL. But we haven’t played that yet. What we have here is a condensed version of that game.

Force Reboot is a fast-paced FPS with a lot of action going on. For £2, there’s not much to complain about! You just have to clear rooms as quickly as humanly possible. Otherwise… death!

There’s a very handy tutorial at the start to get you through the basics, although the controls take a bit of getting used to on your keyboard.

You need to move fast. Constantly.

But using the famous WASD buttons to direct yourself, whilst hitting SHIFT and CTRL regularly for speed boosts, takes a big of adjustment. And is a little awkward to do.

Plus, if you’re new to roguelikes you’ll really struggle to get the point. As you will just die immediately over, and over, and over.

The point is to head in, learn, get better, and get further into the game.

As once you’ve mastered the controls and you’re hurtling about the place, it’s quite a bit of good fun! Short, for sure. But what do you expect for £2? WELL!? 

Yeah, so it’s OVERKILL (which we’ll get to eventually), but cheap and short.

It makes us think of something like 2015’s chillaxing specialist REFUNCT. Super cheap, super short, but leaves a lasting impact all the same.

That’s what Force Reboot is. Just in violent, fast-paced FPS fashion with a neat pixel art aesthetic and funky soundtrack.

For sure, there are much better FPS and roguelike titles out there.

But this is the indie scene for you—In404 is a lone indie developer. And we like trying out smaller, creative works to see what’s going on. And this one is good fun.