Noita

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Submitted by Zach Dailey on Thu, 09/23/2021 - 20:26

Noita is a hardcore roguelite which presents the player with many classic elements of the genre. You have a vast array of enemies whom all have their own scale in being able to deal with them, a vast array of spells and ways to make them more useful, and a randomly generated environment that will change with every run. Those who enjoy roguelite games are no strangers to this fact. But Noita stands apart in the way that many players have called it downright masochistic.

Many roguelites like The Binding of Isaac and Risk of Rain 2 definitely have items with drawbacks, that can also benefit you when used correctly. In the same way, Noita has these same kinds of items, but the difference is it is very easy to kill yourself with an overpowered spell, or a spell that will only work in certain situations (Here's looking at you, Horizontal Barrier and Earthquake!) The player becomes as much a danger to themselves as the enemies are, so this presents a learning curve like no other game, especially when you have such a large array of spells at your disposal, making finding the same ones to experiment with reliably a little difficult. This, however, presents a much larger meta for the game if you are willing to trial and error these spells, and figure out the best way to employ them.

That being said, the game promotes playing it safe for the most part, as enemies are abundant and powerful, and the chances of a 'panic fire' with a particularly volatile spell are high. It's also very tempting to use spells that are new to you, or that you just really like what they do. A cost-benefit analysis is definitely a method that is necessary when playing Noita; like all roguelites you need to take chances and hope that they will pay off with a character upgrade down the line that will attribute to your build.

Doomed runs are apparent in Noita, so patience is a virtue when you follow this brave little wizard into the depths of whatever fresh hell the game decides to throw your way. Skill is a huge factor as well as luck, but without the proper firepower, a run is doomed whether the game decides it is your time, or you just find yourself with an underpowered wand against one too many, or one too tanky of an enemy. Take heed before you throw yourself into the pit, as Noita is well deserving of the title masochistic.