STEEL THOSE RABBITS
May 14, 2024
Rabbit and Steel is really fun!! :0 a lot of people say it's like lategame raiding in Final Fantasy 14, but I never played past ARR, so i wouldnt know :']
i do know at the least that it's designed after MMO-style boss battles and combat so there's a lot of elements from them, such as an emphasis on managing various cooldowns and abilities, as well as Boss Mechanics (stand here, don't stand here, kill tiny guys, etc). the actual presentation, controls, and the extra hectic pace however feels clearly very shmup-y; the developers' previous game, Maiden & Spell, was basically a fighting game/shmup, so it makes sense that that DNA is still here.
The game as a whole though is basically a boss rush game all about dodging attacks, maximizing DPS and getting cool loot! All the classes are very distinct from each other and it seems like while they have clear biases they're designed so you can play them in any "role"; regardless of their starting kit, you can get various loot and upgrades to enable a specific playstyle for your party. Clearing the bosses in general with a team is super satisfying; it's also not the worst experience I've ever had playing with randoms by any means! Attack tells are easy to understand and intuit, and coordination under most scenarios seems to come naturally with everyone I played with. No doubt though it shines best if you've got a friend or three to shout at whenever they mess up the mechanics, so I plan on tugging some buddies along :)
Also the music is excellent! Steelplus is really rising up on a list (i dont actually have any kind of list) of indie composers for me, thanks to their work on this game, One Step From Eden, and CrossCode.
If you're looking for a little bite-sized frantic co-op boss raid action with funny bunnies maybe check out Rabbit and Steel?