Once upon a time Roguelikes were obscure little indies that released very rarely and for the most part exclusively on PC. Times sure have changed though, and now you can’t go for a big poo without dozens of them releasing before you’ve even finished. With even God of War and The Last of Us adding Roguelike modes, it’s fair to say this genre is now anything but niche. There’s still plenty of gas left in the permadeath tank though, as Forestrike proved rather nicely in this preview build.
Our protagonist Yu is a heroic martial artist, who in a world of turmoil wants to help save the Emperor from the influence of the evil Admiral. To do this he’ll have to make his way through dozens of guards though, with the help of one of five masters who bestows skills on him. It’s not the most unique tale in the world, but it’s a fine way to frame the action and is full of more proverbs than you could shake a curled fist at.
Each run of Forestrike is made up of a selection of combat encounters, and in every single one of them you’ll be massively outnumbered. The only way to manage this disadvantage is with your Foresight, a sort of magic meditation Yu can use to see how a battle can be won. In gameplay terms this means you can practice a fight over and over again until you’re confident you’ll win it for real, which is so incredibly clever. Once you’re ready to actually attempt an encounter you’ll have to ensure you don’t botch it, otherwise it’s game over and back to the start of the run.
Foresight is an awesome mechanic unlike anything I can think of among the game’s peers, but it wouldn’t matter if the combat itself wasn’t enjoyable. Thankfully that’s far from the case in Forestrike, which has hand-to-hand fighting that’s easy to learn but hard to master. You have a light and heavy attack you can use to deal damage (and if timed correctly interrupt incoming attacks) as well as the ability to pick up weapons and dodge. It doesn’t sound like a lot of combat options, but using them effectively to deal with the enemies in front of you is essentially a punching and kicking puzzle that’s incredibly satisfying to solve.
There are so many cool interactions you can make happen by utilising your abilities, and because the master I served in the demo was all about dodging that was the main focus for me. You can only dodge once in a fight by default, but that one dodge can make all the difference. If an enemy charges you, a dodge can be used to avoid them and send them careering into another foe dealing damage to both of them. This is just as cool as it sounds, and with a few practice runs with your Foresight you’ll be able to nail the timing in no time.
Although a lot of the time you’ll be able to avoid all damage in a combat encounter thanks to all your practice, mistakes will happen and you’ll take a hit or two. With only three HP by default this will become an issue quickly though, and you’ll have to spend your hard earned coins at a shop to heal. These shops will also contain random upgrades you can buy to create the perfect character build, which come in all sorts of interesting forms. One of these I bought granted me an extra dodge that I’d lose if I threw a punch, which incentivised clever dodging over just bashing the attack button. Especially with different masters I imagine there will be so many approaches to combat to experiment with, and I can’t wait to try them all.
You’ll earn a bit of money each time you win a fight, but to earn extra dosh for more upgrades you’ll need to complete side objectives. These come in all shapes and sizes, some of which are particularly interesting. My favourite of these in the preview build involved finishing a fight with a hat, which meant hitting an enemy and then rushing to stand under his hat that was sent flying across the battlefield. The hat stayed with me throughout the run after this too, making me feel extra stylish as well as earning me a nice pile of coins.
Forestrike is a seriously clever Roguelike, that has some of the most satisfying combat I’ve experienced in a long time. The ability to practice fights before committing to them makes the overwhelming odds so much more manageable, and the dodge mechanic is a joy to use. I can’t wait to try out all the other combat abilities when the game releases in full, which hopefully won’t be too far off.
Forestrike will launch for PC and Nintendo Switch in 2025. A demo is is available now on Steam.
