Sublevel Zero Redux is a first-person roguelike six-degree-of-freedom shooter set in a universe where reality is falling apart. Take control of a lone gunship pilot whose mission is to loot and craft ancient technology. Descend into a vast underground facility, fighting through procedurally generated zero gravity environments to recover the technology you and your clan need to survive.
Inspired by classics such as 1996’s Descent and 1998’s Forsaken, Sublevel Zero Redux is the first classic 6DoF shooter on console in over a decade. Sigtrap have remastered, extended and improved their debut PC title Sublevel Zero to create Redux. New enemies, difficulty options and unlockable content make Redux the definitive version of the game.
For people that once loved Descent, and in their heart of hearts still do, Sublevel Zerois a compelling answer for those that want a modern day take on the genre. It is not without issues though. It is an expertly crafted 6DOF game with tight controls, but the rogue parts of its cross genre appeal are rough enough around the edges to be problematic...
Sublevel Zero has good core gameplay, but ultimately left me wanting more. The game is by no means a failure, though. In fact, I think it serves as a fantastic jumping off point for a deeper, more fleshed out game. I can't help but feel like there was supposed to be more to it. If SIGTRAP Games were to continue development on the game and add more opportunities...
Sublevel Zero's novelty is how faithfully it resurrects concepts of a fallen genre. It's cool that Sigtrap Games made a game like Descent, but pressing those ideas inside the mold of a roguelike leaves a significant amount of empty space.
Sublevel Zero breathes new life into the 6DOF genre, but does it with the unfortunate side-effect of crippling insubstantiality. Good for a taste of claustrophobic zero-gravity combat, but without the depth or breadth to follow through.
Sublevel Zero is an interesting approach to some of the aspects that make Roguelikes great, but even its tight controls feel sloppy in the insurmountable framerate drops.
