I play a lot of rogue-lite/like games and let me tell you this one has a visual style that takes my back to my youth.
No rooms here
Danger Gazers is set in a post-apocalyptic world. Your Mission, which can be tackled in co-op as well, is to clear various areas of threats and dangers. The areas are for instance caves, deserts, snow areas, but the areas aren’t that distinct from each other, the textures are pretty much the only thing that changed. These area maps are procedurally generated, which should make it feel different each playthrough. This is not the case because the maps are really open, instead of loose rooms stuck together.
The game plays as you expect. It’s a twin-stick shooter with the left stick controlling walk directions and the right stick controlling aim direction. You have access to one gun with unlimited ammo and a second gun with limited ammo but it does more damage.
Kill all the enemies in the area and a map piece will be obtained when the last enemy is killed. This has you go back to the caravan. From the caravan, the map is accessed which branches in different directions. Choose the best path with the rewards you’re looking for. Some paths have you go to the shop, mystery event, or has you encounter companions. These companions assist you in battle, each with their own unique skills and perks.
Increase your stats
Various items can be collected along the way, each with different stat raising effects. There’s no limit on the number of items you can carry. Some items also have negative effects on them, so choose wisely. In addition to these items, gold tarot cards can be obtained. These cards also improve your stats. There are 7 different cards, that stack up to 9 in total.
Since Danger Gazers is a rogue-lite game some progress/unlocks will be saved between runs. One of the permanent progress obtained is unlockable characters. Unlock new heroes with a total of 7 heroes each with their own unique abilities, powers, and weaknesses.
Collect to make progress
There are a lot of different enemies with their unique behavior, but they can be broken down into 3 types. These types are normal-, elite- and boss enemies. Elite enemies drop more crystals and have a chance to drop a relic. These relics are permanent upgrades that allow you to customize your kit before every run. A total of 3 relics can be equipped at once. Then there are bosses. Each area is guarded by a boss at the end of the path. These bosses drop a lot of crystals, a random item, and a legendary weapon. The difficulty of the areas scale up the further you get into the game with more and tougher enemies being present.
The crystals act as the currency of the game. This can be spent in different shops. Crystals don’t carry over between runs so spend them as you see fit. Crystals can be exchanged for gems, these gems can be spent in specific shops and are carried over between runs, unlike crystals.
The visuals of the game are nothing to write home about. It looks like a flash game to me. Not that it’s a bad thing, I really enjoyed those types of games way back when, but it’s kind of a disappointment in this day and age. The images present in the game are really poor quality, which is a shame.
Conclusion
The game isn’t bad at all but lacks an intuitive menu, visuals, and story. The weapons and items you obtain also don’t really change your playstyle, they are just there. If you don’t care about these things and have not as much money to spend on the more refined rogue-lite games that are available on switch already than this might be for you. When you have more money to spend, sticking to the other options available will be a better investment.
