I haven’t ever raided in an MMORPG like World Of Warcraft for several reasons, one of which is the time commitment. I’ve never put in the many, many hours needed to earn the requisite gear nor partied up with the many, many people necessary to slay a big dragon. If only raiding was possible without these things… well, my saviour seems to have arrived in a form I wasn’t expecting: 2D anime bunny girls. Rabbit And Steel is a co-op action roguelike that’s raiding without the pre-grind and it looks rather wonderful.
In Rabbit And Steel, you and up to four pals – locally, online, or a mix of the two – first pick a class. These classes consist of five bunny girls, with more to be added later down the line. There’s a wizard rabbit, an assassin rabbit, and a few other rabbits that all look devastatingly cute. Then it’s a case of starting a run, where fights are inspired by “tab-target MMORPGs” and it’s all about global cooldowns, dodging tells, and screaming for your healer to heal. What’s neat is solo players can still hop into a run, except it’ll morph from a raid to more of a bullet hell to accommodate for the lack of teammates.
As it’s a roguelike, you’ll earn loot and upgrades, with a view to combine items that’ll go well together. Going by the trailer above, loot lies on the rarity rainbow, with legendary items like the “Book Of Cheats” granting your special “random, chaotic effects”, or common spears granting you percentage chances to deal more damage.
What I’m really into is the fights themselves – besides looking like they require a lot of frantic communication – are against all sorts of creatures. A smirking rat with a sword and shield. A legally distinct Great Grey Wolf Sif. An academic who also happens to be a crow. I am sure there is some story cohesion here, but if there isn’t, I am fully on board anyway.
There’s a demo over on Steam if you’d like to give Rabbit And Steel a go. Otherwise, it’s due out on the 9th May.
