Contra: Rogue Corps is a fun but flawed twin-stick shooter that feels more than a bit rushed. Its visuals are mixed and it reuses its levels in a frustrating manner, but the core gameplay and customization can be quite fun from time to time.
Contra: Rogue Corps
Developer: Konami
Price: $40
Platforms: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
I’ve only played a bit of Contra here and there in the past, but I had a pleasant time with Rogue Corps when I previewed it at E3 this year. Without much knowledge of the series beyond the original game, I started Rogue Corps with an open mind.
The story of Rogue Corps is simple. A destructive alien city emerges from the Earth (dubbed “The Damned City”), and a ragtag group of fearless mercenaries must scour the city to kill as many monstrous fiends as possible. There’s some additional backstory that shows how the main team was formed, but it’s fairly inconsequential. The simplicity of the plot works for Rogue Corps, as the gameplay and action are what matters most.
Rogue Corps is fun to play in short bursts, but after playing a few levels consecutively, it quickly begins to feel repetitive. The game has an isometric perspective, which makes aiming and jumping a bit challenging due to the twin-stick control scheme. It doesn’t take too long to get a decent handle on the controls, but it can still be frustrating to miss at times. Regardless, it’s still incredibly satisfying to mow through fiends with a machine gun, chainsaw, or laser beam. The variety of weapons and sub-weapons is definitely a positive for the game, as every weapon slays in its own unique way.
“These improvements make it easier to mow down hordes of fiends in the most brutal way possible, which is the best thing about Rogue Corps.“
There are lots of ways to make yourself stronger, faster, and more ridiculous in Rogue Corps. Each character can have their brain, skeleton, eyes, and organs replaced with more powerful ones, which provide different buffs or boosts depending on their rarity. Each body part can gain additional buffs when transplanted by different surgeons, which range from an optimistic disfigured doctor to a pleasant alien who costs a good deal of cash. This customization helps differentiate each character beyond their finishers and bomb attacks and makes collecting loot from fallen enemies more suspenseful.
Weapons can be improved through accessories and upgrades, which provides buffs for each weapon like faster cooldown and a higher critical hit rate. These improvements make it easier to mow down hordes of fiends in the most brutal way possible, which is the best thing about Rogue Corps. Bombing droves of ghoulish fiends and throwing robots into giant buzzsaws and mashers is as gratuitously fun as it gets, which Rogue Corps absolutely nails.
A major problem in Rogue Corps comes from the frequently reused levels and settings. Quite a few missions use the same stages again and again, explaining it away with a throwaway line like “we were here earlier, but the fiends are back!” It feels like a cop-out, especially with the lackluster explanation that gets shoe-horned in. There are a lot of ways to liven up apocalyptic or cursed environments, so the repetition in missions really feels like a missed opportunity.
Visually, Rogue Corps is rough around the edges. Character models are quite intricately detailed, which contrasts with their eerie and off-putting faces. There are only a few types of fiends in the game, a lot of which look quite similar to one another. The designs themselves are great though, with the floating baby-heads standing out as the weirdest and most interesting to look at. Cutscenes are done in a motion-comic format, and they look quite nice, and they fit the pulpy feel of Rogue Corps quite well.
The Final Word
Contra: Rogue Corps can be fun, but its repetitive nature and wonky visuals make it difficult to play for long periods of time. It has some creative ideas and satisfying gameplay, but it can’t shake a feeling of rushed development.
MonsterVine Rating: 2.5 out of 5 – Mediocre
