Noita
Developer/publisher Nolla Games
Format PC
Release Out now
As kids, we were told not to play with fireworks. Well, Nolla Games’ incendiary Roguelike doesn’t so much smash that childhood taboo as gleefully obliterate it, in a pyrotechnic show as dazzling as it is dangerous. Chaos reigns in these sprawling subterranean environments, where the physics of every pixel is simulated. In simple terms, that means each action has the potential to cause a reaction that can be as fatal to you as to the many enemies that patrol these murky depths. As a diminutive hooded witch dwarfed by your environment (but given great power to conquer it) you feel like a delinquent kid letting off firecrackers in an underground lab full of volatile chemicals. Your chances of making it out alive are slim, but you’re definitely going to have a lot of messy fun trying.
It’s sensational stuff, organically generating oohs and aahs like a Bonfire Night display – the difference being that you’re (usually) the one providings reactive, unpredictable chemistry set. Discovering new combinations of environmental features and dynamic fluids is fascinating: when a group of enemies is waiting below, you might bomb a container of poison hanging tantalisingly above, or conjure a raincloud to drench them before launching an electrical bolt to shock the life out of them.
