Arboria Review
In the roguelike genre, deck-builders are usually prevalent, so seeing action-based RPGs like Returnal and Hades rise to the top make for a refreshing change of pace. While Arboria doesn’t quite reach the heights of these titles, it is still a fun 3D action roguelike with great combat and some smart ideas up its sleeve.
In the game you play as a troll known as a Yotun (no affiliation to the Norse giants) tasked with entering an overgrown labyrinth, to find a way to heal Father Tree’s roots and save your village.
You see, Father Tree is infected with a mysterious affliction, so you must delve into the dungeon, as you fight enemies, collect a valuable resource named Veri, and get stronger and stronger until you eventually meet a foe you can’t overcome. When this happens, your weird Troll-fairy companion rips off your head and takes it back to the surface. A new Yotun is made, and the cycle begins all over again.
Loads of leafy greens
What sets Arboria apart is its biology-based aesthetic. The Troll world is overgrown with all sorts of fungi and foliage, and the Yotun are also made from this same bio-matter. This means that it’s no trouble for Father Tree to grow another Yotun when you die, sending you right back into the labyrinth. There’s also a variety of high-tech machinery scattered around, implying that some previous civilization somehow caused Arboria’s accelerated growth and these sentient plant people.
This focus on biology extends to the game’s mechanics as well, with symbiotic weapons and bio-mutations. As you fight your way through the procedurally generated dungeon of Durnar, you’ll pick up weapons you can combine with other elements, allowing you to mutate them, and change what they do. You might turn your regular old launcher into one that sprays poison, or imbue your Yotun axe with darkness. This is one of the game’s primary roguelike elements, as you create ever more powerful combinations to overcome the dungeon’s trials.
The second of these aspects involves the safe room between floors. If you survive a stage in the dungeon, you get a short break in a safe room alongside a lore entry, as well as the ability to choose from one of three possible mods that enhance your character, in a similar way to Hades. This is another way you can stack multiple effects alongside those weapons and mutations. At the same time, you can use this room to send your valuable Veri back to the surface, which serves an important purpose later.
When you do finally get killed, a chunk of Veri goes to the gods, who look on you with favour depending on how good your run was. But you can also increase this favour by giving them more of the Veri you harvested. Favour is valuable since it determines the traits you get when choosing your character from the next crop of Yotun. Essentially, the happier the gods are, the better your next starting character is. You’ve also got to be careful with giving them too much, since you also need Veri to purchase upgrades in the Troll village. It’s a smart system that allows you to optimise your character and effects right from the outset by choosing a Yotun with favorable traits.
Trying too hard
Yet, while I really like Arboria’s weird biomechanical setting, I didn’t enjoy its characters so much. It’s obvious that the game is trying to be funny with its wise-cracking fairy companion and oddball trolls, but it missed the mark. Fortunately, story isn’t as much of a concern in an action roguelike as say, combat, and Arboria’s hack ‘n slash weapon-play is extremely satisfying. Every weapon has its own unique moveset that feels impactful, and the dodging is great as you evade and counter enemy attacks and whack them back.
On the whole, Arboria is a fun spin on the largely established roguelike formula, using its overgrown dark and dank setting to create a series of inventive mechanics, which means that no two runs are ever the same.