At PAX East, G&C had the opportunity to sit down with the team behind RIVE, a fast-action, quick thinking, robot shooter:
RIVE is a difficult game to categorize, mostly because it fits into a category all its own. However, that is a good thing. RIVE is a 2D side-scrolling adventure where you play as an arachnid spider robot. At first, the robot can shoot a barrage of bullets at enemies attempting to kill it. Along the way, our robot acquires a variety of powerups and skills such as hacking enemy equipment, reprogramming flying enemies to hijack rides, and more. In order to beat certain levels, you have to use the skills you acquire, so players must be always searching for the hints or openings that indicate a skill can be used. RIVE’s layout is across a large 2D map. Players complete a variety of missions through any number of different areas in the map. As players learn new skills, they will travel back to previously cleared areas to access new pathways and expanding the game.
The team behind the game is Two Tribes, a Netherlands-based game development company also known for Worms: Open Warfare 2 and Toki Tori 2+. RIVE definitely receives the Game&Comic stamp of approval for a variety of reasons. For one, the artwork was beautiful. There is something to be said for a game that can have a barrage of explosions occur on-screen, but still allow the player to remain focused and alert at where the main character is at all times. There is also an impressive diversity of level types you encounter while playing, such as floating in space, swimming underwater, and normal walking around in the space ship. There is a strong Super Meat Boy vibe when playing RIVE. When you first start playing, you will die. Probably many times. But, there is a strong sense of accomplishment when defeating enemies and finishing levels.
We can expect to see RIVE premiere in October of 2015 across a variety of platforms: PS4 Xbox One, WiiU, PC, and Mac. The developers commented saying the game will retail at around $10, but this is not set in stone.
Ian Gaudreau (center) with the RIVE development team
Gamenomics & Comicology 