A Quick R.E.P.O. Introduction: Horrifically Fun
The hit game R.E.P.O. has taken the gaming community by storm with a masterful combination of fear, joy, and love of derpy-looking robots. Many streamers, including those from the Vtuber and even gacha communities, have been showing off their repossession and hoarding skills by storm, inspiring feelings of fear, joy, and the love of cute robots. However, there's one question that non-R.E.P.O. enjoyers have been asking: Does the game live up to the hype?
With over 117,000 overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam (as of when this article was written) and recommendations from top community voices, the fans certainly seem to think so. Spearheading collaborations between YouTubers and streamers such as Valkyrae and Ironmouse, the success of the game has provided an essential pivot to keeping the momentum as the development progresses. Streamers, especially, have taken to the R.E.P.O chaos, with numerous VTubers such as Shxtou, K9Kuro, and Zentreya taking the dive (or crash and run in this case).
Created by Swedish Indie game developers Semiwork, the game has a fairly simple premise: explore maps, find objects, and make big bucks (for the taxman). With a cart and a dream, you will escape the monsters, buy items/upgrades, murder your coworkers in freak accidents, and forge bonds that only those who have been flushed down a toilet will ever know. As you know, friends who (potentially) steal together stay together.
First Impressions
Horror and cute, you never would have thought a game could be both. However, R.E.P.O. manages to be just that. With their big eyes (fondly reminiscent of 2000s anime such as Kamichama Karin) and their flailing limbs, the robots are the perfect comic relief for when you need to break the tension. The semibots have a variety of colours for your personalization as well as expressly beady eyes to reflect the trepidation of working for the taxman. With a palette of colors, it’s perfectly easy to tell your friends’ dead bodies apart, or it should be until they, for some reason, decide to all be a shade of pink.
As the Taxman disposes of your bodies, you are forced to declare a king of the losers, leading to a battle royale between your closest friends. Choose your weapon: giant squeaky hammer, duck, mallet, baseball bat, frying pan, or even a piano, if you are brave enough. These are only some of the insane weapons in R.E.P.O.
Similar to the now iconic Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. is the latest in a line of games that provide a refreshing twist to the extraction point genre games. With a clear map to guide you through the levels, R.E.P.O allows you to immerse yourself in its goal: repossession. Through the use of sensory cues and stealth, you will no longer run around lost through endless corridors while being chased by monsters, and you can actually hide or simply stay quiet to avoid detection. Instead, use your giant inflatable hammer to take out the monsters before they take out you, and use their core to make a profit.
Unlike Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. actually gives you a fighting chance through upgrades and various weapons. The monsters don’t feel as scary and traumatizing, and are often more annoying than horror-inducing (with some exceptions).
While playing R.E.P.O., you will discover and collect objects to sell to the Taxman in exchange for your life. Some objects have unique abilities that are waiting to be discovered. We recommend keeping an eye on the love potion (love may be in the air), taking a break with the hourglass and enjoying the journey it takes you on, and making sure that you don’t hug the clown doll too tightly (they may have feelings). Be careful, one wrong move and you may just blow up.
Use your size-shrinking abilities to dodge attacks, hide from monsters. Being able to shrink will also allow your friends to carry you to higher places to grab many more items available; however, be careful, as they may accidentally throw you into toxic green lava, which isn’t fun for anyone.
You can use the shop to buy weapons, upgrades, and items to help you along the way. Just remember, everything shown is not always everything seen, as many areas have hidden spaces that you can explore.
When exploring, there are three unique maps: Swiftbroom Academy, McJannek Station, and Headman Manor. Each map tells its own story, with unique assets to immerse you in the environment while you play. As you succeed, the maps will grow and enable new secrets to be discovered. Enjoy the magical relics of the past in Swiftbroom Academy (and immerse yourself in an environment similar to the setting of Mashle: Magic and Muscles), shiver with fear while creeping through the tight corridors of Headman Manor (reliving the claustrophobic trepidation of Junji Ito’s Amigara Fault) and contemplate the beginning of the universe in the McJanneck Station.
R.E.P.O currently has 19 monsters with more to come in future updates. Each monster has its own unique mechanics and abilities. Carefully observe your opponents to find a way to defeat them. Keep an ear out for giggling in the distance, tapping on the floorboards, or movement from the corner of your eye. If you see something cute and fluffy, give it a hug, surely it can’t hurt (can it?). And remember to be careful where you leave things.
The Future
Semiwork plans to add more customization and content, creating more chaotic, horrific fun.
The currently ongoing public BETA is already hinting at some of them: new maps, updated enemy mechanics, new weapons that level the playing field, and new quirky items. We look forward to this update going while, and while we wait for the official release can just keep flushing our friends down the toilet or even try to find some new ones in the BETA.
