Ripout is repetitive but has potential to be a solid shooter | Hands-on preview
When I first jumped into Ripout, it felt like a standard FPS that looked like many science fiction-inspired titles, and while there’re elements of DOOM and the Alien franchise littered throughout the preview I played, I appreciated how it was trying to do something different. The concept is simple, and while it’s not without its problems, there’s a strong foundation for the future of it to be built on. You choose to visit different abandoned ships to complete objectives, all while taking out the monsters that lurk in the shadows, gaining upgrades in the process.
My main concern is the repetition of these tasks, and how many of the ships look similar. They’re dark, limited in detail, with objectives that all follow a similar formula. Maybe this is down to the procedural nature of their design. The atmosphere is great, though, and wandering around blood-soaked hallways adds to the tension, yet it’s the difficulty in fighting the aliens where you’ll likely to struggle. The gameplay is responsive enough, and the gunplay is a strong feature, but they take ages to kill.
When you see one of the larger creatures come towards you, you better hope you’ve got enough distance between you. If you get trapped in a corner, no amount of bullets seem to be enough to destroy them, and you’ll end up dead. You can revive yourself once, but after that the fear factor kicks in, and if you die, it’s back to the drawing board without any reward for your efforts. Ripout has plenty of potential, but these issues do factor into your enjoyment.
If Ripout manages to balance the difficulty of enemy encounters, there’ll be a lot more fun to be had. I’ve been playing FPS titles for decades and I’m certainly no stranger to a challenge, but with a lack of impressive weapons from the get go, these fights feel generic and a little dull. Hopefully, there will be some new environments to explore, and even a little lighting here and there will go a long way into making each run feel different.
We’re in the early stages here, and I can see plenty of potential going forward. One of the coolest features is the organic appendage on your weapon that can be launched at enemies. Also, blowing off limbs and other body parts when shooting is something I liked. That’s what makes it frustrating. There are some strong features at the moment, but it’s let down by its repetition at this stage. I have no doubt that these issues are currently being remedied, and I’ll gladly play more when the full game is released.
I didn’t get chance to play with friends in the co-op mode, but I can imagine this will help to alleviate the repetitive nature of Ripout. Exploring derelict ships together will be much more exciting with others as long as some of the problems at this stage are addressed. We’ll be sure to cover when the game’s released, and despite a handful of concerns at this stage, there’s still plenty to like, especially the way the guns feel to shoot.
Ripout is coming to PC in 2023.
