TL;DR if you like either crafting your own spells or physics, this is for you.

This is Noita, the love-child of Terraria and Liero. After around 15 hours of exposure from either playing or watching my friend, the game keeps surprising me in ways no other games have in a long time.

-:::::::PHYSICS:::::::-

The thing players will notice immediately. Everything in the world is physics based, from the stains on your clothes to the whiskey in the barrel. And they will react to eachother, so don't swim in oil with a torch. Oh, and remember to avoid the fumes if you don't want to suffocate!

The world may be fully interactable, but that doesn't mean you can just shoot your way through. See some shiny loot? You're gonna need some clever tricks (often involving fire and/or explosions).

Being able to kill someone with falling ice that you shot down, to have their already burning body trigger an explosion that sent the gold you were about to acquire into a lake of toxic waste? Get used to things like that happening.

I've just had to stop and look on in awe at the chain-reaction I set off. And the physics are only the second-best thing I enjoy in the game.

The best one?

-:::::::SPELLS:::::::-

Okay, my first try I died pretty fast, shouldn't play with fire so much. Then I got further, reached the new areas, and found some wands here and there. The wands had some stats and special effects, cool I guess.

But not too long into the game I realized that the wands in this game aren't your everyday magicslingers. All wands in this game are containers and spells are just what they use.

And what does this mean? You can edit the contents!

Let's say you found a wand that summons arrows, not too exciting. Okay, but how about a wand that sends out two arrows that have oil pulsating between them that triggers fire explosions on collision that sets off the oil to create a sea of fire? Yeah, that happens sometimes.

Between "floors" you have sort of a testing area where you can edit wands and purchase new spells or wands, as well as the addition of perks. Perks can heavily alter how the game works and can be a huge difference between a successful run and a fancy death. Want to edit wands between "floors"? Find the perk for it!

-:::::::WHY SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?:::::::-

Physics, spell crafting and perks create a wonderful combination that makes this game incredibly interesting both to play and watch. There are so many combinations that work both for and against you, so be prepared to learn the meaning of roguelite.

I once found a projectile shield, which was awesome. But silly me had already a homing perk which meant that my shield chased after the enemy and protected them from me! Or maybe that time I was Leatherface, if Leatherface had 6 chainsaws and was a mole...

This game knows how to surprise you and let's just say that the beaten path isn't the only way to travel on...

Performance wise I'm very impressed seeing no lag, but I also have a pretty good computer, although a bit old. The newly formed Finnish developers Nolla Games also have a good track-record with the games they made separately before Noita.

-:::::::WHY SHOULD YOU NOT PLAY IT?:::::::-

The game can be very difficult, so don't expect to win. This is a game where the journey is the true reward (isn't that true of all roguelites though?). I rarely get far into the game, but with how many ways you can tackle the first areas (or just...skip them?), it doesn't feel that bad.

If I had to change anything currently, it's how common toxic waste is and how easily it applies. Many a round has ended because my wizard apparently doesn't use boots and leaves me on a goose-chase for a puddle of water to clean it off..

Currently I've had/seen one crash, which is fine for an early access. Not sure if I'll encounter any more. The game also restarts when starting a new game, which is really fast, but also means that things like Discord streaming needs to be restarted as well.

-:::::::CONCLUSION:::::::-

It has good chances of reaching my top games of all time. So if it looks like something you'd enjoy, chances are you will. Feels very polished for being an early access game, so I hope for a bright future.

Oh, and just don't anger the gods.

TL;DR if you like either crafting your own spells or physics, this is for you. This is Noita, the love-child of Terraria and Liero. After around 15 hours of exposure from either playing or watching my friend, the game keeps surprising me in ways no other games have in a long time. -:::::::PHYSICS:::::::- The thing players will notice immediately. Everything in the world is physics based, from the stains on your clothes to the whiskey in the barrel. And they will react to eachother, so don't swim in oil with a torch. Oh, and remember to avoid the fumes if you don't want to suffocate! The world may be fully interactable, but that doesn't mean you can just shoot your way through. See some shiny loot? You're gonna need some clever tricks (often involving fire and/or explosions). Being able to kill someone with falling ice that you shot down, to have their already burning body trigger an explosion that sent the gold you were about to acquire into a lake of toxic waste? Get used to things like that happening. I've just had to stop and look on in awe at the chain-reaction I set off. And the physics are only the second-best thing I enjoy in the game. The best one? -:::::::SPELLS:::::::- Okay, my first try I died pretty fast, shouldn't play with fire so much. Then I got further, reached the new areas, and found some wands here and there. The wands had some stats and special effects, cool I guess. But not too long into the game I realized that the wands in this game aren't your everyday magicslingers. All wands in this game are containers and spells are just what they use. And what does this mean? You can edit the contents! Let's say you found a wand that summons arrows, not too exciting. Okay, but how about a wand that sends out two arrows that have oil pulsating between them that triggers fire explosions on collision that sets off the oil to create a sea of fire? Yeah, that happens sometimes. Between "floors" you have sort of a testing area where you can edit wands and purchase new spells or wands, as well as the addition of perks. Perks can heavily alter how the game works and can be a huge difference between a successful run and a fancy death. Want to edit wands between "floors"? Find the perk for it! -:::::::WHY SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?:::::::- Physics, spell crafting and perks create a wonderful combination that makes this game incredibly interesting both to play and watch. There are so many combinations that work both for and against you, so be prepared to learn the meaning of roguelite. I once found a projectile shield, which was awesome. But silly me had already a homing perk which meant that my shield chased after the enemy and protected them from me! Or maybe that time I was Leatherface, if Leatherface had 6 chainsaws and was a mole... This game knows how to surprise you and let's just say that the beaten path isn't the only way to travel on... Performance wise I'm very impressed seeing no lag, but I also have a pretty good computer, although a bit old. The newly formed Finnish developers Nolla Games also have a good track-record with the games they made separately before Noita. -:::::::WHY SHOULD YOU NOT PLAY IT?:::::::- The game can be very difficult, so don't expect to win. This is a game where the journey is the true reward (isn't that true of all roguelites though?). I rarely get far into the game, but with how many ways you can tackle the first areas (or just...skip them?), it doesn't feel that bad. If I had to change anything currently, it's how common toxic waste is and how easily it applies. Many a round has ended because my wizard apparently doesn't use boots and leaves me on a goose-chase for a puddle of water to clean it off.. Currently I've had/seen one crash, which is fine for an early access. Not sure if I'll encounter any more. The game also restarts when starting a new game, which is really fast, but also means that things like Discord streaming needs to be restarted as well. -:::::::CONCLUSION:::::::- It has good chances of reaching my top games of all time. So if it looks like something you'd enjoy, chances are you will. Feels very polished for being an early access game, so I hope for a bright future. Oh, and just don't anger the gods.