![]() Ammo types are now much more granular, meaning that one shotgun won’t have the same type as another. In Rico London, the player can pick up any weapon but the ammo for each weapon is limited and running over the same weapon type only gives a little each time. Any weapon dropped by enemies in the first game would fill up the carried guns keeping things brisk. In Rico, the player starts with a pistol and as they complete objectives, they can buy upgrades and new guns on a per-run basis. Most of these involve how guns are now handled and the aforementioned upgrade system. This seems like a good idea on paper until I brushed up against a number of other design decisions. As the player kills enemies a meter goes up, but it ticks down at a rapid pace whenever the player doesn’t. The developers have replaced this incentive that propels the player forward with a combo meter. The time limit, 24 minutes to complete a run, is also gone. There are points where there are per-run upgrades using rewards for doing well in the level and these can be guns, passive power-ups, or health and ammo. Instead, the player is placed at the bottom of a building, and they must fight their way to the top. The branching paths and diverse objectives are gone. It is still a First-Person shooter at its heart and kicking down doors triggers slow motion, there is still permadeath and procedurally generated levels but, that’s about it. ![]() So, it is with great sadness that I must say that Rico London is worse in almost every way. It was addictive enough that it graced my top ten back in 2019. It helped that it had a solid roguelite formula underpinning the action that kept the game varied and offered up meta progression to keep coming back to try out new things. It offered the simple joys of kicking open doors, charging into rooms in a blur of slow motion, and shooting everything in sight. The original Rico was a surprise hit for me.
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