Review: Roombo: First Blood

There's all kinds of different games releasing on the Xbox platform each week - indies, occassional AAA ones, and just random smaller games. With random, I'm definitely thinking of Roombo: First Blood, a game by Samurai Punk where you get to play as a vacuum cleaner that defends its owner's home from burglars, going as far as killing them in the process, BUT cleaning it all (mostly) up afterwards. It's clearly a unique game, and it does offer gameplay that I wasn't expecting. Let me explain down below!

Platform: Xbox Series X.

Visuals & performance

While utilizing simple graphics that don't really offer much in terms of aesthetics, Roombo: First Blood equally isn't the ugliest game either - simple yet most likely high-resolution textures, a detailed vacuum cleaner, basic character models that aren't that special, detailed level design, generally colorful 3D visuals that look decent, and lighting that does its job but also doesn't mean much.

Honestly, the blood effects and the phycsics used in the game is probably the better aspect of the whole experience, a part of it that is definitely good. The resolution is unknown but I can not imagine it being lower than 4K (2160p) as the game is Xbox One X enhanced, resulting in a very crisp looking picture, while using a framerate that feels like 60fps, though I'm fairly uncertain about it.

On the Xbox Series X, the framerate never leaves its peak, giving me a highly interactive and responsive burglar-killing session of gaming at all times while playing Roombo: First Blood. I see a completely bug-free side of the game as well during my playthrough, which is very nice to see. Audio does its thing at an "OK" level, but it's just nothing special at all, really. Now, the load times, on the other hand, are extremely fast, cutting it close to pretty much instant.

Gameplay

Let me go ahead and start with the fact that this game is only $5. 5. Dollars. That's very cheap, and lays the foundation to why I think this game truly is worth its price. Roombo: First Blood is centered around playing as a robot vacuum cleaner called Roombo (at least that's what I assume its name is?) that minds its own business in the form of, well...cleaning the household.

Until, suddenly, a burglar enters the house and only has one thing in their mind; stealing as much valuable stuff as possible. What the uninvited "guest" isn't expecting, however, is that this house is guarded by a murder-capable vacuum cleaner. So, as my first level begins, I assume the role of Roombo, and is immedietly able to move around freely in the house. It doesn't take long until I'm not alone anymore, though; in comes my first foe by entering through a window.

Unaware of what I am able to do as a vacuum cleaner, a quick tutorial pops up telling me to "hack" electronic appliances found in the house, essentially taking the burglar down by using traps that eventually kill it. Down below on the screen, different buttons and what they do are present at all times, where pressing Y will iniate a hacking mechanic, making everything enter slow-motion mode, and me being able to tinker with the refridgerator, TV, shower, a knife, a fan on the roof, and more, that does their own unique "attack".

Most of them have to be timed correctly for the end results to be successful. Once a burglar has seen me, it chases me and tries to kick me until I eventually perish, but I don't feel like they do enough for it to be hard. The gameplay doesn't end with just killing the enemies, as I also have to clean the household as much as possible once they're down, with my performance here affecting the score I receive in the end. Unfortunately for those sensitive to blood, it is pretty brutal in many ways, haha. This is basically what the game is all about and it is actually a lot of fun once you get to know the gameplay - original, fun and unique all at once. I'd say that the game isn't long, but for the price, it features a fair amount of levels.

I mean, who doesn't want to play as a murderous vacuum cleaner for just $5? Seriously, though; the gameplay found in Roombo: First Blood is very simple yet features some top notch mechanics as well as brutal vacuum cleaner action. One minor thing that could've been added, when I think of it, is some type of co-op mode.

All in all

Roombo may literally suck as a vacuum cleaner, but the game itself does not suck at all, especially for the price. Not only does it offer fun gameplay, it is also original in the sense of what you're playing as and what you're doing in-game. I wasn't sure of what to expect, but it's safe to say that I actually liked the game a lot - a cool art style, good length for $5, decent visuals, many levels, and just simply good gameplay in general, all the way through. I enjoyed playing this game a ton, and I definitely recommend it, especially when it's as cheap as it is.

Roombo: First Blood is available digitally for just $5 on the Microsoft Store for Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S. Are you interested in buying it? That can be done here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/roombo-first-blood/9ndphcbs2sjf?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

This review is written by Jesper Ingemansson and is based on his honest opinion about the game.

A review code was provided by Samurai Punk for review purposes.

A review code was provided by Samurai Punk for review purposes.