Blazing Beaks Review

Part roguelike, part twin stick shooter, Applava’s Blazing Beaks has you taking up arms against a number of ne’er-do-wells. Should you fight the good fight, or is this title downright “fowl?”

Blazing Beaks Review

Those weaned on titles like Nuclear Throne or Enter the Gungeon will know what to expect with Blazing Beaks’ main mode. Players take control of a bird of their choice, each with its own perks and health stats. What follows are a series of procedurally generated levels, complete with baddies and a boss at the end of each section. It’s pretty straightforward stuff, and the single-screen setup means that things start to run together after a while. Sure, no two substages will look the same, but players will be fighting against the same enemies in the same zones, with only some minor variations between them. It has an air of randomness to it, but not tons of variety, especially with the handful of levels present here.

The randomness somewhat extends to the gameplay as well. RNG plays a huge role in what you end up facing and picking up, and the odds are often stacked against you. It’s not uncommon to have a number of exploding eggs, pools of acid, or suicidal flies come at you at a moment’s notice and take away what little health you may have. This leads to instant death, forcing players to start the whole game over again. Roguelikes are known for trial and error gameplay and their punishing difficulty, sure, but the game doesn’t always fight fair.

This challenge also extends to its artefact system. Players can grab themselves cursed items from downed enemies that will handicap the player, which can then be traded at shops for perks that can put you ahead. It is purely optional, but those looking for an advantage will be at a disadvantage for a number of substages. It’s an interesting dynamic, but it makes an already brutal game that much more difficult.

Outside of the main mode is a Tournament multiplayer mode can supports up to four players. Deathmatch is available, but there are also unique modes like “Hunting” (which gives players a spear they must keep track of), “Skull Keeper” (which has players holding onto a golden skull without losing it), and “Drop Hearts” (which has players grabbing dropped health from their enemies). There’s a decent amount to play with here, but the local-only support means that players will not be going online with their buds.

Blazing Beaks is a challenging game that doesn’t always fight fair. The RNG is just too strong, and the lack of variety makes this a roguelike for only the most diehard fans of the genre.