This year had been a great success for the first person games in general. With the Godfather of FPS – DOOM franchise giving us the second chapter of their DOOM reboot, DOOM eternal, CS (finally) getting a few quality of life update and Rainbow 6 Siege getting its big break at the Siege 2019-2020 Invitational and hitting the 60 Million players. Release of another big competitive shooter, Valorant by Riot Games, Call of Duty MW 2019 going big with its free to play Battle Royale mode: Warzone, Titanfall 2 coming to steam, Apex Legends getting big updates throughout the year and many more. Safe to say, the quarantine has been not-so-boring for us gamers because honestly these updates are keeping us on our toes.
Shooter games are a tad bit difficult to enjoy in third person perspective. Of course exceptions like PUBG’s TPP and Fortnite do exist, but today we bring you a game which is easily one of the most enriching third person shooters to play if you want to go casually and let the ranked stress chill a for bit. Rogue Company is the name and it’s developed by Hi-Rez studios.
Hi-Rez studios are best known for their champion based shooter Paladins and their TPP Moba, Smite. They also developed one of the most innovative BR, Realm Royale but have abandoned the game as for now. Kind of a shame, if you ask me. Now, they challenge the Search and Destroy Games such as Valorant, CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege with their new and fun innovative shooter, Rogue Company. Game is simple – you either attack or defend a site with different ‘heroes’ or as the game calls them, “Rogues”. Each Rogue has different abilities, perks, utility and guns. The map design allows for a lot of maneuver, and a lot of the gameplay is dependent on the movement, rather than only relying on gunplay.
Rogues and their abilities:
Let’s indulge a bit about the characters. Each of them are unique and bring their own set of unique abilities and guns. There are class system but you don’t need to always balance teams with different classes like hero shooters and mobas. The classes as for now are – Duelists, Support, Breacher, Defender, Sniper and Intel. It’s interesting to see games actually dividing their playable characters into classes, rather than just pure aim and shoot mechanics. Let’s dive into each rogue and see what makes them unique.
Support:
Saint: The best way to play the only healer in this game is to sit back and cover your teammates with your main ability that is a drone which revives teammates from anywhere in the map when they are at a dbno state and covering them with your scoped rifle. He gets access to the full auto MLX Mark 4 AR which is the only gun in the game which can Aim Down Sights with the exception of Phantom’s guns. He also gets access to the burst shot mamba DMR and executioner Pistol. He’s got the Axe melee weapon and claymores to watch his flank. A passive ability which heals both you and your teammate after you revive them is also up this dude’s arsenal. His unique perks include:
- Helping Hand: Saint players needs this perk the most. It revives teammates faster.
- Evade: When you take damage, your movement speed is increased for a few seconds.
- Cloaked: No enemy can reveal you.
- Bounce Back: Your Health Regenerates faster.
- Tracking Rounds: Enemies you hit with guns are revealed to your teammates for a few moments.
- Headstrong: Gives you an extra bit of armor.
Cost: Available for free
Duelist:
Chaac: Chaac is a great duelist. What’s better than someone who can push fast and revive himself or give himself a health boost? His load out has the SKL-6 Semi auto shotty, D40-C LMG, Spitfire auto pistol, semtex aka sticky grenades and flashbang. His melee weapon is a Katana. His passive allows him to dodge roll to safety while in a DBNO state. His perks are:
- Replenish: Once you down someone your gun is automatically reloaded.
- Helping Hands: Revive teammates faster.
- Stalker: You aren’t slowed when ADS-ing your gun.
- Cloaked: Enemies can’t reveal you.
- Life Drain: You gain a portion of health after downing someone.
- Shredder Rounds: You deal more damage to enemy equipment and you carry a bit more ammo into battle.
Cost:10k Reputation
Ronin: She is the face of this game alongside everyone’s favorite Russia, and this former street racer boasts one of the best loadouts. You can either choose the high DPS KA30 AR or the high fire-rate SL-C SMG. She also brings the spitfire pistol and katana like Chaac. Her ability is an exploding knife that you can use as a claymore to cover flanks; or if you are really good at throwing, then hurl it at your enemies’ face for an instant kaboom. Her passive is that she won’t show up in enemy radar. She also bring frag grenades and smoke grenades. Her perks are:
- Berserker: Reload weapons while sprinting.
- Evade: Movement increased after taking damage.
- Tenacity: Less damage from explosives.
- Replenish: Downing enemies refills your gun.
- Nimble Hands: Increases reload and weapon swap speed.
- Sixth Sense: You get notified when enemies at a range of 25m is looking at you.
Cost: Free
Scorch: Hottest girl in the game. No, I mean literally. Her speciality lies with her prosthetic arm, Rosie, and once activated you can melt people within minutes because your gun bullets basically becomes flame bullets! She is a menace to go against and gets the SL-C SMG, alongside the double barrel Arbitrator Shotgun and A3 salvo burst pistol .She doesn’t have any special melee like others but her prosthetic arm, Rosie. She has access to molotovs and EMP grenades. Her passive also makes her immune to fire. Her perks include:
- Berserker
- Headstrong
- Evade
- Replenish
- Nimble Hands
Cost: 5k Reputation
Lancer: She likes speed and for all you Jett and Ash mains she is the best Rogue. Her ability makes her faster, quieter and suitable for flanks. She gets the spitfire pistol, Striker 8×10 shotty and 24s SMG. Her melee weapon is an axe and she gains access to smoke and frag grenades. Her passive auto reloads your gun after a dodge roll. Her perks include:
- Shredding Rounds
- Life Drain
- Stalker
- Helping Hands
- Tracker Rounds
- Padded Steps: Silences your footsteps while not sprinting
Cost: 10k Reputation
Sniper:
Phantom: Like Saint, she is the only character in this class. And what is it with snipers in hero based shooters and tight leather suits? Widowmaker from Overwatch finally gets her competetion. She gets access to a long range sniper ,the LR15 full body, Aren L2-12 DMR, P12k pistol. Her ability is a smoke that blocks enemy vision and reveals them to you if they walk in it. Her passive delays health regeneration of enemies if you damage them. She brings the Axe as her melee alongside frag grenades and a proximity alarm called Sticky Sensor. Her perks include:
- Evade
- Cloaked
- Tracker Round
- Nimble Hands,
- Stalker
- Life Drain
Cost: 10k Reputation
Breacher:
Dima: “Are you ready to fight? Good. Now get out of my way”. This Russian Madman shares the face of the game alongside Ronin, and is by far the most enjoyable and fun character to play as with his taunts and his love for explosives. He brings in a grenade launcher that fires one grenade which bursts into 3 more mini grenades that covers a lot of ground. His passive makes his bullets like tracker rounds and exposes downed enemies. He brings with him the Executioner pistol, KA30 AR and the Mamba DMR. He also has access to axe, frag grenades and EMP. His perks include:
- Shredder Rounds
- Berserker
- Nimble Hands
- Bounce Back
- Replenish
- Life Drain
Cost: Free
Gl1tch: Do you like hackers and especially enjoyed Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs2 and loved Wrench from the game? Gl1tch is the hacker of this game. His ability hacks into enemy system and disables them for a set amount of time; and his passive allows you to spot enemy gadget through walls. He brings the SKL-6 shotgun, LMP-X SMG, executioner. His melee weapon is a baseball bat and he has access to semtex and flashbangs. His perks include:
- Tracker Rounds
- Sixth Sense
- Cloak
- Padded Steps
- Bounce Back
- Nimble Hands
Cost: 15k Reputation
Defenders:
Anvil: This big man brings a lot of utility with him alongside a lot of cover. His ability allows you to drop a Huge Barricade that can tank a lot of damage and his passive makes him completely immune to stuns, emps and flashes. He is a big man with big guns and carries the executioner pistol, MLX MAW LMG, Arbitrator Shotgun. His utility deck includes baseball bat for melee weapon, active protection system that saves you from projectiles like grenades and C4 that can be thrown and remotely detonated. His perks include:
- Shredder Rounds
- Berserker
- Helping Hands
- Tenacity
- Headstrong
- Life Drain
Cost: Free
Trench: Trench is more useful on narrow lane maps and his gadget is one big barbed wire that slows enemies down and limits their movements. His passive allows him to carry an extra utility gadget and his loadout consists of Executioner Pistol, MX-R DMR and probably the worst gun in the game, HRM-30KS AR. His utility deck consist of Baseball bat for melee, Active Protection System and Tear Gas Grenades that blurs enemy vision. His perks are:
- Berserker
- Shredder Rounds
- Tenacity
- Bounce Back
- Headstrong
- Tracker rounds
Cost: Free
Vy: Viper mains from Valorant looking for their favorite girl in Rogue Company? The Devs got you covered. Vy’s main ability is like a molotov of poison and if it hits you your health is reduced for a good amount of time. With her passive, she gains additional health if the opponents are damaged upto 25 by the poison. She carries the executioner pistol like most rogues but has access to Nightshade AR and S12 Tactical Shotgun. Her utility deck is quite strong with a katana and both tear and incendiary grenades. Her perks includes:
- Evade
- Cloaked
- Tenacity
- Helping Hand
- Sixth Sense
- Replenish
Cost: 10k Reputation
Intel:
Dallas: He is as American as one can get, and is one of the most powerful rogues with his main ability that reveals enemies no matter wherever they hide for a short amount of time. His passive allows his ability to be recharged after downing an enemy. His LW6 Revolver is a powerful yet slow gun and he gains access to HRM-30KS AR and Devotion DMR. His utility deck consists of an axe for melee, molotov and EMPs; and his perks include:
- Padded Steps
- Berserker
- Stalker
- Bounce Back
- Headstrong
- Replenish
Cost: Free
Talon: This former Yakuza can gather intel for a long time using his main ability that’s basically a tracking dart which attaches to any surface and shows enemies on your radar in its range. His passive, mag gloves, can reclaim guns and gadgets from range. He gets the P12K sidearm, LMP-X SMG and D3D-i DMR. His utility deck consists of Katana, a C4 and flashbangs. His perks includes:
- Padded Steps
- Tenacity
- Nimble Hands
- Sixth Sense
- Life Drain
Cost: 5k Reputaion
Game-play and how game economy works
The game is simple. You attack or defend objective like Valorant, CSGO or R6 Siege and if the bomb is planted defenders must defuse it. The fun however lies with how fast you can keep your movements. You can crouch-spam, hold cover, jump fire with almost no penalty but you gotta keep moving. The maps are quite small and can be easily covered by each side.
This game is economy based but here’s a fun thing. Once you buy something, it gets added to your inventory forever. No need to buy guns if you lose. You can use the saved economy instead to buy perks, upgrade guns or upgrade utilities. Also, all rogues can throw their melee except Scorch and if the weapon connects it deals a full 100 damage. The game has 13 rounds in total and the side change happens after 6 rounds. The first team to get 7 rounds wins. The maps provide plenty cover and zip lines exist in some maps for faster movements. As for maps, currently there are 8 maps in the beta: Favela, Skyfell, Vice, Factory, Icarus, Canals, Windward and High Castle. There are 2 variants of in-game currency: Reputaion; can be earned by playing matches and completing challenges and Rogue Points; the prime currency that can be purchased by real money. Game modes includes Demolition; typical attack-defence based game with 13 rounds, Extraction; both side can hack the objective and if hacked the other side shall defuse it, Strikeout; secure an area that changes after each capture and each capture reduces opponents team life.
Review and Overall Feeling:
The game is fun and all, but it does have some small bugs. We expect them to be fixed when the game launches, as it is still in beta. It’s a fun game with good sound design, and optimization is pretty good. The bugs aren’t game-breaking, but just a problem with the UI being glitched at times, and showing your friend as offline although they are very much online in game.
Overall Rating:
Visuals: 7/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Performance: 8/10
Final Score: 7.5/10
You can buy the game at Epic Games Store or connect your Hi-Rez account with Twitch and watch stream to get a key drop. Fun game to cut out your rank stress and kill time with friends or solo casual gameplay.
