ROOT Review (PC)

I initially played ROOT as a straight-up stealth video game, moving across levels slowly and in a crouch position, discerning the pathways that enemies use before moving past them or, if necessary, taking them out and moving them out of sight.

Then the game put me in a situation where I was unable to sneak away as enemies flooded a hallway I was supposed to walk down, and I chose to turn my character into a killing machine that takes out all opponents, aiming to clear a level before moving to the elevator that takes me to the next.

Ten deaths and five minutes later, I decided that neither of the purist approaches is well suited, and I switched to a more pragmatic approach, taking out enemies when the opportunity presented itself while also moving around undetected to get past solid enemy positions.

ROOT is a challenging game regardless of how players approach it and it will probably find a solid audience among the most dedicated fans of the first-person shooter genre.

The video game was developed by a small team at Deep Fried Enterprises and is published by Digital Tribe.

Story

ROOT does not offer too much in the way of story because the development team at Deep Fried Enterprises has focused most of its effort on the gameplay of the shooter rather than on the universes it takes place in.

The main character is a hacker named Edward Summerton, who can attack the system of a powerful corporation that, in the tradition of the video game genre, is clearly up to something nefarious.

The narrative also involves a powerful system administrator that has created an almost perfect network and is a god inside its virtual world and a companion for the player, called Shell, who tends to offer some necessary information but also rambles in sometimes funny modes.

ROOT sometimes tries to be ironic, a trend best seen in the names of each of the included levels, but the writing never manages to feel interesting, which means the overall universe is nothing more than a computer network rendered using very familiar corridors.

The developers at Deep Fried Enterprises could have spent more resources to make sure the Shell feels more substantial and gives some depth to the world that the player is navigating.

The concept that gamers are infiltrating a network is an intriguing one on its own, but it's disappointing to see ROOT offering a range of familiar sights and ideas rather than aiming for a little more experimentation.

Gameplay

ROOT is a combination of first-person shooter and stealth game that wants gamers to move very carefully through levels, taking out enemies to reach an exit while also dealing with powerful bosses.

The entire structure of the experience is very traditional, and all the levels are clearly designed to allow players to approach the problem using either of the two mentioned styles, even if the title is very linear.

Movement and shooting are pretty standard for the shooter genre, but the developers at Deep Fried Enterprises introduce some twists in the stealth department.

ROOT requires gamers to move carefully to avoid sound-based detection by guards and to stay behind objects and lean around to take a peek at the situation to make sure that they are not seen.

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A blackjack can be used to take out enemies stealthily when used on the back of the head, but it's better just to move around them if possible, using vents and alternate routes to stay out of the way of patrols when feasible.

All enemies, being security programs rather than humans, are very efficient when it comes to tracking and combat, which means that once the player character gets spotted, his chances of survival tend to drop dramatically.

Enemy attacks have a tendency to hit, regardless of range, and they tend to move in groups to make sure that gamers are overwhelmed by numbers when they find a solid position to defend.

A dodge move is included, available only when players are strafing, but it's very hard to use it effectively when dealing with more than one attacker.

ROOT is a hard game, with at least two significant spikes that can be frustrating, and the feeling is enhanced by the fact that no saves exist within the levels, meaning that death requires gamers to replay sections they have already mastered.

“The mechanics can be a little too convoluted for their own good, but once the player understands that both stealth and straight-up combat are valid options, they manage to create a solid balance and a lot of tension.”

I finished the third level using only sneaking and non-lethal takedowns, and I was proud of the achievement and of myself, then promptly went back to it to see how different a violent approach would be.

I chose to always run and to open fire as soon as I saw an enemy and the challenge level went up immediately, with the game generating some frantic moments as I managed to take out the last enemy program just as I was close to the end of the level elevator with ten health remaining.

ROOT can create some beautiful gameplay sequences, but the campaign can become repetitive despite the developers’ attempt to introduce at least one new element in each level.

Graphics and audio

ROOT uses a very stylized look, with gamers basically taken back in time to experience a shooter as it would look on computers from the '80s, with everything covered in a modern layer of post-processing.

The world is blocky and filled with hard edges, with colors that evoke the world of Tron and objects that feel out of place in the system, creating a sense of dissonance that adds an interesting dimension to the title.

The design of the enemy programs that gamers have to take out seems like a mix of classic opponents from classics like Doom and its clones, and the angry red they are painted in is clearly chosen to make them threatening but also easy to spot as they move through environments.

ROOT sneaking

I also like the fact that Deep Fried Enterprises allows players to tweak the color scheme if they want to, re-making the world to some extend to suit their tastes rather than those of the developer.

In terms of sound design, ROOT is pretty limited when it comes to environments and weapons but delivers some cool, futuristic music. The mix is weird enough that I decided to turn everything down except for the soundtrack after a few hours spent with the title.

The small team that created the shooter has managed to do a solid job on its presentation, but the retro look will certainly represent the biggest obstacle to the title's adoption for a lot of players.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion