Doko Roko is a roguelike vertical platformer that locks you inside a huge tower and throws away the key. One each level of this tower are a bunch of nasty demons and warlocks that want to kill you – you know, the usual.
To defend yourself you have a sword. But not just any flimsy sword, as each blade you can find inside Doko Roko is unique in look and power, and they are a helluva lot of fun to watch in action. Take a look at the shadow-swathed Beelzebuth Sword being swung to the ground to create an enormous explosion. Swinging the gigantic Tarnished Sword through the air looks fun enough by itself. Oh, and the Naive Hero Sword can deflect magical projectiles back at the sender.
There are plenty more great-looking swords in the game too, as you can see in the image below, which was shared in Indie Game Enthusiast’s preview of the game.
But only talking about the swords in Doko Roko is an injustice as there’s more to it than that. You can supplement your swords with items and “Forms.” The Forms are obtained by pleasing the gods or by being possessed by a mystic force. Generally, Forms either enhance your abilities or give your character entirely new ones, including dodge rolls, teleportation, time slowing, and a reflective shield.
But these Forms aren’t always entirely beneficial to you. Such as the “Feral Form,” which increases the range of your attacks at the cost of gradual health depletion and reduced maneuverability. If you want to get rid of a Form then the only way to do it is to receive forgiveness from the gods or exorcise the demon that possessed you.
You can track the development of Doko Roko on its website and Tumblr. You should especially check those pages out to see more of the game in motion.
