Part Vampire Survivors, Part Dead Rising

The VR space is home to some of the most creative and entertaining video game experiences currently available, from simple shooters and thought-provoking puzzle games to fully-fledged simulators. When it comes to creating a VR game for the modern age, some developers try to push the limits of what video game interactivity and immersion can be, and some focus on making an experience that’s simply as fun as possible. Nerd Ninjas’ Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon is a nice blend of both.

Game Rant recently had the chance to jump into the virtual world of Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon for an hour or so. Though hands-on time was relatively brief, it still provided a really solid overview of Rogue Pinatas‘ general tone, gameplay loop, progression systems, and co-op functionality. And after even just an hour of gameplay, it seems fair to say that fans of both Vampire Survivors and Dead Rising will want to keep a close eye on Rogue Pinatas.

Rogue Pinatas Has a Splash of Dead Rising Charm

From the moment Game Rant’s Rogue Pinatas demo began, the game’s tongue-in-cheek tone and distinct sense of humor became immediately apparent. Rogue Pinatas‘ current intro sees players attend a birthday party, bash a static pinata to the ground, and watch on in horror as an army of sentient pinatas begin to terrorize the world around them.

It’s a pretty absurd premise for a VR co-op horde game, and one that developer Nerd Ninjas is embracing at every turn. Players assume the role of a survivor of the pinata apocalypse, picking from the game’s colorful cast of characters. Each hero has a very distinct appearance, and in a neat touch, the character’s height actually factors into gameplay, with taller characters resulting in a higher perspective for the player.

Along with unique visual designs, each of Rogue Pinatas‘ cast members wields an equally unique weapon. Seemingly taking inspiration from games like Dead Rising, Rogue Pinatas‘ weapons are all makeshift combinations of everyday household items, such as a pizza paddle axe, gumball machine pistol, and leaf blower minigun. These designs go a long way in cementing Rogue Pinatas‘ tongue-in-cheek tone, something that sets it apart nicely from other co-op VR shooters on the market.

Rogue Pinatas Borrows Vampire Survivors’ Addictive Progression and Abundance of Content

Rogue Pinatas’ Progression Should Keep Players Hooked

Nerd Ninjas CEO Nate Chatellier mentioned that the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring‘s intro sequence was a big inspiration for the team. The devs wanted to capture that feeling of being Sauron, swinging his mace wildly into crowds of soldiers and knocking them high into the air. Chatellier also mentioned that Vampire Survivors was a major inspiration for the game, and both of those sources of inspiration are crystal clear in the current product.

When jumping into one of Rogue Pinatas‘ six stages, players will begin at level 0. Every time they defeat a pinata enemy, it’ll drop a piece of candy. Collecting that candy will gradually increase the player’s XP bar, eventually resulting in a level up. Upon leveling up, players will be given three random upgrades to choose from, including a new passive ability, a weapon upgrade, or a new gadget. A core part of Rogue Pinatas‘ moment-to-moment gameplay is also finding an array of loot chests littered throughout a stage. Defending the area around the chest for a specified time will reward the player with another three possible upgrades or new items to choose from, again encompassing abilities, weapons, and gadgets.

Between matches, players will return to their garage home base, where they’re able to spend the points earned during a level on a wealth of meta upgrades, such as increased health and damage. All of these Vampire Survivors-like progression systems combine to make Rogue Pinatas‘ gameplay loop feel exceptionally rewarding, taking players from zero to hero in just a few minutes, which is perfect for shorter VR play-sessions.

Rogue Pinatas Will Have a Wealth of Content on Day One

Rogue Pinatas is going to have an abundance of content on day one. Nerd Ninjas has confirmed that Rogue Pinatas will ship with 10 weapons, each coming with their own set of upgrades. Each weapon will also have a unique evolution that’s unlocked after hitting Weapon Level 7, completely changing the weapon’s behavior. With these 10 evolutions, Rogue Pinatas essentially has 20 weapons at launch, along with 18 gadgets.

On top of its expansive arsenal, Rogue Pinatas will also deliver six stages on release day. Each stage has a different objective that ranges from simply surviving for as long as possible and escorting NPCs to defending a series of generators, and each ends with a boss fight that exhibits specialized attack patterns and behavior. Similarly, there will be 27 different enemy types in Rogue Pinatas, many of which require a certain strategy to defeat.

Rogue Pinatas
is hosting a Closed Beta between December 9, 2024, and January 3, 2025. Those interested can
sign up to the beta
.

How Rogue Pinatas Encourages Teamwork and Strategy

A common pitfall of VR horde games is that they can quickly devolve into chaotic brawls where the player feels as though they’re just swinging their arms wildly. While Rogue Pinatas is still very much a chaotic experience, it retains a vital sense of immersion and satisfaction by encouraging players to work together and think tactically. For example, Rogue Pinatas is home to 27 enemy types, many of which need players to use specific weapons or gadgets to defeat efficiently. Shielded pinatas, for instance, require the use of melee weapons. This encourages players to coordinate their characters, weapons, and abilities to make sure they’re taking on the horde in the most efficient way possible.

It should be noted, however, that during there were some slight balancing issues during the demo. While playing the second stage, “Lost Vegas,” we were bombarded with an army of pinatas that overwhelmed us quickly. This was apparently some kind of technical issue, where too many enemies were spawned, but of course the game is still in development. This may hopefully be fixed ahead of launch.

Game Rant was told that Rogue Pinatas is now feature-complete, so all the development time until the game’s Q1 2025 release date will be dedicated to fixing technical issues like this one and polishing the gameplay experience. This is great news, as Rogue Pinatas is shaping up to be a really fun co-op VR experience.

Rogue Pinatas: VRmageddon is set to release in Q1 2025 for Meta Quest 2, 3, 3S and Valve Index.