Kiborg is a new title from Soboka Studio released on the 30th of April 2025, a studio which is made up of five developers who had success with Redeemer and 9 Monkeys of Shaolin! Now the small studio has brought us Kiborg, a mash-up of the old-school beat’ em ups, shooters and roguelikes which has that cybernetic twist in a futuristic style set in the shoes of a protagonist with a heck of a moustache. We have been here before with a moustached badass and does this protagonist hit the same mark?
Thrown into the deep end within the shoes of the main protagonist, Lee Morgan, a muscular action-hero-style, moustached super soldier who has awoken with a fractured memory. However, he must fight for his survival and his success out of the tower. As soon as you hit “New Game”, you are instantly in the mix of a small open area which seems like a holding area with cells for inmates. Within this area you find your tutorial in the form of a computer with multiple sections explaining the controls, not the most straightforward approach, but the approach it is.
Outside the tutorial you sort of get the vibe of, okay? What next? As for me, out of curiosity, we headed up to the machines scattered around the area to find out what they did (which in hindsight would be the point). However, for our less inquisitive gamers, a guiding hand would be essential at this early stage to help you get accumulated to your new setting. However, you are sort of left to your own devices to figure out what you can do and where to go.
For someone like myself who isn’t a natural-born roguelike gamer, the controls are easy to grasp hold of and really easy to get used to, even if you’re a complete newcomer dipping your toe in the water of roguelikes. The typical light and heavy attacks loom here, which in turn aims to make it simple and easy for you to grasp and fast enough so that you can hold your own when you step into the fighting zones.
The game is based around your runs and how every run is completely different from the last. However, as the runs go on, you get a very similar feel as each stage only changes slightly in how the enemy variety starts to become familiar and easy enough to grasp, or is it? Upon completion of runs (or ultimately death), you can up the difficulty once the selected difficulty has been completed, making runs more difficult and more harsh.
I found once I got done bashing people around the face for the first time, to exploding skulls in my more in-depth development, I found that the implants the game gives you to modify the macho man Lee Morgan vary widely and give you options to diminish your foes and really get to work punching, spin kicking and uppercutting the heads off your unfortunate opposites.
Now don’t get me wrong here, as much as I loved dashing around the stage with my robotic legs and burning a trail on the floor with them alongside the dismembering of these poor poor thugs, the combat is…. ehhhhh kinda odd. During combat, I noticed that upon entering a stage preparing to fight i found my fleet-footed Morgan reduced to a walking pace even when enemies are dashing at you, guns firing, which kind of throws the pendulum of momentum into your enemies’ court, because once you’re out of stamina? Forget about moving, stand your ground, block, parry and punch because you ain’t going anywhere in a jiffy, which takes away that sense of recovery. Now don’t get me wrong, the brutality of this game is amazing, but in other roguelikes and beat’ em ups I want to whale on these guys and get moving, but here? Nah, stand and fight! Unsure of this being a feature or something that needs tweaking, but it bummed me out nonetheless.
Speaking of robotic legs and upgrades in the form of implants, the cybernetic upgrades and the unique body parts which you can fix for your protagonist gave me flashbacks to The Surge, just without the exoskeleton and more giving you a full limb makeover, right arm? Forget about it, throw on a cool robot arm that can slice and dice your foes! Every stage ends with a box that comes flying from the gods or, in this case, from the TV Show host to aid you in your upgrades. Each stage will end in a upgrade, credits to upgrade your core skills or augmentations to give you the edge! This takes me to the vibe of a brawler-style game where, as you go, every level gives you an option of an upgrade which is totally different from the last run! Ultimately, this gives you a strong variety in each run, which is unique to its own core.
Yes, you heard me, the TV show host, who comes in the form of a grotesque being which mocks you and, in a way, sort of compliments you when you’re making eyeballs pop out of their sockets. This brings me to the story of the game. One thing I couldn’t grasp was…. what story? The story, as such, is just sort of stuck in with bits and pieces coming from the Host and an AI assistant which randomly appears midstage or at the start of the arena to pat you on the back after being demolished by your foes. The story for me could be a little bit more giving on what is going on. Yes, hold me at gunpoint “roguelikes don’t have stories”, but i at least want to know how i got there and who I am, you know?
Regardless of the story, the real meat and drink of this game is the brutality of it: heads exploding, body parts flying. It’s got just that. It has a unique twist in its cybernetic setting in old earth ruins. You get the feel of a powerful cyborg who can throw foes to the side with ease until you meet that one lucky sod that sticks a shiv into your side when you’re busy pounding into his friend. Along with the bodily enhancements, you can get side weapons and melee weapons which vary from a light bulb to a shotgun to blast the aforementioned baddies away, adding to the bizarreness and brutality of the game.
Overall, I recommend the title for its unique style and time-passing ability. If you’re looking for a solid story and a gripping game? Maybe look elsewhere. If you are looking for a stress-releasing, brutal, and downright enemy-bullying game? This is the one for you. It’s simplistic and challenging enough to get you engaged and spend some time that you have free. Kiborg is available to pickup on Xbox, Playstation or Steam, varying around the prices of $27-$33 (as part of deals or full price).
