When I first saw footage for Robots at Midnight, it piqued my interest for a few reasons. For starters, I was looking for a souls-like game that seemed more approachable. Plus, it’s from a Canadian developer, so I was eager to give it a go. At first, I thought this was their first game, but it’s not. So, I’m a little disappointed with aspects. This comes off more as a proof-of-concept instead of a fleshed-out adventure.
A Mysterious Planet
Robots at Midnight focuses on a young girl, Zoe. After robots on a spacecraft she’s on begin to cause havoc, her father sends her off in an escape pod. She lands on a strange planet, which also has robots living on it. There are both good and bad robots, and there are some other mysterious things taking place. She now has to figure out a way off. At the same time, learn about the planet and its connections to her.
The story here is all over the place. For starters, unless you go out of your way to speak to every NPC, the story is hard to follow. I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but there is a sign that her father might also be on the planet. Yet, he arrived there before she did.
The game lacks voice dialogue, and the audio mixing makes these parts difficult to follow. I don’t mind games without voicework. But the best ones know how to mix in sounds/cues to let you better follow conversations. Because of that, you’ll tend to rush through conversations that at first don’t seem to make sense.
For the most part, the combat is fun
I was able to look past the dialogue because I was having fun in combat. On the game’s default settings, it’s not a walk in the park, but you still have to be smart with your attacks. Zoe starts with a basic sword-like weapon. Quickly after that, she gets to use a special glove, called M.I.T.T., that allows for special attacks.
Combat relies on a stamina system to keep you from spamming attacks. Her sword attacks are easy to grasp. You can either do basic swings or strong ones that take up more stamina. Meanwhile, her M.I.T.T. is accessible only once you fill out a special power bar. Like her sword attacks, you can either perform quick attacks or hold out for stronger ones. These attacks are more effective, but it takes longer to fill out the meter to do them. Because of that, you only have one or two chances to use them in boss fights. But when you connect, you will almost always cause a boss to stagger.
Zoe gains a few different M.I.T.T. attacks. Of those, I found her ‘laser finger gun’ one to be the best of the bunch. Because it has the best range, it allows you to attack foes from further away. In boss fights, it’s the one you’ll use to give yourself a bit of space to heal or recoup stamina.
Otherwise, the upgrade system is weak
You can upgrade or change Zoe’s weapon, but it’s a small selection. Of the handful of sword-like weapons you find, only one is noticeably stronger. A funny part about it, though, is that it has a health penalty on it, so it’s unlikely most people would use it. I tended to rely on a propeller blade as my main weapon. You’re better off focusing on finding missing hard drives and upgrading M.I.T.T.’s power, so you can use it more often.
Her gear upgrades are also weak. The only gear upgrade is her jacket/costume. Here, the best outfit you can get is one that you might miss out on finding. I found it by chance, so I don’t know if this is one you can get earlier in the game or if it’s only available later.
I guess for a game that is only about 4-5 hours long, I shouldn’t expect drastic upgrades. This uses the souls-like trope of reaching campfires to respawn enemies. Because of that, it’s easy to grind the necessary items and ‘currency’.
At the same time, I never felt like it was necessary to upgrade everything. There was only one boss fight that gave me a hard time, and nothing my gear or weapons could do to help. That foe has an attack that is hard to avoid (at least for me), so my gear didn’t make any difference in defense.
Feels rushed at times
This game lasts only about five hours, depending on how much time you spend grinding. The story isn’t as interesting as I had hoped, and I felt that the robot world wasn’t fleshed out. The game’s ‘At Midnight’ moniker is because when it gets dark in this world, the robots become more powerful. Unfortunately, this gameplay element only happens twice. The first time is at the halfway point of the game. The other is the last part before heading to fight the final boss.
This is also a linear experience. There are almost no meaningful sidequests. The first part of the game is you trying to locate items to repair your companion robot. Once you’ve repaired it, the second part is using it to help you figure out a way off the planet. But everything is ‘a straight line’. You’ll move from Location A to Location B. Then, in the last part of the game, you’ll go from Location B back to Location A.
There were a few other gripes I had with the game. The animation to heal is slow. Zoe is taking a drink, and when this happens, she takes her sweet time. If she gets hit, it interrupts the healing. So, in boss battles, I would often have to attempt this a few times.
Another gripe was that the world doesn’t react to changes. There is one point late in the game where I come across a scared robot that warns me of a bad robot. They refer to an enemy I have to fight, including pointing at them. After I defeated it, I went back to the scared one, expecting a reaction. Nope, they still commented about the mini-boss, even though I destroyed it. I suspect the developers didn’t think people would go back, even though it’s a logical thing to do.
Nothing remarkable
If this were a studio’s first game, I’d be more forgiving of a lot of Robots At Midnight’s shortcomings. But, with a few games under their belt, it’s fair to have higher expectations. The strange design choices and forgettable story make this hard to recommend. While I did enjoy the combat, I wanted more.
