Ruiner

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens (If you don't care about some scene's)
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind (only in Online Session)
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10
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I will leave the cat here, so that everybody who passes by can pet it and give it a thumbs up and awards.
　　　 　　／＞　　フ
　　　 　　| 　_　 _ l
　 　　 　／` ミ＿xノ
　　 　 /　　　 　 |
　　　 /　 ヽ　　 ﾉ
　 　 │　　|　|　|
　／￣|　　 |　|　|
　| (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__)
　＼二つ

Killer Combo!
Are you concerned about t e c h n o l o g y? GOOD..what, no? Do you really mean that all of these unprecedented technological leaps that we are currently witnessing in mechanization, which is progressing at break-neck speed while its control remains in the clutches of a few dubious technocrats, leave you unconcerned?! You are excited, actually??.. Then look no further -this game might have something in store for you! It's a recurring theme in fiction: technological advancements give absolute power to the rich and in turn, the bosses exert their power into pushing the masses down to hellish depths, while their heavenly kingdom is secured. Is it just sci-fi fearmongering and doomsaying? Time will tell, but I reckon we will find out sooner than later.
For the time being, we know RUINER is an isometric shoot'em up funhouse set in the cyberpunk genre, all drenched in doom and gloom (and lots of blood). The year is 2091 and you are an unnamed, faceless cybernetic menace whose brain has been hacked and controlled indirectly by a mysterious figure, known as Wizard. Your goal is to infiltrate HEAVEN, a futuristic mega corporation, and kill the BOSS. Things eventually go south and you find yourself on the brink of death when another hacker, only known as Her, saves you. She also tells you that your brother is held captive, as a safe switch to keep you set on killing BOSS. She offers her assistance in locating your brother and you know you will rescue him come HELL or high water. Do you really have a choice after all?
Butcher Combo!
The level design in RUINER is rather simplistic, with most of the levels being linear. The fight itself usually takes place in enclosed areas (stages), where enemies spawn in waves, you obliterate anything that moves and proceed to the next stage -rinse and repeat. It's never mundane though as the action is frenetic: you will find yourself constantly dashing around, smashing, shooting and exploding your way forward. Your reaction to things happening on screen will be lightning fast, sending jolts of electricity firing into your neurons. There is a generous variety of guns, with most of them being super useful while annihilating foes, one stage at a time. You can also opt for a melee playstyle, which is fun. My only grievance here is the system of rating each stage individually: it's pedantic and it gets old fast. Plus, to my understanding, there is no point to it as you are being rated for the whole level anyway.
You are leveling up by collecting Karma, the in-world currency of the game. There are a few abilities to unlock, which allow for a limited variety of builds but from my personal experience some abilities will see frequent use, while others won't quite cut it. One commendable feature is that the game offers an easy switch between all the abilities you have based on your level. This way, you will add/remove skillpoints and have the flexibility to try different builds on the fly.
Slayer Combo!
I really enjoyed the inclusion of executions, special kill animations that happen periodically when you have downed an enemy. They result in chopped limbs, crushed skulls and spines getting mashed. Let the bodies hit the floor, walls and ceiling too. It's an absolute carnage, as the violence is over-the-top and RUINER is as stylish with it as it goes. It's bloody, it's messy and it's gory af.
The animation is amazing and the same goes for the textures. Everything is mostly coloured with red or highlighted in an orange/yellow tint that contrasts to the dark, metallic environments of RUINER's world: everything is built with uncaring cold steel at best and gritty, rusted iron at worst. I expected the game's artwork to be cyberpunk-ish slop but it's actually quite memorable, with the colour palette used in particular giving it a distinct character that helps with immersion.
However, the game sometimes opts for style over substance and that is sadly obvious in Rengkok, the only hub in game. There are side-quests that you can take in the slums, but the overall content is too limited to flesh out anything substantial. It's underdeveloped, there's so much flavour but nothing to really chew on. The rich visuals speak very little there and felt like cardboards with flashing neon lights.
The soundscape of RUINER is excellent. Industrial techno drills combine with darksynth brooding melodies, building up the rage. Goth witch house spells -ahem, beats, blast in repetition, pumping the player up for the massacre. The track that really struck a chord with me is Sidewalks and Skeletons' "The End".
You Psycho, You!
I was a wee bit let down by the lack of a sufficiently fleshed-out story and it's a shame because the potential was there. That being said, I understand that RUINER's main focus is the gameplay and not constructing a complex narrative. The dialogue choices you will get are always two and always inconsequential -although it might serve a purpose. Like you don't get a face, you don't get to have an opinion. You do as you are being told and that's one thing only: kill. RUINER's story is all about power and control: Heaven is God's domain and you don't get to dwell in there. Those who are not in control, the damned and the destitute, will be etching a miserable existence in Hell. They can only hope that one day, they might become in turn the masters of another puppet, much like the puppet that their masters are.
RUINER offers an intense experience featuring addictive fast-paced gameplay, lavishly garnished with unapologetically over-the-top violence and served with Blade Runner aesthetics on the side. I can easily recommend the game to anyone who is intrigued by at least one of those elements.

Fast paced, Fun, Looks cool, and i get a woman calling me a puppy 24/7... 10/10

A top view game where you get called puppy. Truly a Shadowolf188 classic.

The art direction is enough that I will literally stop and stare at my Steam Deck, from style to overall quality this game is absolutely incredible on that front.

This game sat in my library from 2018 until 2024 without ever being played - I'm not even sure where it came from. But being on a rougelite kick, it looked like RUINER might scratch that itch and so I downloaded it and was instantly blown away. I'm not sure why this game isn't more popular because I'm certain that if they followed the 2024 trend and included some rogue-like elements and simply rereleased the exact same game tomorrow, that it would be chart topping.

Give it a shot! Literal moving art.

Incredible visuals, an amazing soundtrack, and engaging gameplay! It's challenging but definitely doable. I had a blast dashing around with melee weapons—it’s super fast-paced. I casually finished the story in roughly 10 hours and really enjoyed the experience.

RUINER is a stylish and brutally fast-paced cyberpunk action game that excels in atmosphere and combat but falls short in storytelling and variety. It’s a game that delivers intense, adrenaline-fueled action wrapped in a visually striking world, but it sometimes struggles to maintain depth beyond its aesthetic.
The biggest strength of RUINER is its presentation. The neon-drenched cyberpunk cityscapes, glitchy UI effects, and pounding synthwave soundtrack create an incredible sense of style and immersion. Every frame of the game feels like a cyberpunk fever dream, with sharp, angular designs and a haunting, dystopian atmosphere that pulls you in immediately.
The combat is another highlight. It’s fast, brutal, and satisfying, rewarding quick reflexes and tactical thinking. The mix of melee and ranged weapons, along with abilities like dashes and shields, keeps encounters exciting and fluid. The game makes you feel powerful, but never invincible, as enemies hit hard and require careful positioning and strategy to defeat. Boss fights, in particular, are intense and well-designed, pushing you to master the game’s mechanics.
However, RUINER has its drawbacks. The story is minimalistic and doesn’t feel as engaging as the world it’s set in. While the themes of corporate oppression and cybernetic augmentation are intriguing, the narrative doesn’t develop enough to make you truly invested in your silent protagonist’s journey. The game also leans heavily on its cyberpunk aesthetic without offering much depth in world-building.
Another issue is the repetition. While combat is fun, the enemy encounters start to blend together after a while, and mission objectives don’t offer much variety beyond “kill everything in the room.” The game’s length is fairly short, which helps prevent fatigue, but it still could have used more diversity in gameplay.
Overall, RUINER is a visually stunning and mechanically satisfying game that thrives on its cyberpunk atmosphere and intense action but falls short in narrative depth and variety. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, stylish action game with an amazing soundtrack, it’s worth playing—but don’t expect it to redefine the genre.
Rating: 7/10 – A sleek, cyberpunk power trip with repetitive gameplay and a forgettable story.