Must Play
Adorable art hiding surprisingly deep raid boss battles
Rabbit & Steel hides some genuinely challenging MMORPG raid mechanics behind a deceptively cutesy art style, and it scales all of that down into something built for 1 to 4 players. As someone who used to love MMORPGs but doesn’t have the time anymore to grind endlessly for gear or clear out valueless trash mobs, this game’s approach to the genre is exactly what I didn’t know I needed. It plays like a familiar bullet hell experience blended with the mechanics you’d find in Final Fantasy 14, and that combination works incredibly well.
The music takes some heavy inspiration from the Final Fantasy series too, and it really stands out as one of the game’s strong points. You start with a handful of classes unlocked, and over time you’ll earn access to more, giving you plenty of room to experiment and find what fits your playstyle. The core gameplay loop is simple: beat a boss, grab some loot, beat another boss, stop by a shop, take on a big boss, then move on to the next zone and do it all again. It’s proof that simplicity isn’t a knock against enjoyment. Some loops just work, and this is one of them.
I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys raiding in MMORPGs, especially fans of FF14, or anyone who’s a fan of a good challenging bullet hell.