Rokh Preview
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of being an astronaut, flying off to strange new worlds, and … engaging in a desperate struggle for survival? Ok don’t worry – Rokh is more fun than it sounds. This open-world exploration and survival sandbox has hit Early Access, and first impressions indicate that its barren dunes may be a bit too barren at times, but offer lots of promise.
First off, for an Indie entry Rokh looks gorgeous. Models and textures have a AAA-level polish, and the huge open world of Mars is rendered with such realism, you’ll almost feel the rusty sand under your feet. A vast landscape lays before you in every direction, with some truly impressive vistas – especially those sublime Martian sunsets that almost make you forget how inhospitable the environment is.
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“… the huge open world of Mars is rendered with such realism, you’ll almost feel the rusty sand under your feet.”
My only criticism is that it feels a bit too empty at times; I understand that realism demands this, but there isn’t quite enough incentive to explore right now, since what awaits you over the next dune is likely the same red desert you have already seen. Rokh suffers a bit from the lack of monster-ambushes and other pulse-quickening elements usually seen in survival titles like Ark Survival Evolved or Conan Exiles. The developers, Darewise Entertainment and Nvizzio Creations, maybe sense this and so there are occasional environmental events, such as meteor showers and dust storms, that present sudden unpredictable threats. As cool and scary as they are, they aren’t quite enough.
What really keeps you moving in Rokh is the need for stuff – stuff to keep you alive, and to craft with. You must stay breathing, hydrated, fed, powered-up and radiation-free. Supply drops, littered across the landscape, keep you going temporarily with small infusions of oxygen, power packs, and other goodies. I found they were placed just far enough apart to encourage me to keep walking, and their helpful proximity pulses ensured I didn’t overlook them. If you want to progress beyond bare survival though, you’ll want to start crafting.
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“Rokh has one of the best-executed crafting mechanics I have seen yet in an open-world survival game.”
Rokh has one of the best-executed crafting mechanics I have seen yet in an open-world survival game. A simple and intuitive process allows you to create simple tools, use them to make more complex ones, and create shelters, workbenches, and other items without the need for a detailed Tutorial (although there is a bit of one if you need it). It helps if you’ve had some experience with the genre before, but even if this is your first time, you’ll find crafting in Rokh to be very accessible, easy to learn, and fun.
Then, beyond the basics, there’s plenty of depth to the crafting to keep it interesting. Objects, such as building tiles, can be made with a number of different elements mined from the planet, but they have different properties. For example, making tiles out of tin will obviously render them less durable than other elements such as iron. So in addition to the various recipes and building materials to think about, you will have to think about a crafted item’s purpose and other aspects. Rokh’s crafting is a core aspect of the game, and the developers have clearly made sure it is done right.
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“… overall, Rokh is a great-looking, very promising Early Access title.”
This is an Early Access game, so you’ll have to expect technical flaws and bugs. But Rokh is already in a fairly polished state, and hiccups were not a major problem in my playtime. In my first attempt to spawn, I was frozen and unable to move at all. After re-loading, things were fine and I did not have a loading problem after that. During play, stuttering and rubber-banding were fairly common; they never became game-breaking though. I also found myself stuck on some rocks while walking, forcing me to move to the side at times.
But overall, Rokh is a great-looking, very promising Early Access title. If you enjoy crafting, you’ll love its well-designed and deep crafting system. A huge open-world environment, gorgeous visuals and even an exploration-based story of sorts await you on Mars, even if its sterile red deserts are lacking somewhat in detail. So pack your space-suit, get your ass to Mars, and check this one out for yourself.
** A PC game code was provided by the publisher **
