Blasted Road Terror

Tl;DR: It's too grindy.

Definitely like the concept. As others have suggested, it has the same feeling as convoy. And while I like the more free form to gameplay, the core structuring to the game kind of falls apart the longer you play it.

In a game like convoy, if you lose your main vehicle, it's game over. And then you start over and have to build up all over again. In this game, you just lose the mission.

I kind of prefer this approach a little bit more since I think permadeath and proc gen have just been over-saturating the market too much, but that's not the whole story. See, if you lose your extra vehicles, they're gone for good, and going with them is their weapon and attachment. Which really it should theoretically hurt less since you can just get a new vehicle or rent one.

But uh, that's kind of the biggest problem I have with the game. That if you lose all your vehicles, now you have to rent vehicles. And if you do that, you start to get nickel and dimed by them as you have to pay a percentage to rent them. So you either pay a big price for a vehicle up front or a small price with a tax on your next mission. You put this cost on top of buying guns and attachments each time a vehicle dies and you start to feel like the game is getting grindy. The game DOES give you free weapons/attachments, but it feels like hand-me-downs in a bad way. Almost like starting convoy over again completely just with more stuff unlocked. Again, theoretically good, but just doesn't work out to feeling good.

But that's not all! Cause you can also UPGRADE attachments. Just imagine you put a ton of money into your attachments only to wipe out completely because the game forces you to play on a harder difficulty.

Oh, didn't mention that part yet did I? Yeah. The game steadily increases in difficulty that you have to unlock with currency. And again, it's not a direct problem, it's more a side issue. And the reasoning behind that is if your crew is overleved for an area, they will force you to pay an up front fee for them to do the mission (The lower level mission). So now you are stuck in a scenario where you play 'on level' difficulty or you grind against lower difficulty harder since the game forces it.

Darkest dungeon had this retarded design and I still don't get it. It's really antithetical to an enjoyable experience since there doesn't seem to be much unique the further you go. There was a couple new mission types such as one that you go on a long drive with different paths, but I couldn't get past the third or fourth option due to attrition. Though if I went at it again I could probably get past it by just using the vehicle that regenerate health.

Even still, I strongly dislike this. Drip feeding you new content for the sake of drawing the game out. I hated that about darkest dungeon and it was one of the biggest reasons I haven't played it in ages. I get sick to death of being forced to grind stuff if I'm not VERY into the environments/gameplay. In PSO 1 it's very repetitive, but I like to play that because I'm a big fan of the environments and the core gameplay loop is directly satisfying. Here the gameplay is just 'good' and frequently makes me feel like I'm out of options honestly. Even when I'm doing well, I'm just kind of 'sitting there watching' and don't feel like I can improve anything further. But worse, when I'm struggling I ALSO feel like I can't do anything to improve it further. I had gotten a big rocket launcher that went on my vehicle and I gotta admit I don't even understand how it was used. It seems to just fire forward. I even had the upgrade that supposedly increased the firing arc.

The game also has a pretty big obfuscation issue and the UI is kind of crap. It feels a lot like someone released this game, might have patched it once or twice, and then just gave up on it.

But I'm getting a bit off course. My biggest problem with this game is that I've been playing it for four hours and I feel like I've been playing it for twenty. That's not an endorsement. The game is already dragging on and it's barely been four hours. SO the game is grindy in a bad way and for no real discernable reason except to time gate you. It wants you to grind for the sake of grinding. There's still other missions at the higher difficulty that were at the lower difficulty so it's not like I'm getting a fully new experience with the harder levels. There just seems to be more enemies with more dangerous weapons. It's kind of shit.

So while I do like the raw gameplay pretty decently, it's just not refined enough like convoy was and it was trying too hard to get me to play for way too long for no understandable reason.

I could beat this game. Easily. But I just don't feel like playing it any longer. What a horrible way to feel about a game.

Blasted Road Terror is a game with a really fun base gameplay loop where you go into battle with your war rig and up to four smaller vehicles in real-time tactical battles, a bit like FTL but except for people inside one large vehicle you now control multiple vehicles. You upgrade, take on quests, unlock new difficulties and mission types etc. This is all quite good.

Buuuut the game does feel a bit undercooked and has its fair share of bugs.
For example, I don't know if there's an end game. There is an intro cutscene but after that there's basically no story, there's some factions with lore but there's no plot propelling you forward. You also don't lose if your war rig is destroyed even though your other cars are permanently gone if they are destroyed so the only way I know of how to lose is out of frustration after being completely crushed and losing all your cars at once =P
I had all three different war rigs fully upgraded by the time I was at the third difficulty out of five and while you can still upgrade the tinkering to boost stats of items your smaller vehicles can use, the vehicles themselves reach their max level quite quickly as well.
Speaking of vehicles, there are quite a few. Some that you can own, some that you can hire temporarily and some you can only meet as foes on the road. Or at least I assume so, perhaps they'll become available to you if you manage to gain favor with the fourth faction which I through my 13 hours of playtime never saw except for on the faction relations tab.
Like all games by this developer the UI is kind of clunky and lacking in quality of life features, like if you open one screen then another the first one doesn't dissappear by itself... except in some cases where you want them to stay up because you're meant to pull things from one window to the next, but in those cases they always have to be opened in the right order for some reason, it's the worst of both worlds here =P
As for bugs, I saw a lot of them, none gamebreaking and never any crashes though. The worst one was that I once lost an item despite the car surviving, this just so happened to be the most expensive item I'd purchased, and I did so just before that level.
If you save and quit while in the garage the days settings wont have been saved which can be abused because you still get to keep the free goodies you can grab at the start of a day so while I didn't do it, you ccan just save and load until you get a day with free repairs on all your cars, or a traveling shop comes along withsome item you want.
Another bug is that enemy cars occasionally smash together and instead of just like stopping one will keep going and the other will instantly move some distance away, making for a teleport basically.

All of those things are pretty minor though. I would have loved to see a more focused game using the same gameplay mechanics but as it is, I still got my fun out of the game.

Decent alternative to Convoy, but there is almost no story and so much grind that it can get dull pretty fast.

Really cool game. a looter shooter of postapo convoy simulator.
Simple but replayable gameplay.
Lots of variety.

This game is fine, but the lack of a true gameover but also being able to spend down to not having seems to let you get into a really unfortunate situation where you can't really progress. Could use more balancing.(Or, I just don't know what I'm doing)

Think of it as a mechanically superior, if much more streamlined & compact, version of Convoy (which I think is a little better known). There's no plot here as far as I'm aware, just life & jobs on the wasteland road, but the core gameplay is satisfying.

Meh, at best.

Its oddly hard to go to menu screen.

There is no NEW GAME option either.

Weird.

But, overall... 5/10.

this game is a bit like convoy but more mission based and though i like it i feel it has some bad flaws. you control a land rover and can have up to 4 cars to protect it on mission. you can up grade it, and your base. cars can only mount 1 weapon and 1 defense per and what you can equip is based on your land rovers capacity (ammo takes up your capacity). on missions your land rover can only move back and forth on the road but your cars can move around anywhere on the level as long as you don't drive them into obstacles. on missions you can slow time (not stop it like convoy) so you can give fast orders.

+ mission type and difficulty select (if cars out level mission difficulty they want more pay)
+ long patrol missions. these can be 10+ fights/other missions with branching paths.
+ base upgrades
+ faction rep to get better stuff from their visits
+ cheap-ish heroes you can exploit for 1 mission (let'm die who cares buy another if needed)
+ you'll definitely do better by using resistances and good tactics

? game is endless (no ending) there is a mode you can unlock at the end (the cult people are here).

- BUG: there is a glitch where you can get stuck on other cars. a friend lost a mission because they got one of their cars stuck on the truck. i've gotten stuck on enemies twice but i was able to kill them.
- BUG: you can click through menus by mistake doing things you didn't mean to do.
- i unlocked 3 trucks but i only use the drone one because its op (mac level seems to be 16).
- the game is very rng based. there are weapons my friend has that i've never seen.
- 1 save. like why? i know it auto saves to prevent save scumming but you could still have more than 1 save.
- weapons are not real clear on range. none 360degree weapons say "limited" but can hit front+left/right and none you'll you how far away they hit. you can see what range/area a weapon is by equipping it and holding tab but this will not help with weapons your not used to.
- grindy: i don't feel mission give enough stuff and when you lose cars you'll definitely be resource starved for a bit. if you lose your truck before your cars the surviving cars will not be lost after the failed mission.
- the game can get boring. most missions feel the same. even defending, capturing, or fighting warlords there's really little difference in mission and do to the grindyness of the game you'll be doing lots of missions leading to burnout.

good but if you get bored from games with lots of repetition you may want to pass on this. maybe look into convoy.

The time I'm reviewing this game is when I also been playing/grinding a AAA game called Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Wildlands. After setting into perspective, Here are my simple thoughts about this indie game. To make it short, go buy this game because of the price itself further exceeds the amount of fun you'll be having just because of its simple gaming mechanics which a lot of developers are trying to master but failed to get them to the exact direction.

And for the longer version, simple mechanics, grinding & imagination. This game nailed, sealed and solidified it to the wall. How was it possible that a AAA game like Wildlands can't get me into the game like what this one did? Both games have their own grinding systems, both are fun with their own rights but to me, I found that one implemented the system a bit better than the other. Whenever I grind Wildlands, I feel like it’s a chore to do almost the same thing over again regardless of the area and environments. Unlike this game, the grinding system doesn’t take extra time before you initiate them. Although I do appreciate both efforts on how they make the game but what this game has lacks the other, which is enabling player’s imagination. With no voice actors implemented in the game and all text based, it allowed me to form my own Madmax-like world in the game especially in battles. I just love it how the devs will give players the trust to make their own story instead of using scripted games because games that requires grinding can get tiring in the long run.
To conclude, get this game if you like games like FTL and movies like MADMAX or any post-apocalyptic era. It’s a great rouge-lite strategy game with less technical requirements from your rig/laptop which enables player’s imagination as they survive the world while buying the game on a cheaper price! full-priced worthy of a game to support the devs!

Buggy POS game.
Played for a few hours and suddenly all my vehicles disappeared and I am back in the tutorial with no escort vehicles.
Had to start from day 1 and lost all my cars and rare stuff.
Do not buy this game.

Edit: This bug is not an isolated incident. Happened to me 3 times now.
Repeat DO NOT BUY!

Missions are very repetitive. Many gameplay sounds play loudly and often. Graphics are meh but you should have already noticed that.

The game has a slow down you can trigger. Unless you are very talented, you'll be using it often. However, when you usethis feature and an enemy blows up. They game slows down even more due to some kind of bug/poor programming. This gets frustrating.

Didn't pay a lot but then I'm sure I could have gotten something else for the same price with better play value.

So at first getting to the medium missions made me frustrated but I stuck with it. Now I'm addicted. Great game. Well balanced and complex enough to keep it interesting.

Solid game for players who like road rage, looting, upgrading, and experimenting with many different possible gear & party setups.
Non-stop action, just a few clics away between each new excursion in the hostile wastelands.

The pixel art visuals are well done and satisfying, it gets pretty bloated at times with explosions, corpses, debris and incoming obstacles, but you get a bullet time toggle specifically for these situations.

It takes a couple hours to get familiar with the designs so expect to feel a bit lost early game. Although that means there is a learning curve so that's a positive for me. It seems a couple informations are missing though, for instance at the time i write this i'm still unsure how plasma damage behaves. Since the creator is very active these small issues will be patched anyway.

Note that this is a grind oriented game, meaning a lot of progression of a repetitive nature. This is totally my kind of guilty pleasures especially when it's well done like in Blasted Roar Terror's case but i suppose it has to be noted.
Other popular examples of this kind would be Convoy, Battle Brothers, Darkest Dungeon, etc, but less rpg-ish, more furious explosions-ish.

Final point, the game gets really juicy once you start unlocking patrols (long missions with branching paths and supplies management) which from what i can tell only become available once you unlock medium difficulty missions, which is the second out of five difficulty scales.

Solid buy, cheap, and a great performance for just a single person's work.

A game similar to Convoy. In 2 days my game hours alr exceed Convoy, so this is probably better.

What I like.
1. Preferred BRT presentation of combat over the Convoy.
2. There's some skill in mastering the game.
3. Missions are refreshing with varying difficulty and types.

What I hope to see.
1. Storyline.
2. More vehicles.
3. Better explanation of unique items stats like Rage banner etc. (For dev)

After 13 hrs I'm on Heroic difficulty, and am still fine with a little grinding.
Feel free to stay tuned to see how long I'm gonna keep playing.

For the money and time spent, I love and very recommend it. 8/10.

HIDDEN GEM!!! If you like roguelikes or lites, FTL and especially Convoy, you will want to grab Blasted Road Terror. Convoy and this game are very similar titles, except this game has more features in my opinion. Upgradeable armor, a tech tree, home base (also upgradeable), reputation system and other features. Has a heavy Mad Max Fury Road vibe to it. For $5 this game is an absolute steal!

This game is sick af, plain and simple. If you enjoyed the post-apocalyptic themes of Fallout or Mad Max (Especially Fury Road) then I think that you'll definitely enjoy this title.

There are a couple cons. There are a few minor typos, and as the developer states, there are placeholders in game. It is early access, what did you expect? Lastly, the difficulty is not linear. The easy was too easy, and the medium pushed my shit back inside me.

The art style is gorgeous, the sound track is killer, and I love this game. Pick it up!

Check out some gameplay here -
https://youtu.be/mfUY3caUdf8

one of the better early access experiences on Steam.
the game is fun, it gets regular updates and the developer is very aproachable in the way he works.

the game plays a bit like a mad-max top down shooter.
you manage, upgrade and ballance out your team to complete missions.
it's a simple setup but it works great.
try it for 30 minutes if you are not sure but don't blame me if those 30 minutes become a 3 hour session.

An extraordinarily fun game; when firing this up I can't help but go back to the coin-op days when the likes of Spy Hunter were the rage. This is the kind of game I was hoping that Steve Jackson's Car Wars game was going to end up like - I know it's more Mad Max with explosive spears and flamethrowers as opposed to lasers and paint sprays of Car Wars, but hey - this game is still in EA... my dream may yet come true!

There's enough top-down roadside carnage here to keep one addicted for hours. For those who are looking for a game similar to Convoy, but wanting a bit more high-speed carnage, this is the game for you.

The only downside so far is that I do find the 'garage area' to be a bit clunky/some elements can be confusing - takes a bit of experimentation to get things right when setting up your vehicles, and I would REALLY like a "Confirm Purchase Y/N?" when you're browsing the Black Market. Plus there seems to be (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong) no way to sell off your inventory at this stage, so you're going to be carrying around a lot of obsolete gear. Hope that changes during development.

All in all, am very happy with my purchase.

My Score for BRT: 8.5/10

EDIT: One of the devs informed me that you ARE able to sell gear with a shift-right-click; that bumps my score up to a 9 ;)

If I had to rename this game it would be Mad Max the game.

You control your main Vehicle with up to four escorts being (at least this second) one of three class;
The Fast and Heavily armoured
The Slow and Heavily armed
Or The Speedy Glass cannon

The thing is you can put any gun on any vehicle but depending on the vehicle the arcs the weapon can be used might be limited so you have to be careful of your loadout.

You do one of a few mission types each with it's own problem as you get better gear and upgrades for your escorts and HQ while you level up your main vehicle.
The game is a semi rougelike in the fact if your escort goes boom it's gone but if your main vehicle goes boom you just loose the mission and keep any alive escorts.


Pros;
Already a good amount of content
Nice variety of weapons
Makes you think without going overboard
Good challenge

Cons;
Not a great variety of vehicles (It might just be because I'm early game)
If you loose your best escorts you will be set back a long time rebuilding up them to usable levels again

For just about $4.39 (-20% Promotion), I have to say I got more than I expected.

Game isn't plain easy, and requires a lot of hands on thinking and quick reaction.

Graphics are rather decent from the screenshots provided, I love that when you upgrade something, it has a visual representation for it; IE. If you add a fuel tank function (Fuel no longers adds to weight) to your center car, it actually adds fuel tanks to the top of the car / truck.

Steam description noted that lots of audio will be updated, while that's the case, what's already in the game aren't too shabby. It is a bit bland at the moment, but like the developer stated - It will be updated.

Controls aren't hard to master, point and click, a little bit of W,S,A,D.

Game play wise, it offers different mission types, ranging from a quick 2~5 minutes quick missions, to 15 minutes or longer endurance missions. The game also carries a slight hint of rogue genre, losing a car in battle will lose that specific car forever, including all the goodies you installed on it. Making players, at least myself, cares about my command.

All in all, for the price tag and the contents currently provides, it's actually a great deal.