With frantic motion and a hilarious co-op mode, Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon is a rogue-lite that’s good for gamers of all ages.
The delightfully absurd premise is evident from the opening scene: after many years of being mercilessly smashed by people, the piñatas are combating again. Filled with sweet and out for revenge, they’re decided to destroy civilization, attacking something of their path. It’s Sweet Crush meets The Strolling Lifeless, as gamers cobble collectively ludicrous makeshift weaponry to battle the papier-mâché menace.
What’s it?: A foolish and difficult rogue-lite for as much as 4 gamers
Platforms: Quest and Steam (Reviewed on Quest 3S)
Launch Date: Out now (Quest), 2025 (Steam)
Developer: Nerd Ninjas
Value: $24.99
Sights and Sounds
Rogue Piñatas takes place in a world as colourful as its titular antagonists. The characters, environments, weapons and UI all burst with shiny, cheerful vitality. Sure, regardless of the apocalypse, the world of Rogue Piñatas is a pleasing place to be.
I performed on a Quest 3S, the place it ran easily and appeared nice, and testing the sport in co-op mode on my second headset, a Quest 2, revealed no noticeable points. The sport’s crisp visuals and cartoony artwork route completely complement the sport’s tone. Explosions of confetti and vibrant particular results make every battle a spectacle, whereas the clear UI ensures every thing stays readable amid the mayhem.
Audio design is equally glorious. A lightweight and boppy soundtrack performs within the background, and directional audio helps immerse gamers and talk important data—buzzing alerts an airborne bumblebee piñata approaching from behind, for instance, whereas an pressing beep warns of a close-by self-destruct piñata. Meaty blunderbuss blasts and satisfying melee impacts add a satisfying weight to fight.
The Gameplay Loop
Followers of rogue-lite video games like Vampire Survivors will really feel proper at dwelling with Rogue Piñatas.
The journey begins in a humble household storage. Initially, gamers management Package Bash, the sport’s first playable character, however as they progress, they’ll unlock six extra—every with distinct stats and playstyles. There’s Package’s pizza-loving dad, his ex-military granny, and punk-rock sister, and each character feels distinctive. Past wildly diversified stats for every, their signature starter weapons result in significant gameplay variations. Gamers may also buy ability upgrades utilizing in-game foreign money earned by fight.
After choosing a personality and managing upgrades, it’s time for battle. Fight unfolds throughout six numerous zones, every with a major goal and optionally available sub-objectives. Missions vary from easy survival challenges to boss battles, gear activations, and automobile escort missions.
Every zone has a definite identification, beginning in an overrun suburban neighborhood earlier than increasing into more odd locales.
Enemies spawn in relentless waves, and smashing piñatas releases sweet—the sport’s EXP. The extra piñatas you break, the extra sweet you acquire, and the sooner you stage up. Upon leveling up, a flashy UI presents three random improve selections, together with lively weapon augments, passive buffs, and fully new weapons. Piñatas might also drop well being objects and uncommon power-ups.
As in any good rogue-lite, survival requires a mixture of technique, ability, and fast reflexes. If gamers meet the mission targets, they clear the zone and return to the storage to regroup earlier than diving into the following problem.
Screenshots taken by UploadVR on Quest 3S.
However How Does It Play?
A rogue-lite lives or dies by its gameplay, and Rogue Piñatas delivers.
Swinging a pizza-peel battle axe or clobbering enemies with a multi-bat (as a result of seven bats are higher than one) feels phenomenal. Twin-wielding melee weapons turns fight right into a calorie-burning frenzy, with piñatas shattering, ricocheting, and disintegrating in fantastically chaotic style.
Switching to ranged weapons slows issues down however retains the depth excessive. One hand slashes a ground-based llama piñata whereas the opposite fires a exact shot at an airborne enemy, all whereas sweet guts rain down. It’s a ridiculous, pleasant spectacle.
Motion is customizable, providing teleportation by default. Nonetheless, switching to easy motion considerably improves the expertise, particularly given the sport’s fast-paced nature.
The sport performs equally nicely with the participant seated or standing.
Motion is user-selectable within the recreation’s choice menu; accessible as “steady” and “teleport.”
There isn’t any vignetting throughout motion.
The issue ramps up fairly shortly, however stays balanced on the entire. Early waves really feel manageable, however because the mission progresses, enemy numbers swell, culminating in a frantic, high-stakes climax. By the point gamers face the zone boss, they’re additionally warding off swarms of more and more aggressive piñatas.
Regardless of its shiny sweet shell, Rogue Piñatas hides a very sinister core. The sheer enemy depend and relentless tempo create loads of studying moments—let’s simply say I misplaced quite a lot of missions on the final second.
But frustration by no means set in. The sturdy design, satisfying fight, and rewarding development made each retry really feel like a contemporary alternative slightly than a setback. I gasped, I growled, however I at all times smiled, after which jumped proper again in for an additional spherical.
Screenshots taken by UploadVR on Quest 3S.
A Multiplayer Enjoyable-Time Multiplier
Past its single-player expertise, Rogue Piñatas shines in co-op, permitting as much as 4 gamers to workforce up.
Becoming a member of a foyer is easy—simply stroll as much as the in-game UI within the storage, click on a button, and also you’re in.
If Rogue Piñatas is enjoyable solo, it’s improbable with mates. I performed by the primary zone with my ten-year-old daughter, and we had a blast. The sport’s balanced mechanics transition seamlessly into multiplayer, and battling waves of piñatas whereas laughing collectively by the Quest audio system was pure pleasure.
Reviving downed teammates requires operating to their location and staying inside proximity till their life meter refills. Take too lengthy, and so they’re out for good—including a light-weight layer of teamwork to the mayhem.
Remaining Ideas
Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon delivers an exciting, family-friendly rogue-lite that blends over-the-top motion with a refined gameplay loop. Its vibrant artwork model, well-tuned mechanics, and interesting fight guarantee infinite enjoyable, whether or not taking part in solo or in co-op. The variability in characters, weapons, and zones retains each run contemporary, and whereas the sport might be difficult, its attraction and humor stop frustration from setting in.
Extra importantly, Rogue Piñatas captures the most effective of VR—physicality, immersion, and pure, unfiltered enjoyable.
UploadVR makes use of a 5-Star ranking system for our recreation critiques – you’ll be able to learn a breakdown of every star ranking in our evaluation tips.
