Moros Protocol – Fun Combat, Flawed Execution

• DEVELOPER: Pixel Reign
• PUBLISHER: Super Rare Originals
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Roguelite
• RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2025
• STARTING PRICE: 24,50€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

I really tried to like Moros Protocol, and I genuinely wanted the game to feel good, but it just doesn’t work. While the demo may have been good because it offered only a small portion of the game, the full version falls apart. The meta-progression feels punishing and grindy, and the singleplayer experience is boring and difficult, as if the title was made for multiplayer only. However, the game does have some strong points. The gunplay and melee combat are very satisfying, and the multiple zones offer new enemies and bosses. Unfortunately, this becomes repetitive over time and ruins the fun.

The Unpredictable World of The Moros Protocol

The story is forgettable, but the characters are quite memorable. You play as Alex, an amnesiac soldier who awakens on the Orpheus, a spaceship overrun with mysterious monsters. An AI called Betty urges you to explore the ship to uncover what happened to the crew, forcing Alex to find his way through hordes of enemies. When you die in battle, the titular Moros Protocol activates, sending Alex’s consciousness into a new body before death and allowing him to try again from scratch. The game also features a “hot space woman” that chases you around.

“You can carry one melee weapon and two guns.”

Let’s start with what’s enjoyable: the combat. You can carry one melee weapon and two guns. It might not be spectacular, but it’s simple and effective. The recoil works well, there are plenty of guns and swords to play with, and the customization of augmentations and builds makes exploration worthwhile, especially if you want to beat the bosses. The combat style feels like a classic “boomer shooter” since you can run past everything and be as quick as possible. Additionally, you can always find ammo and merchants to spend money at, ensuring you never feel lost when it comes to progression and strategy.

The roguelite elements also ensure that every playthrough is a unique and unpredictable challenge. The ship’s layout is procedurally generated, meaning the corridors, rooms, and enemy placements are different with each run. As you progress, you’ll encounter a variety of biomechanical enemies and towering, grotesque bosses designed to test your reflexes and strategic thinking.

Fun Core Loop Plagued by Repetition and Poor Balancing

The bosses are super fun, and the enemies, from flying ones to smaller ones, force you to learn different patterns and how to hit their weak spots for extra damage. But this is where the main issue arises. The weapons feel unbalanced, and no matter how much you upgrade them, it never seems to be enough. A later-stage boss, for example, has a massive amount of health that you can’t properly deplete with your weapons. You’ll eventually lose all your ammo with no way to get more unless you destroy boxes around you.

What I wish the game did was be less stingy with healing. When enemies drop healing items, the health isn’t immediately applied to your health bar. Instead, it goes into an “HP Shot” meter. Once full, you can use it to heal. But these drops fill the meter way too slowly. While permanent upgrades can increase the number of HP Shots you can store and their effectiveness, they don’t increase how fast you acquire them. On the other hand, once you learn how to play, moving around becomes much simpler, as normal enemies don’t pose a proper challenge unless they appear in large groups. You’ll mostly die to bosses, not standard enemies.

“The upgrades outside of the main gameplay feel underwhelming.”

Keep in mind there are three maps in the game, each with something different to offer. However, the core loop remains the same and becomes overly repetitive. For example, if you die to a boss on the third stage, you have to restart everything. While this is a standard roguelite mechanic, it’s frustrating because the upgrades outside of the main gameplay feel underwhelming.

Different Game with a Friend

Most upgrades only slightly increase your HP, stamina, or weapon damage, or add a mere 50 to your ammo capacity. These upgrades eventually cost a fortune in a resource called Biomat, which you spend on permanent improvements for future runs. Additionally, you don’t have many ways to upgrade yourself during a run unless you find a merchant, and even level 3 weapons feel weak. The lack of a rewarding sense of progression makes replaying the same cutscenes and fighting the same bosses feel unfulfilling, and the replayability is almost non-existent.

“The game makes you wonder why the singleplayer mode isn’t properly balanced.”

This is where I realized I was wrong. This is a multiplayer title, and as soon as a friend and I jumped in, it felt like a completely different game. The singleplayer experience I had been playing felt worlds away. Everything became easier and more manageable; it wasn’t boring or repetitive because I wasn’t dying to minor issues. This makes you wonder why the singleplayer mode isn’t properly balanced.

Stages that took me 30 minutes to beat alone were now being cleared in 15, and the gameplay felt much faster. However, I still wished for some kind of checkpoint system. I genuinely don’t want to repeat everything from the beginning. It would be better to have a limited checkpoint so you can take on the final boss without having to replay the entire game. Not everyone has hours to spend replaying every bit and piece. Perhaps even a revive system could make single-player runs less punishing.

This Roguelite Is Built for Two

The graphics, music, and overall vibe of the game are amazing, but they can’t save the experience. You’ll throw yourself at the same boss fights with only slightly better results from one run to the next, which isn’t satisfying. There’s a lot to explore in this game, but it’s an experience that truly needs a friend. In its attempt to look great and stand out as a unique roguelite, the game seems to have forgotten the core principle of what makes each run fun and rewarding.

Review copy provided by the publisher