Rockshot, a new free-to-play shooter with a base-building component, hit Steam Early Access today, and if you have any lingering affection for Valhalla Game Studios’ Devil’s Third Online, it might be up your alley.
Rockshot is being developed by Soleil Ltd., which has ties to Devil’s Third maker Valhalla and is led by former Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive developers. Soleil’s new game looks like a slightly more toned down version of Devil’s Third Online, mixing third-person shooting with melee combat using katanas and electric guitars. There’s also a major construction element to Rockshot, as players are tasked with building, upgrading and expanding their base to “increase [their] sphere of dominance”.
It sounds like things will also get a little weird in Rockshot, based on the game’s official description:
Cut your teeth and earn experience in many familiar game modes, while enjoying some less familiar fare involving chickens, melons and zombies in regularly rotating event game modes. Perfect your melee combos using your favorite toys from a wide range of weaponry, including katanas and “Flying Vanguard” electric guitars. Or go apocalyptic and pound your enemies with surgical airstrikes to earn additional fire power, outfits and items for your team base.
Rockshot looks like a spiritual successor to Devil’s Third Online, the free-to-play multiplayer shooter based on Wii U game Devil’s Third. Valhalla and publisher Nexon shut down Devil’s Third Online in 2017, shortly after Valhalla and Nintendo shut down online services for that game’s Wii U counterpart.
Early response to Rockshot has been negative, with most user reviews citing that they’re unable to get into an online match.
For more on the development of Devil’s Third, read Polygon’s interview with former Valhalla Game Studios head Tomonobu Itagaki.
