A Bloody Fairy Tale
In one kingdom, a royal family with blood-red eyes ruled. These eyes made its members incredibly powerful. Due to a tragedy, the queen forbade her subjects from practicing magic – even reading magic books was severely punished. But the prohibition did not prevent an evil witch from seizing power.
The witch tore out the blood-red eyes of the royal family members and turned them into magical crystals. Everyone who had such a crystal implanted turned into an obedient monster. The creatures destroyed everyone in their path, and no one could stop them – the crystals revived their owners after death.
The last of the royal line was a girl named Ruby. Thanks to her eyes, she can break the crystals and finally destroy the monsters. Now only she can stop the witch, who is preparing the most sinister of her rituals.
Illusion and Reality
Together with her friends, Ruby settled in an abandoned monastery. Within its ancient walls, she trains, rests, and tries to enjoy life. A guy named Roy leads the hunt, and a gecko named Vichivi sells the girl everything she needs.
After the hunt, hidden passages open in the monastery, concealed by an illusion. Behind the illusion lies the history of the monastery's inhabitants and its dark secrets. All monsters must be exterminated to understand the motivation of the characters. A puzzle may also be hidden behind the illusion, which must be solved for further progress.
Chests with local currency and amulets are hidden in secret corners. Amulets increase characteristics, enhance attacks, and give a second chance in battle. Currency can be used to buy amulets and passive upgrades for Ruby.
By praying at the statue, you can replay already completed battles. This is an excellent way to earn currency and show off – the best players will reach the top of the leaderboard.
Brutal Boss Battles
In Rubinite, you only fight bosses. The kingdom is divided into arenas, and each is inhabited by a formidable monster. The game's graphics are bright and detailed, and Rubinite's design resembles Blasphemous. Therefore, each battle is primarily memorable visually, and the music makes what is happening even more beautiful.
You will have to adapt to each opponent. Enemies hit hard, throw objects, hide, teleport, and apply negative effects. Among the techniques are grabs and aerial attacks, which can be interrupted by strikes and throws. Sometimes you have to fight multiple opponents, and victory is accompanied by a brutal and bloody finishing move.
Ruby can deliver weak blows and roll. Her special ability is to glare menacingly at the enemy. The gaze fills the special attack bar, which deals gigantic damage. But if you miss a hit, all accumulated charge is reset.
After defeating the final boss, the true ending playthrough will begin. You will have to defeat all bosses again to resolve the remaining questions. But now Ruby will die from one hit, and the bosses will not have a visible health bar. Only an amulet that gives a second chance will save her.
Clumsiness and Flaws
Compared to other hardcore games, Rubinite is not very difficult, but it is inconvenient. Many bosses have crooked attacks and hitboxes. They can miss when Ruby is standing still, or unexpectedly hit. Because of this, battles are unpredictable in a bad way.
The simplicity of the bosses is compensated by their habit of constantly attacking. They can complete a long chain of moves, and then start over a second later. It's worse if they accidentally decide to perform a grab or an aerial attack – there's little time to react. All this wouldn't be so bad, but Ruby has few ways to stun the enemy.
The poor balance is frankly frustrating. Normal attacks lose to enhanced ones even with upgrades. As a result, battles come down to staring at the enemy and dodging. The only exception is the "Plaguebearer," whom it's easier to stab.
Verdict
In terms of visuals and atmosphere, Rubinite is an amazing game where cute and funny characters look organic in a dark world. The events are intriguing, you get attached to the characters, and you want to know the story to the end, although the need to play the game twice for the true ending raises questions.
The battles in the game are beautiful, solid, and interesting. Each boss stands out with its appearance and habits, and you'll have to sweat with each one. But crooked hitboxes, endless attacks, and poor balance pull you out of immersion and spoil the mood.