There was once a time in gaming when the market was flooded with Looter shooter games with the most notable ones being Player’s Unknown BattleGrounds (PUBG), Apex Legends, and Fortnite as they provide competitive games with various dynamics and different takes on the genre. The game we’re reviewing is also a Looter Shooter but it incorporates GameFi mechanics popular in blockchain games. Let’s take a look at RIO X and explore if it is worthy of the countless hours people have spent in its competitors.

Background

Raised in Oblivion X (shortened as RIO X) is an online survival game that combines open-world, action, PVP and First Person Shooter (FPS) elements. It’s developed by First Phoenix Studio and built on the Polygon Network.The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where an infectious virus is spreading causing its victims to act aggressive. Players must loot and utilize the resources they find in this ‘survive-to-earn’ project.

The game is available to play on PC and is Free-to-play but in order to earn, you must buy an NFT character to enable the exchange with NPCs in the safe zones.

Graphics and Gameplay

RIO X is built in Unity and the quality of the assets used in the game feel similar to Counter Strike Global Offensive. I’d also go as far as to say that it actually looks very similar too, with players using soldier-like characters in a pretty realistic 3D world. Although the animation can use a little more work, I believe it only adds to the immersive world the game puts you in.

Although I haven’t been to Brazil myself, I think the developers have done some research on what the streets of Rio de Janeiro look like and tried to implement them accurately, especially popular spots like the Christ the Redeemer statue which is an added bonus.

Gameplay-wise, it feels very similar to the aforementioned looter shooter games but probably a lot closer to Rust as the game has aggressive creatures to deal with, not just the other players in the lobby. Navigating the world and knowing where the safe zones are (which spawn randomly) and responding to it accordingly is a key mechanic you have to get good at if you want to play the game at the highest level.

I haven’t personally tested the game out so I can’t comment on how accurate the weapons are  but at first glance from the available gameplay from their YouTube channel, it looks like the game could be compelling.

Earning Potential

RIO-X uses a single token, the RIOX Token which is both the governance and utility token of the game and is used for every transaction that will occur inside the game. There is also an in-game currency called RIO Coin which players can use to buy items inside the safe zone to help their survival efforts. RIO Coins can be converted to RIOX Tokens if the player owns an NFT character, otherwise, this play-to-earn mechanic will be locked although F2P players can still use their RIO Coin for buying supplies through the in-game shop.

One thing to keep in mind is that the player’s can increase their earnings by acquiring more NFTs as this increases the ‘energy’ the user has while playing the game. This also creates more value for the NFTs available making it a viable way to earn as well especially if the game does well.

Final Thoughts

With the way the game looks and its gameplay, it’s easy to see a project like this pop-off if it is developed and marketed properly. The gameplay will be nothing new though and its main selling point is its earning potential.

Overall, I think that RIO X can be a fun game not only to play, but to watch as well. The game offers a lot for people who want to play the game as it is open world, I just hope that the players can actually interact with the environment the characters are going to be in. Although I don’t see myself playing the game as I find the amount of typos in the whitepaper a red flag, I believe that players who are looking for a new looter shooter survival game should at least keep this one on their radar.