Force Reboot

Force Reboot is a fast and stylish retro FPS made with Unity, developed by a young solo developer (https://x.com/ln404t). Here’s the interview where you can learn more about this cool project.

Tell us about your journey leading up to Force Reboot

I always wanted to publish my games on Steam. I decided to pick a small concept and work on it for a year or two. I really liked Post Void — it was short and inexpensive — and I wanted my first commercial game to follow that same philosophy: short and affordable.
This is actually my first commercial project, and I’m developing it solo in my free time with no real budget at all.

Can you describe Force Reboot and tell us what makes it unique?

Force Reboot is a fast-paced nonstop FPS with rogue-lite elements. You must clear each room before moving on, but you need to be quick because your health constantly drops. You refill health by blasting robots, but you never have much time to stand still. At the end of each floor, you choose a stackable perk that helps your progress. These perks include new weapons and buffs, but each one also comes with a debuff.

I try to make everything in the game revolve around one core idea: “as fast as possible.” You have to run and kill quickly to get the best results, and you naturally improve your skills as you play.

Another twist is the debuff mechanic. At the end of each room you choose not only a buff but also a random debuff attached to it. You can get powerful upgrades, but you always need to pay attention to the trade-offs. Some debuffs can even act like buffs depending on your playstyle.

Which games inspired you while creating Force Reboot?

ULTRAKILL. Easily one of my favorite FPS games — incredibly fast, fluid, and stylish.

New Demo Trailer#Indiedev #RetroFPS #gamedev #fps #indiegame #madewithunity #unity3d pic.twitter.com/l353Te4R5s

ln404 | Force Reboot - Wishlist on Steam! (@ln404t) March 24, 2022

The second is Post Void. I like the roguelite mechanic at the end of each level, and I thought I could do something similar but with an extra twist (debuffs).

The third is COMPOUND VR. I love its visuals. I’m not that strong at 3D modelling, but with this style I can create a simple box with a pixel texture and still make it look great — simple and effective.

One thing we loved about Force Reboot is its visual style. Can you walk us through your design pipeline?

Nothing too special. I use Blender with pixel-art–oriented addons and Aseprite. I start by creating a simple 3D model (a box, table, chair, etc.), then I draw pixel art directly onto it.

These addons are essential if you want to create 3D pixel-art–style assets:
https://lampysprites.itch.io/pribambase
https://jeiel.itch.io/sprytile

I animate using Unity’s built-in animation tools (some animations also come from Mixamo, which is incredibly helpful).
The main idea in my animations is to highlight specific moments of movement — maybe a small pause during reloads or a subtle accent in the motion. You can experiment a lot here.
Overwatch and TF2 are great examples of strong animation design.