Roblox

At the time, Roblox is getting done dirty on this website, but I'm going to be for real and say that this game is underrated.

To introduce the review, I will briefly describe what Roblox is. Roblox is, a platform for games, yes, though at the same time, the shared general physics, looks, and gameplay between different games is pretty unifying. Roblox thus occupies a strange place between game and platform, I doubt many people would call an obby by its name rather than just "a Roblox obby", though at the same time there are really eccentric games on the platform, and your experience will greatly vary depending on your genre preferences and choice of games.

To demonstrate its range of styles and games, I will name a variety of genres/experiences on Roblox, hopefully to give a general picture of how broad it is. Rouge-like games such as Da Hood and The Streets, platformers / obbies (these being perhaps the most iconic offerings from Roblox), FPS games (even these ranging drastically, from the COD-style Phantom Forces to the tactical FPS style of Counterblox), rap battle games, RPGs, tycoons, social spaces, social deduction, comedy, grand strategy, the list just goes on and on, Roblox being quite a complete package on the front of genres and games. Some of these games are, well, bad, and one notable systemic issue with Roblox is that the monetization of games often creates pay-to-win situations (such as the Riot Pass in the otherwise great Prison Life), an issue especially worsened by the removal of tix (don't mean to make this review a "back in my day" sorta thing, but I was around during the tix-era and it was awesome to be able to save up and spend on your favorite games without having to blow dough). While the existence of sub-par games on the platform does mean you have to dig through a bit of rubbish, and the pay to win-type stuff is as annoying as ever, the Roblox platform has genuinely great games on it that you can experience for free. Everyone has their favorite Roblox games, choices will vary greatly between different players, but one thing I find especially interesting about Roblox are the games that mimic other popular games, such as Payday (Notoriety), TF2 (Typical Colors 2), and CSGO (Counterblox), and a whole assortment of others, showcasing that Roblox is capable of competition with other video games rather directly. With the ability to pick and choose your favorite games from a broad assortment of styles / genres, I find it really hard to dislike Roblox as a gaming experience. There is a dubious side to Roblox sure, it being lambasted as a hyper-capitalist child-exploitation machine (yeah, that's pretty true), and an insidious breeding ground for the alt-right (kinda, but this claim is rlly exaggerated), not to mention having a variety of cringy subcultures, but this criticism shouldn't take much away from the overall experience, which is pretty great considering how much quality and diversity there is on the platform. I do agree about anti-consumerist criticism of this game, and that Roblox would improve as a gaming experience if divorced from a penny-pinching monetization doctrine, but as it stands, it's a goldmine for fun, multiplayer gaming.

My history with Roblox spans from 2014 to now (wow, a decade? jfc.)

I remember finding out about this game (even if Roblox itself isn't technically a game, I'm still referring to it as such) from a YouTuber named VenturianTale. From just the moment I saw whatever the hell was happening in that video, I was instantly hooked. Using my Grandme's email, I made my first Roblox account and instantly started searching for Mario games but settled on some build 'n survive game. I didn't even like that game but damn was I hooked.

I would if I could but I simply can't name all the great memories I have playing these games. Seriously. I have built nearly decade long friendships because of Undertale and high-school roleplaying games (which is ironic, given how I'm writing this as a highschooler lol). Roleplaying was my shit for a while. If there was a popular indie game, you bet your ass I was in an RP game of it. FNaF, DDLC, Bendy, Baldi, etc... the memories are a little cringe but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having absolute fun.

Outside from role-playing games, I love some dumb competitive / survival games. Survive the disasters come to mind, although I didn't play it much. The games of having to survive floods whilst standing on-top of structures that crumbled from the waves were great. The shooters (namely the TF2 ripoff, Tetragon Fortress) was a blast to play.

I have sunk countless hours in Roblox. Hundreds, possibly even in the thousands of hours playing simulators, tycoons, shooters, shit, I don't even know at this point.

I agree that Roblox has fallen off to a noticeable degree. The platform is being used way more to prey on kids (in two ways...eugh) way more than it ever was. The old simulator and tycoon games were great before it became the exact same formula, laced with in-game purchases, because trying to beat the game legit would take hundreds of hours. The removal of Tix is possibly one of the stupidest decisions on Roblox's end but it's pretty clear that it was for a greedy reason. I have an old Mario outfit on my first ever account that I bought completely with Tix.

I'm kinda trailing off now but I'm forever grateful for this game. I've built many meaningful friendships and have sunken an insane amount of hours in some of the stupidly funniest games that AAA studios couldn't replicate. While the downfall of Roblox is greatly unfortunate, from what seems to be a mix of massive amounts of greed and generally stupid decisions, I can't deny the fun it was back all those years ago. Hell, I still have fun playing Roblox nowadays, but mostly out of irony.

Filled with horrendous amounts of shovelware and microtransactions and incredibly predatory towards developers. I had a lot of fun with this when i was really young and there are still sometimes quality experiences to be had but it's a far cry from what it used to be.

I know, Roblox bad, underaged gambling, yada yada. Instead of trying to review it as a whole, I'll do quick writeups on various games I've played on the platform.

- Natural Disaster Survival:
The gameplay is subpar. You're given a few seconds to hide before getting a random disaster that you have to live through to earn points. There's a bunch of variety in the maps and each map can play out very differently. The disasters themselves are boring, though.

- Survive The Disasters! classic:
This is better than NDS in almost every single aspect. There's much more varirty and creativity in the disasters, you're given several items to aid you, and if you die, you get to respawn in the playing field (but you won't get any points, obviously). The major flaw with this game is that the map design is less diverse and more boring.

- Survive The Disaster 2:
Maps are much better and more varied than the first game, but everything else just feels worse, despite the various improvements and changes implemented.

- The Normal Elevator:
It's a comedy adventure game where you and a bunch of other robloxions go up an elevator and just about anything can happen.

- Project Lazarus:
It's a COD zombies clone.


- Aresenal:
It's an arena shooter with gun game permanantly on. There's pretty much no time to kill because half the weapons are one or two hit kills. This could be good but there's nothing going for this game.

- Phantom forces
It's an alright arcade shooter. Maps are decently sized, and the gunplay is serviceable. But what frustrates me is that people like referring to these fast-paced run n' gun shooters as "realistic".

- Epic Minigames
The quality between the minigames feels inconsistent and feels stagnant after playing for a while

I first joined Roblox in 2016 when I was 9, and it was my life for the next three years. 2016 doesn't sound that old, until you realize it was 7 years ago now! So I might be a little biased. But I think Roblox has gotta be a 5/5.
There are many games on this platform. With millions of different games made by thousands of different developers, there has gotta be some good stuff. And there is!

There are quite a bit of games on Roblox I would give a 4/5 or a 5/5. Some of those are Phantom Forces, Vampire Hunters 2, Murder Mystery 2, Deathrun, Flee the Facility, Flood Escape 2, Dungeon Quest, Epic Minigames, Electric State DarkRP, Breaking Point, Prison Life, Arsenal, Neighborhood War, RetroStudio, Emergency Response: Liberty County Bee Swarm Simulator (better than it sounds), and Speed Run 4.
Of course, I'm forgetting many. Anyways, despite those 4/5 or 5/5 games, there are many bad games which enter the front page. Such as lame uninspired games like Adopt Me, where the "gameplay" is roleplay and getting pets, pets which do nothing except make young children wig out over them. Brookhaven RP, the current top game on roblox, which as of writing this has 514k players, is another boring roleplay game that I wasn't able to stay in for more than 5 minutes as it was entirely boring.
99% of games called "simulators" are just games with the same formula, and usually cashgrabs. Despite that, they're reportedly addicting, and that's how they're popular.

Those are just the games. The community can also be varied. Some games have a community/playerbase of young children which have a low chance of sparking any fun conversation. (Most obbies.) Some games have helpful communities. (Flood Escape 2.) Some have communities full of jerks (Da Hood.) Also gotta admit, the community was much more friendly and talkative back in 2017. We're all kinda split into different roblox cliques now.

Roblox devs also removed too many old features. I could talk about a bunch of random features that don't matter that much (Builders club, Faces being put offsale and replaced with animated versions, old logo, forums, clans.) The one I'm the most unhappy about, though, is the Egg Hunt. I only got to play 4, and the latter two changed up the formula in a way many people disliked. 2018 was by far my favorite. I still liked playing 2019 and 2020, despite them no longer taking place in one game. But you know what I'd rather have? Any egg hunts, please roblox. I literally don't know why they removed egg hunts. Did they even have a reason? They were a highlight of the year and I loved them greatly.

Despite it's flaws, I think roblox is an extremely fun game for any kid, or even teenager, or even young adult, to play. I don't think it's a good game overall. I think it's a fun game. Extremely fun to play with friends. I suggest giving it a try. After all, IT'S FREE!
Sorry if this is a subpar review, I just felt like reviewing what is likely my favorite game/platform of all time.

I've virtually 'played' (excluding the separate hiatuses and sparsity) Roblox since 2012 (coming up 12 years now), and I've seen many stages of the platform, from Builder's Club-only places and personal servers with near/virtually free admin and driving tests and controversial actions that were the removal of tix to the addition of Rthro and soulless brand collaborations. That being said, I have enjoyed the site and its shenanigans in a sort of "can't help but love it" way (kind of like how military brats are [necessarily] brats); this kind of sentiment of mine is partially, but significantly, due to my having watched Roblox content on YouTube for years and nostalgia taking hold of the wheel (e.g. AlbertsPlays/Flamingo and his gameplays, Faave, KonekoKittenand his commentaries, PhireFox and his Discussions™, BereghostGames, The Pals and adjacent, and sometimes even the old official Roblox channel with its game reviews from MAX* [don't you think I don't remember that Bob series], along with perhaps random one-off videos I may have watched [e.g., ObliviousHD]).

Objectively, I can only theorize in my position that its overall trajectory is probably not as swell as I may seem to portray. Speaking of, I do often share the rhetoric that "old Roblox was [(so) much] better" (although joining seven years after the incarnation probably dumbs down my perspective on that just a little bit, but then I remember it came out before the number on my birthday cake was 1, and so that it's probably only right logically and chronologically). I do have fond memories from what I would like to call "new old Roblox" or "slightly less old Roblox" (from the years of around 2011 to 2016), from the now-legendary games like Base Wars and excessively-copy-and-pasted RPGs (my favorite genre; hey, Lords of Nomrial, Destructias, and Range's Cape!) to also-legendary games like Miner's Haven (thanks berezaa!) and the excessively-served-out tycoons, not forgetting the one-offs like "Destroy the wall!" and other gear-inclusive sandbox-esque games. One point of mine is that there are just too many games and experiences (coincidentally what they're being called now) to mention; a new old one comes to mind as bible verses come to a devout Christian.

As a whole, It's been a sweet, bittersweet car ride for me this past decade (and some change; probably pennies, to be exact). I don't play as much as I used to (if that's not obvious). If I do, it's usually to catch up on Miner's Haven and rebirthing, maybe even "Work at a Pizza Place!" (thanks dued!) to pass the time or catch up on a random grinding game. This sentiment reminds me of a farmer at the end of the day when work is done, haha.