IIslands of War is a 2D roguelike where you build floating islands out of blocks and modules. Travel through different realms to various locations to collect powerful items, shop for items, forge your items to become more powerful, and battle the Dark Order.
The core gameplay loop revolves around exploring a shattered world, collecting resources, and engaging in combat against procedurally generated enemy islands. As a player, you construct your own customizable floating island, placing a variety of modules and attachments to create a formidable base of operations.
The robust island editor allows you to freely configure the placement and keybinds of your weapons, shields, reactors, and other crucial systems. With over 150 unique items and 50 different properties and behaviors to infuse into your equipment, the possibilities for creating a one-of-a-kind island are endless.
Combat is a central focus, as you use your island's firepower to take down a diverse array of enemy types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The difficulty ramps up significantly as you progress through the realms, requiring you to adapt your strategies and continuously upgrade your island to overcome increasingly challenging opponents.
As you travel through the procedurally generated world, you'll encounter abandoned regions, merchant islands, and various factions, each offering unique loot and challenges. The randomized nature of the encounters ensures that no two playthroughs are alike, fostering a sense of exploration and discovery.
The developer, jwiggs, is praised for their active involvement with the community, frequently updating the game and addressing player feedback through the dedicated Discord channel. This level of engagement and responsiveness contributes to the game's sense of potential growth and improvement.
Designed as a roguelike, the game's permadeath mechanic encourages replayability as players strive to progress further and unlock new strategies and combinations of weapons and modules. The difficulty curve, while noted to be steep at times, offers a rewarding challenge for those seeking a unique and engrossing gameplay experience.