In Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, you’re not always a rock. I know, it’s surprising! You were likely eyeing up this title’s title thinking, “I could be a rock. Rocks are cool!” You’re right, rocks are cool, but developer ACE Team dares to ask the question: “What if the rock wasn’t a rock? What if it was, say, a cheese wheel?”
For those that have yet to roll into ACE Team’s beloved comedy series that’s occasionally about rocks and sometimes not, Rock of Ages 3 is a hilarious take on the action-RTS genre. While one side of the game will see you controlling a large rolling object – sometimes a rock – through inventive obstacle courses, the flip side sees you defending your castle through a tower defence game. On one hand, you have gleeful destruction. On the other, you have a tactical edge.
The straightforward prospect of being a boulder, cheese wheel, smooshed-together-sphere-of-animals or other rollable object is likely the main draw for most players. You’ll be pleased to know that being a large, unstoppable, force of effortless demolition brings joy like no other. Speedily rolling down sloped services, smashing your way through a static army of walls and trees feels satisfying; knocking over humans like ten-pins is even better.
Whatever obstacles come your way, your role as the big rolling thingy tasks you with smashing straight through a final obstacle. You’ll have to use a few tries to do so – consistently getting to the end is part of the challenge – and breaking through that final wall is often followed by a feeling of satisfaction.
Then there’s the RTS/Tower Defence side of Rock of Ages 3, a fun side to the title that we’re sure offers more depth in later, more difficult stages but ended up being a feature we checked into a few times during a map to make sure our defences were tightened. With a sizable budget, you’re able to lay down a variety of defences however you want. Occasionally, maps will spawn some cold hard cash, well gold, so that you can top up your defences.
Most intriguing is the addition of a level editor for Rock of Ages 3. While the main story already appears to be a well-crafted, maniacal experience full of the zany humour one would expect, the prospect of fan-made, over-the-top courses – much like Trackmania – is where the excitement truly rests.
Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is currently slated to release on June 2nd, 2020. If it sounds like your jam – can we play as a giant jar of jam? – then check out its Steam page here.