In RPG games, you usually play heroes trying to slay a villain. However, some games reverse the trend, allowing you to play the villain, thwarting the would-be heroes. Noobs Are Coming is an amusing take on this latter premise.

Noobs Are Coming is an example of the "action roguelike". These games are characterized by endless waves of enemies and lots of ways to stop them. Often sporting a wide variety of upgrades to defend yourself and harder challenges as you progress, these types of games tend to be fast-paced.

In Noobs Are Coming, you pick your main "boss" character and a few starting modifiers, and are then dropped into combat for a set number of seconds, defending yourself against oncoming hordes. As you complete each wave, you can use points earned from heroes you took down to buy more attacks and upgrades to survive subsequent waves. Occasionally, some levels will even debut boss heroes to rival you, alongside the much more numerous common heroes to stop you.

It's with this concept Noobs Are Coming launches into an excuse to kill lots of enemies. The action takes place in a top-down, bird's-eye view. You can move your character around, shooting at anything all around you. Typically, these games have constantly spawning enemies in a series of waves. These waves last a set number of seconds during which you must shoot down as many enemies as possible while avoiding taking a lethal level of damage. After each successful wave, you can pick from a series of free upgrades, such as increased range and damage. You can also pick up currency from slain foes to purchase additional weapons, power-ups (which are permanent), and so on.

The upgrade system is pretty broad in scope. Weapons can be bought with the currency and upgraded by buying more of the same type. They can even be "combined" to make stronger versions of the base weapon. Power-ups are vast and almost absurd in their variety and application. Some include armor and various weird knick-knacks. All can increase stats, while some can decrease other stats. These items are retained as the waves continue, so it can be worth it to make sure you trick out your character for optimal slaying of enemies. I especially advise picking up the "Life Steal" upgrades and stacking them; it will make later waves way more bearable.

This game is very tongue-in-cheek. Clearly taking inspiration from MMORPGs (you can see hero names that look like internet handles), this game is a spoof on the concept of multiple people (via their heroic avatars) ganging up on a world boss. There are even brief chat window-like messages similar to an MMORPG, complete with your own character taunting the "noobs" trying to take him down.

Graphically, Noobs Are Coming uses a hand-drawn pixel art style. It looks very cartoonish. The game area looks a lot like a dungeon, which fits the theme pretty well. Sounds and music have a synthesized dark fantasy vibe, which complements the fantasy RPG aesthetic.

This game supports keyboard and mouse controls or any Steam-supported controller. Since you are mostly just moving around while your support weapons are firing away at the enemies, the controls are super simple to master.

Stability is quite good. Noobs Are Coming runs natively on Microsoft Windows and Linux. While not rated for the Steam Deck, it runs fine out of the box. Requirements are incredibly modest, so even potato hardware can run this game fine. If you have a friend you want to play with, this title also supports split-screen co-op play.

Morally, there is some concerning content.

Violence is mildly graphic, with a brief display of blood when killing the noobs. Otherwise, bodies disappear after death. You play as a villain protagonist, though the vast majority of your actions are self-defense.

Language is fairly clean, aside from one-off mention of farting. There is also no sexual content given the art style and game setting. There are some occult references, as your playable characters are demons or some form of undead. There is also a Pentagram powerup and mentions of necromancy. Morally, you are the "villain", but you do engage mostly in self-defense against hordes trying to kill you.

Overall, Noobs Are Coming is a fun enough game. Technically, it's pretty solid. Morally, it's equivalent to an ESRB rating of Teen given the theme. If you enjoy action roguelikes or have a firm sense of humor for RPG-like games, this is worth picking up.