Alongside the grim reaper, the plague doctor is one of the surest symbols of death, their curved, downturned beaks and wide-brimmed hats a sinister sight as they creep and poke around the burning, bloated corpses of plague victims. In most games they are almost a twisted harbinger of death, but there’s a curative aspect💦 to the plague doctor’s work in The Serpent Rogue. You’re collecting herbs for potions and other alchemical purposes, dispelling a corruptive force of nature that pollutes and defiles any creature in its path, and shapeshifting into wild beasts with their blessings. Turns out the plague doctor in The Serpent Rogue is no personification of death; t♎hey’re, in fact, more akin to druids.
The truth is that plague doctors are a sham, more charlatans than actual physicians; historically, plague doctors had a reputation for pedalling false cures, while most very rarely cured their patients as they lacked proper medical training. But having played through the demo of The Serpent Rogue—now available on Steam as part of the Steam Next Fest—the plague doctor, who is simply known as the Warden, at least seems a little more competent than their historical counterparts. Set in a supernatural medieval realm, The Warden has been tasked to purge the lands of The Corruption. It’s a miasma that turns every living being it ensnares into a blood-thirsty thrall.💦 You can hack and slash these enslaved beasts with your weapons—or flail your flipper-like hands around them—to free their souls, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the best way to go about this task; after all, it feels like it goes against the pacifist nature of The Warden and their kind. At the same time, there’s also the small matter of the fact that a corrupted wild chicken, surging with unnatural power from the blight of The Corruption, can easily take you down in a few maniacal lunges. The Serpent Rogue isn’t a hack ‘em up, after all.
Instead, I would suggest that it’s more of an alchemical, or botanical RPG, if there’s such a thing at all. The world of The Serpent Rogue is intoxicatingly rich at first glance, brimming with fascinating minutiae and delightful resources t𓂃o plunder. You can fish for undead aquatic creatures with worms you’ve gathered from a tree stump. You can crouch and stay hidden among the weeds to better inspect and examine the often hostile fauna and wildlife around you. You can brew potions, cook up sumptuous meals, and forge tools and weapons at the smithy. The Se𝔍rpent Rogue is chiefly about discovery and foraging, rather than rushing headfirst into combat, and this is bolstered by The Warden’s own insatiable hunger. If their appetite isn’t sated, their stamina suffers, which makes combat and escapes much more challenging. It’s like Farmville set in an apocalyptic world.
There’s a macabre, gothic beauty to The Serpent Rogue, and it can be found in the sinuous tendrils of the miasma, the exposed roots of black, decaying trees, and bloodthirsty howls of the corpse-eating ghouls. The Warden’s journey is also relentless and unforgiving; resources are sparse when you need them the most, the taint of The Corruption spreads at a nauseatingly rapid pace, and undead chickens can easily kill you. But rather than heaving with unbearable oppression, there’s still some wonder to be found in its derelict landscapes. Like the blue, luminous p💝lants sprouting from around a bottomles🍨s well, where a voice from within chimes with unbridled hope. It’s such sights you can look forward to when The Serpent Rogue sees a full release eventually.