Code Rivals: Robot Programming Battle (AppID: 2077940)

I will just leave my favorite review of the game here:
"Nowadays, with one big release coming after the other, and critically acclaimed titles regularly going on deep sales, the biggest issue becomes your incredibly limited available time. In order to make that time worth investing, games need to stand out in one way or another, whether it's the highly cinematic experience offered, the deeply emotional storytelling, or the well thought out gameplay mechanics. You need to leave feeling that you've gotten something out of them. But truth is, the overabundance of newly released games aiming to immerse you in in their worlds can only result in an increasing difficulty for them to offer something new on the table. Code Rivals took the bold leap and chose to offer a real word practical experience first and foremost instead.

In this game, you'll be learning the basics of programming, by setting chains of commands for your robot in order to defeat enemies in various combat scenarios, with varied levels of difficulty. The programming used is similar to Lego Mindstorm's aprroach, if you have any familiarity with it. It's super fun watching a chain of commands you've been thinking through working out in the end, frustrating when it breaks for some reason, and even more rewarding when you find the issue and fix it. It's a game that makes learning fun by actively rewarding you during gameplay and serves as a neat introduction of the mindset you need to approach while programming by guiding you through it.

Code Rivals is a very interesting case of a game. It doesn't have the flashier visuals, or the fame of AAA games, or some other indies, so it's not hard for it to go under your radar at first glance. But truth is, it doesn't need to, since it sets a league of it's own, one the developer aimed for from the start. If it's concept sounds interesting, or if you're looking for a truly fresh experience, or even to learn something new, i'd suggest trying it out."
pantsour, 263 products in his account, 7 hours played


Instead of focusing on a specific programming language and its syntax, Code Rivals uses a very intuitive visual programming language that will make you focus on learning real programming skils that you will use anywhere, like building loops, functions, using variables and dealing with real problems in robot programming. Code Rivals focus on fast learning and fun.

Instead of using a visual programming language that mimics the way text-based languages stack code, line under line (like Scratch, HRM and many games that i love), Code Rivals uses a more intuitive flow-chart visual coding, that is becoming the standart in very advanced environments like Unreal Engine, Blender and many others, that has many advantages in code visualization and interpretation for beginners.

And on top of that, the more ambitious aim here is to create "real world" environments using realistic visual style for the robots to apply the code you created. There are many programming games that we know and love, but almost everyone of them deals with abstract images, abstract values and problems created specifically for the game. Code Rivals aims to bring together the world of robot automation and combat vehicles, with a physics based combat simulation.

The game currently has: