Game file / ROGUE BY ROGUEBing in Wonderland
A Roguelite monster killing satisfaction galore without any exploration elements. The game is filled to the brim with exotic enemies and stages with a collection of deep and robust boons, weapons, and items plus an abundance of pointless features and useless details. (CONTROLLER SUPPORTED)
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Video reviews
Reviews and deep dives from YouTube and Bilibili, in every language. Open the original video to watch.
Other voices, for reference.
Archived third-party reviews and community material may refer to different versions. External opinions and ratings are presented separately; consult the original videos for their full context.
Community discussion
A fast-paced 2D ink-wash action-platformer roguelite by Wanba Studio where you fight wave-based stages with bows, spears, cannons, axes or harps, throw your hat, and use a signature butt slam.
Bing in Wonderland has been received very warmly by players: Steam shows about 97% positive across roughly 2,160 reviews (Overwhelmingly Positive), and a long-running Steam Deck Verified status. Critics are fewer and more lukewarm: OpenCritic lists three reviews (GameGrin 8/10, Gaming Professors 8.5/10, Nindie Spotlight 6/10), and GameGrin's later Switch Power-Up Edition review gave 6.5/10, citing repetition. Metacritic has no Metascore or user score yet (only one critic review counted). The game is a small, content-limited indie that launched in Jan 2023 with a promise of updates, later received DLC skin packs and a Nintendo Switch Power-Up Edition (Feb 20, 2025). Recent Steam reviews (2025-26) still praise it but some players doubt more content is coming.
What players praise
- Simple, satisfying, addictive combat loop that is easy to pick up and hard to put down
- The butt slam ('Big Sit') and hat-throw mechanics add a distinctive, fun, strategic layer
- Wide variety of boons, weapons (bow, spear, cannon, axe, harp) and items enabling different builds
- Charming ink-wash / hand-drawn art style and quirky, absurd enemy designs
- Strong sense of humour, including funny achievements and deliberately wacky translation
- Has a clear end goal rather than endless runs, with a rewarding progression loop
- Fast stages (around 10 minutes each) and good controller and Steam Deck support
- Very cheap price for the amount of playtime (low single-digit to ~$9)
What players criticize
- Content runs thin and gameplay becomes repetitive after several hours; levels and visuals (e.g. the desert stage) blur together
- Sudden, sharp difficulty spikes in the mid-to-late game
- The Big Sit mechanic becomes overpowered and can trivialize other weapons and options
- Meta-progression feels long and grindy, with resources consumed quickly or poorly explained
- Humour (toilet and fart jokes) and broken-English style text read as childish or hard to understand for some
- Some indie jankiness in assets and overall polish
- Short, looping menu/shop music noted as grating in the Switch review
- Basic button-mashing combat feels shallow or plain to some; the most-upvoted negative reviews call it 'kinda boring' or just a thin action-platformer
Distinctive features
- The butt slam (Big Sit) stomp as a central combat and damage mechanic
- Hat-throwing attack alongside charge shots and dashes
- Spending 'wisdom points' as an alternative currency, which one reviewer had never seen before
- Deliberately absurd Chinese-ink-painting world with surreal enemies (e.g. headbanging fish) and intentionally odd translation humour
- Wave-based platform brawler structure with no exploration, unlike most roguelites
- Self-aware 'pointless features and useless details' marketing tone
Divided opinions
- Art style and humour: charming and quirky to many, childish or off-putting to others
- Big Sit dominance: celebrated as the signature feature by some, criticised as a balance problem by others
- Thin content versus low price: some see great value, others say to just play Brotato or Hades-likes instead
Repetition and friction
- Grinding talent points and achievements between runs interrupts short-session roguelike play
- Repetitive, monotonous battles after a few hours as variety plateaus
- Looping shop/menu music during vendor stops
- Permanent stat upgrades make it feel like grind-until-strong rather than a pure roguelite (one negative reviewer's complaint)
- Difficulty spikes forcing reliance on grinding or a specific strategy like Big Sit
- Plain button-mashing combat that feels boring or shallow to some players, especially fans of the developer's earlier, more inventive Wanba Warriors
Hoped-for improvements
- More content: new weapons, stages, enemies and DLC beyond cosmetics
- Higher difficulty modes or an infinite mode to extend late-game appeal
- Clearer map and progression hints, and better explanation of upgrade resources
- A more casual or less grindy play option / rebalanced permanent upgrades
- Rebalance Big Sit so other builds stay competitive
- More varied music and stage palettes
Launched Jan 12, 2023 on Steam at around 97% positive (447 reviews at the time per Automaton Media, with the game noted for limited content volume and a promise of updates); now ~97% across ~2,160 reviews. Released on Steam for about $8.99; DLC is cosmetic (wings and weapon looks). Nintendo Switch 'Power-Up Edition' released Feb 20, 2025 at $14.99 including all 42 skins and wings; Metacritic also lists Xbox versions. Windows only on Steam; Steam Deck Verified. Steam reviews from late 2025 to 2026 show players still enjoying it but doubting further content, suggesting development is effectively finished. No major controversies found beyond complaints about repetitiveness and the crude humour. Note: OpenCritic and Metacritic score aggregates are not displayed (too few reviews); the OpenCritic average of roughly 7.5 from three reviews is my own calculation, so opencritic field is left null.
Community sources
- Top helpful positive and negative English Steam reviews (local file) ↗
- Steam store page, review summary (97%, Overwhelmingly Positive, Steam Deck Verified) ↗
- GameGrin Switch Power-Up Edition review, 6.5/10: repetition, hat throw, wisdom points ↗
- OpenCritic page: three critic reviews (8, 6, 8.5) ↗
- Metacritic page: Metascore and user score pending; GameGrin 80 ↗
- Automaton Media launch coverage: ink-wash art, 97% positive, limited content, update promise ↗
- Aggregated Steam review summary: difficulty spikes, grind, Big Sit balance, requested features ↗
- Switch Power-Up Edition details: Feb 20 2025, $14.99, 42 skins ↗
- Revenue estimate via Boxleiter method ↗
Archived creator commentary 1
Third-party summaries based on automatic captions may contain transcription or interpretation errors.
Tier list Part 3 (2025)
Bing in Wonderland is a traditional 2D action roguelike with a watercolor look and a goofy, flash-game vibe. He enjoys the fast, fun combat and the hat-throw dash, but finds the roguelike layer (boons, build variety) minimal and replayability low. Runs are short, about 15-20 minutes, ending in a boss, across 15+ levels. He says he is placing it above Baloner, with no tier letter stated in this segment.
What the creator praises
- Watercolor-style visuals and good-looking, varied biomes
- Weapons (bow, axe, harp) play very differently from each other
- Unique hat-throw dash that gives invincibility frames for the whole travel, longer if the hat is farther
- Shield-break mechanic: stunned enemies can be jumped on for a big area-of-effect with a dramatic animation
- Fast-paced, satisfying combat that feels powerful from the start of a run
- Goofy charm (for example the food/pooping mechanic) and nostalgic flash-game feel
- Bosses have enjoyable mechanics
Issues raised by the creator
- Roguelike elements are minimal; boons only add to what you were already doing and do not change how you play
- You do not feel very different from start to end of a run
- Enemies can feel dull, similar to each other, and sometimes confusing; some bosses are just bigger enemies
- Low replayability; the draw is finishing the levels rather than replaying runs
- Some character unlocks are gated behind beating a specific boss with a specific weapon/item, which is easy to miss
Design observations
- Hat-throw-then-dash as an invulnerable dash mechanic he has rarely seen elsewhere
- Universal shield-break stun that feeds a jump-on AoE, central to the core loop
- Meta-progression includes unlocking and fusing characters with minor effects
