KIBORG on Xbox: Punches, Pixels, and Prison-TV Mayhem

XPN Network
Oct 4
3 min read

KIBORG is a punchy cyberpunk roguelite beat-’em-up from Sobaka Studio. You play Morgan Lee, a framed convict shoved into a televised death-tower where every floor is an episode and the audience eats up the carnage. The setup leans hard into dystopian spectacle and dark satire, and the game wears that skin proudly rather than trying to be subtle about it.

The story is simple and salty rather than deep. Morgan’s arc is driven by the immediate goal of getting out, with hints of corporate conspiracies and corrupt media sprinkled in through short bits of dialogue, collectible logs, and vendor chatter between runs. The characters are broad-stroked archetypes, the glib host, the showy rivals, the tired guards etc but the writing nails moments of grim humour and occasional payoff. Most of the emotional credit comes from the act of surviving a brutal run and feeling like you beat the system, not from long monologues or plot twists to the story.

Where KIBORG really shines is in the combat. Hits feel heavy, dodges are meaningful, and counters actually reward timing instead of being a spammy afterthought. Melee weapons have satisfying weight and reach, while ranged tools aren’t mere back-up options as they allow you to control space, stagger enemies, and chain into flashy finishers. Augments are the star of the buildcraft: they change how abilities behave and create distinct playstyles rather than serving as small stat bumps. Runs become signature combinations of weapon, augment, and play rhythm, and discovering a synergy is consistently fun.

Encounters are compact and often clever. You’ll move through rooms that force different responses. Maybe its crowd-control arenas where spacing matters or it could be stagger-heavy fights that beg for precise counters, and hazard rooms that make you use cover and verticality. The RNG mixes up weapons and modifiers so you rarely feel stuck doing the exact same thing across multiple floors, although repetition does creep in if you grind without chasing new unlocks.

On Xbox you’ll find a few modes: the main tower runs are the core experience, the arena mode gives you shorter, sharper bouts for quick practice or score-chasing, and challenge variants lock rules or boost difficulty for players who want that extra kick. Everything feeds back into a persistent hub where you spend currency and XP on permanent upgrades, new augment pools, and vendor options. That hub progression is satisfying because the upgrades actually shift your next run’s feel and open new tactical doors.

Presentation is a mixed bag in an intentional way. The neon-soaked, gritty aesthetic sets the mood and combat readability is prioritised, but some background models and secondary voice work wobble in quality. Sound design is a win: weapon impacts, grunts, and FX land with weight, and the synth-heavy score pushes the showmanship tone well. The host’s commentary amplifies the spectacle even when other bits of voice acting don’t quite land.

Replayability comes from build variety and steady progression. Runs typically sit in a 20–45 minute window depending on how deep you push, which makes the game easy to slot into short play sessions or longer blocks. Permanent upgrades and new augment options keep the loop honest when each unlock meaningfully changes choices you make during a run. If you’re into mastering mechanical systems and iterating on builds, KIBORG gives you reasons to come back. If you want a tightly scripted, cinematic narrative, it might not be the right fit for you.

Pros

Combat feel: visceral, weighty, and skill-rewarding.
Meaningful augments: create genuinely different builds and playstyles.
Solid sound design: impact and FX enhance the sense of punch.
Progression: persistent upgrades keep runs feeling worthwhile.

Cons

Presentation inconsistency: some visuals and voice acting are uneven.
Narrative thinness: story setup is compelling but rarely reaches emotional depth.
Repetition: randomized floors can still feel familiar across many runs before major unlocks change pacing.

KIBORG on Xbox is a focused, combat-first roguelite that rewards mechanical mastery and experimentation with augments. The game’s dystopian gameshow setting supplies atmosphere and occasional narrative intrigue but exists primarily as a scaffold for its satisfying melee-and-range combat loop. Presentation wavers in places, and the story never fully blooms beyond its premise, but consistent progression and varied build options deliver strong replay value. Players who live for tightly tuned, weighty combat and iterative roguelite growth will find a lot to enjoy. Players seeking cinematic polish or deep character-driven storytelling may find KIBORG rough around the edges.

XPN Rating: 3 out of 5 (SILVER)