Shoulders of Giants is Epic Game Store's first big 'timed-exclusive' roguelite in 2023, alongside their free game of the month, and so far it seems to be one with a lot of promise and even more charm. In it, players control a Frog who also controls a Robot (named GERM).
So, by moving Frog, players are also moving GERM, which basically means they're controlling two characters at once. This is important to be aware of for newcomers, as it means that any time the player uses the aim-down-sights input, they do so with Frog, and are then able to use Frog's abilities while doing so, creating a sort of balance between using two characters at once. But, for today, let's just focus on GERM's overpowered abilities, despite how cute this automaton manages to be, and which ones are the absolute best to keep an eye out for, from lowest to highest.
8 Robot Chakram
First up is an ability that's obviously for GERM, considering it has 'Robot' in the name. Robot Chakram is pretty self-explanatory, it's a Chakram that a robot throws.
But, players don't really need to 'aim' it, as it automatically flies to the nearest enemy to spin in place and deal constant damage before returning back to GERM. Overall, it's a great passive damage ability to use against bigger enemies and bosses. With this, GERM can just trigger the ability and then forget about it as the Chakram slowly eats away at an enemy's health.
7 Big Shoe
Moving on to the first comedic abilities in the game, Big Shoe. Shoulders of Giants has its own unique sense of humor, and there are a good number of abilities that communicate that humor quite well.
Big Shoe is one of them, as it's an ability where GERM literally summons a big shoe (looks like a low-cut Chuck Taylor) out of thin air before having it stomp down in front of it. Overall this move does a moderate amount of burst damage, but it also forces GERM to stay still for about a second while summoning it, which can be deadly on some of the higher-heat planets.
6 Banner of Order
Banner of Order is another passive ability that's nice to have if a player already has a high-damage ability they're relying on. Banner of Order basically creates an 'area' around where the flag is placed that causes enemies inside to deal less damage and take more damage from Frog (sure are a lot of animal protagonists lately) and GERM.
By itself, that ability is alright, though it requires the player to stay in a relatively small area for maximum effect. But, if found at level 2 or 3, it becomes a lot better as defeated enemies will generate more energy while inside it and the area it covers is much larger.
5 Dash & Glide
This next one actually includes two separate abilities, Dash and Glide, and both of them serve the same purpose, so it's really up to each player which one they prefer. Dash is an ability the default GERM Core starts with, so players are likely already very familiar with this teleport dash, and they're probably even more familiar with air-dashing in general. Meanwhile, Glide basically 'pauses' gravity for GERM while active, causing it to move forward (not higher or lower), based on momentum.
Both abilities are great for getting around maps quickly, with Dash being a bit more useful in combat and Glide being a bit more useful for exploration.
4 Blink
There are a lot of abilities in Shoulders of Giants that sound amazing from their description, but aren't all that, and vice versa. Blink is an example of an ability that sounds 'alright' but is actually fantastic. Being able to immediately close the distance to the enemy of choice is a godsend against certain enemy types (AKA the sniper enemies that run away when approached), and the stagger is usually long enough for GERM to get a weapon combo off, which also usually kills the enemy in question anyway.
Plus, if the player happens to find or upgrade it to level 2, Blink becomes exponentially more useful, as its cooldown will be reset every time GERM kills the enemy it has Blinked to.
3 GERM Quake
Germ Quake is probably the only entry on here that has earned a spot primarily for its level 2, 3, and 4 versions and not its default abilities. Germ Quake, by default, is helpful but not amazing. It has GERM 'stomp' three waves of energy around it, dealing decent damage to anyone in the area.
But, it doesn't take height into consideration, and trying to maximize its effect usually ends up causing the player to take unnecessary damage. But, if a player finds it at even level 2, it's much more useful, as the damage, area of effect, and waves of energy are larger (and more spaced out), making it so players don't have to get so close to their opponents.
2 Light Shield
Once players start getting to Heat Levels past 2000 (3000 especially), the planets start becoming a lot more difficult. Enemies spawn en masse, they'll do massive amounts of damage on hit, and a lot more ranged or gimmicky opponents start to appear. Therefore, having an ability that literally turns GERM (and Frog) invincible for a few seconds is incredible. And, this is exactly what Light Shield does.
Not only is this great for giant mobs of enemies and boss fights, but it also makes blowing through levels quickly much more possible. With Conquest levels especially, players can just run up to the smaller monoliths, turn on Light Shield, and lay into the floating eyes while ignoring whatever enemies may be attacking them. As anyone who has played roguelites will know, whether they're old or newer roguelites, having an ability that just 'ignores' damage is always overpowered in some way.
1 Sumo Slam
Last up and at the top of the rankings is Sumo Slam. Some SoG players might disagree with this pick, but they're probably just using Sumo Slam incorrectly. Now, to get to negatives out of the way first, this ability isn't great against bosses. But, against any regular enemy, it's incredible. Basically, Sumo Slam has GERM butt-slam down onto the ground from mid-air, dealing damage around the area of impact.
Not only that, but GERM also flattens any enemies hit by it into the ground, stunning them for a significant amount of time. But, the best part is, it works on just about every enemy type. Up against those shield enemies that area a bit to circle and hit the backside of? Sumo Slam them. Dealing with the blob enemies that spawn damaging goo if left alone? Sumo Slam them. Is an Ally in co-op mode struggling with a group of enemies? Sumo Slam onto them and give them some breathing room.
Shoulders of Giants is available now on Xbox and PC.