Curse of the Dead Gods

A sharp and atmospheric roguelike dungeon crawler.

Curse of the Dead Gods takes many cues from traditional action adventure games, and benefits from them enormously. The most obvious one is probably the fact that the game is essentially split into levels. The first temple tier contains three ‘levels’, with three more tiers and a total of seven more levels above that. Each completed level is permanently marked with a satisfying green tick. It’s a sign of achievement and progress, which is an important part of player feedback that many roguelikes fumble.

Combat is brilliant, another example of more traditional influences. Though familiarly dependent on stamina points, it has a speed and flow that ensures battling the horrors of the temple is always a joy. Each time you pass through a door leading to a new area, you gain 20 corruption. Hit 100, and you gain a random curse, a twist on play that makes things more difficult for you.

It’s difficult to lay out the rules of the game, as the developers take such delight in regularly rewriting them. This partly comes through the curses, which might encourage you to embrace the dark rather than shy away from it, or ensure you have at least 300 gold when passing through a door or pay the difference in health. The rarer buffs and weapons meanwhile have their own spins on the experience, such as reducing the corruption inflicted when passing through a door, or increasing your damage according to how many relics you’re carrying. After a few hours, you’ll start to see the same room layouts creeping in, but it always feels fresh.

Randomness plays a strong part in the experience – it’s still a roguelike – but you’re given the opportunity to slightly nudge things in the direction of your choice. You can spend your persisting currency to expand and dictate your choice of starting weapons, and even gain tokens to reroll what’s on offer at the shrines you encounter during each run. It’s a welcome element (illusion?) of control.

LUKE KEMP

A perfect introduction to roguelikes, or a hugely enjoyable and unique adventure for veterans of the genre.