Hey,

I’ve been quietly building an idle / incremental game and finally pushed a public alpha.

The core idea is simple: progression shouldn’t feel automatic. In IdleThrone, you can push upgrades as far as you want add stats, stack levels, even roll new effects but the more you push, the higher the risk. Items can become cursed instead of stronger. There’s no full safety net. Offline progression also isn’t guaranteed success. If you leave your character unprepared, things don’t always go perfectly. The goal isn’t to punish players, but to make decisions matter a bit more than “click and forget.” It’s still early. Balance is actively changing. Some parts are rough. That’s exactly why I’m posting here.

I’m specifically looking for feedback on:

• Does the upgrade tension feel interesting or just frustrating?
• Is risky offline progression engaging or annoying?
• Does this direction feel fresh in the idle space?

Short clip below shows the upgrade system in action.

Playable build: https://thronecreator.itch.io/idlethrone

I’m active and iterating constantly. If you want to go deeper into discussion, there’s also a Discord linked on the page. Appreciate honest thoughts.

In my opinion, idlers are all about guessing optimal upgrades. Bringing risk into it, just makes the guessing more unreliable. So I think it is more on the annoying side. And if you have an ascension mechanic, people will just do that or give up.

The ability to "brick" your run brings your game a bit into roguelike territory.

Fresh takes on the idle genre are always a good idea.