itch.io

Yeah, it's definitely tough balancing single player games! I can see how overbalancing can lead to actually balancing the fun out of  the game by accident. And it's definitely fun as is! Been a blast learning the game. I do think the core loop is extremely fun, making for a lot of both strategic and tactical decisions (great balance there). Some real potential here! Excited to see where it goes!

Got my second win. This build was much more powerful, with 2x Whirlwind and 1x Magic missile doing serious damage early on, and Longstrider helping out as usual. 

However, the highlight (and probably something to note for general balance) was Rewind. I had noticed before it seemed quite strong, but this game it really became evident how powerful it is. Judging by how much Rewind alone trivialized getting all gems by the end of most levels, plus its combo potential with Meditate (do they form an infinite combo? I think it might be), I'd say Rewind might actually be overpowered - as fun as it was to use it.

Just something to think about.. maybe I'm wrong and this build elevated Rewind's potential. But it seemed a little too strong. Maybe an "Exhaust" effect on it or reducing the rewind from 3 to 2 turns can ease this? Or increasing its mana cost. Curious if others have the same feeling about Rewind.

I do think this score is half decent now. Victory screen below.

x-x-x-x

Thanks for the reply!
1. I actually remember 9 Till Void and have probably wishlisted it before! I'll take a look at it. Interesting that this game came about you revisiting older builds. I hear you on new enemies.

2. Thanks, I did some test runs and the mechanics are now clear. I like the way it works and was under the impression there was some random aspect of taking damage due to the flickering effects, which is not the case.

3. I really like the balancing for single runs you have now so worth thinking about it but the game definetely works without streaking in my view!

I plan to play a lot more and hopefully can send further feedback / ideas. Will stay tuned for updates on your progress here for sure! Cheers!

Thanks! This really is a gem of a game and I see myself playing it a lot more. Thanks for making it again! I appreciate the game is not super newbie friendly, but learning it was pretty intuitive (coming from a Brough games fan / roguelike player). Can see heavy 868-Hack and Cinco Paus inspirations (maybe P1 select too? I didn't play it too much).

I did read your tips before / alongside my first runs - probably the mechanic I took longer to register is that you can't cast spells more than once per turn (except for specific ones). I was also not sure if the void straight up meant game over, did damage or just blacked the screen out permanently. Also, at first it was slightly strange to me that the player can attack diagonally but not monsters, curious as to how you arrived at this mechanic (I assume monsters attacking diagonally made them too strong).

I think transferring general tips and explanations (maybe an extended version of what you have here) to something clickable in game (within a pause menu for instance) would be sufficient to have most players overcome the learning curve. I love not having a tutorial though.

The strategy elements clicked pretty naturally once the mechanics of how AP / turns / mana worked, and building the spell arsenal has kept fun throughout my runs. Being restricted to rows and not being able to re-cast most of them really limits the amount of broken combos you can get (at least to the limit I've been able to theorycraft). These limitations elevate the gameplay in my view - it would be far less fun to repeat the same combo every floor.

If I may share just a few initial ideas:
1. While I don't think it is necessary, it might be interesting to add just another "type" of monster (perhaps one that plays with rows and columns at range, like 868-Hack). I think that a range attack enemy could spice up things and change the spell priority significantly.

2. Having the void animation a bit clearer as to when you will actually die would be helpful (given the gravity of the outcome, lol). I often don't know exactly when it hits and sometimes miss gold or treasure, afraid of mistiming it and trashing my run!

3. Looping / streak mode, whereby you count the accumulated score over 9 games (in 868 fashion). Creates more incentives to prioritize surviving vs. "high-rolling" a great build, and I think the game could open up with additional mechanics layered upon this. For example, having a "loop" slightly buff you (choosing 1 spell to carry over or increasing base stats) but at the same time introducing tougher enemies / tougher enemies earlier. I realize this is not a small change and changes the balance of things significantly though. 

Got my first win. This is the most fun I've had discovering a game's mechanics in a long time. I want to play some more before sharing feedback or thoughts since I feel I've only experienced a tiny slice of the game. Awesome work again!

Curious to see others' scores!
Edit: arguably the below image may contain spoilers for new players, so "view more" carefully ;)

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Hey, I've long enjoyed your games and general vision of what is fun (especially in strategy / turn based games). I've also hung around in Brough games discord and enjoyed your contributions.

Want to say this is a very nice title! Loved giving it a quick spin and will definitely play more. Thanks for making it and I hope you continue working on it (I will be happy to share thoughts and suggestions after playing some more).

It's funny that sometimes you secretly (or quietly) admire or appreciate some stranger's work, but never let them know it. So I thought this release was a good opportunity to do it.

All the best!

PS. This gives me strong Dream Quest vibes, which is an excellent thing.

Looking forward to that! Cheers

Sounds amazing! Excited to give it a spin!

Fills in a niche that was severely under served. The vibe and visuals are fantastic. Looking forward to giving it a spin, but from what I've seen gameplay seems slick and engaging. Nice job!

Great game, really captures the Balatro / Luck be a Landlord magic. Congrats, really well designed for your first one!

Sharing my review here for visibility. This is a truly amazing demake. Among the highest quality games on itch I've ever played. Dev, you should be proud of yourself. Thanks a lot for putting in the time to share this for free.

Looking forward not only to the announced 2.0 version but most importantly to any future work you put out, free or paid. Keep at it, you have an incredible talent! 

Looks interesting! will check it out. Like the vibe (Dream Quest meets Cinco Paus meets Wordle?)

I have no idea xD. Thanks for replying though, love your games.

Any chance for downloadable files? Ty!

Would love to have a download available for this! Cheers

I really like the vibe of your games and the fact that you explore cyberpunk settings, which are underexplored in roguelikes imo. 

I'll give them a shot soon. I'd  say the extraction gameplay which reads from the description above is  very interesting.

Great news!

This game is amazing. Love the gameplay freedome and highscore chase. Would you consider adding certain objectives - i.e. streaks of getting above certain scores, others?

I don't propose changing the gameplay. Just adding some more layers of challenge or objectives in the metagame.

By the way, would you consider adding downloads? That would be lovely.

Would you consider adding a Mac download? Cheers!

Looks interesting like your previous game. Will check it out soon!

Any chance for a mac build? Looking neat! 

Keep up the great work! I've been enjoying this one since release and definitely feel the core game is great and it might be a few updates away from *perfection*. Cheers! 

I very much am. Came across this by total chance and instantly remembered Metabattler from your itch page. Cheers!

Your games are great and I'll be sure to check this soon and give some feedback!

Thank  for replying and pointing to the steam demo!

Cool! I'd dig downloads if at all possible, incl. mac even if untested

Thanks!

Would love MacOS builds if possible.Cheers!

Is this a game you can win streak in? I always find that interesting in these types of games.

This looks super polished. Will try later!

Sounds great

Game's great! Would you consider adding downloads?

Specifically Mac would be nice!

Absolutely love the game, thanks for making it! Going for floor 20 streaks is great fun! I'll share a couple of requests / reports, in the event the dev reads through this comment and thinks they are pertinent!

- Is there a way to unlock floor 20 straight away, and if not, would you consider adding a 'unlock floor 20' button in Options? I ask because I bought the game on other platforms and would love to go straight back to floor 20 streaks and not have to spend time unlocking everything.

- I'd suggest that a warning always appeared when clicking "Start" with an ongoing game, and not just one in endless mode (for instance, this can make one lose a long floor 20 streak).

- I play mostly on mobile (though have bought it here too to support the dev) and sometimes (on mobile) I get an error text when clicking the inventory button. I am not able to replicate this yet, and unfortunately haven't taken a screenshot. It has happened maybe 3 times in ~200 runs. 

Anyways, that's all I had. This game is amazing and I'm glad I gave it a go. Perfect for mobile too!

Any chance for a mac build? Game looks great!

So nice and appreciated that you are still updating the game! I love it and noticed bug this too, but did not think to comment. Cheers!

Hey! Would you consider uploading a Mac build? Looks very interesting!