Ludokultur

The demo of @AxolotlStar's Star★Vaders has so much potential. For example, "heat" is a more flexible mana system where you can overstep but have to burn cards in the process. Also the core gameplay is highly spatial which is something too many deck-building games lack. Exciting! pic.twitter.com/Nl9wvretDA

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 5, 2023

New #SuperAutoPets expansion is out, so you know what I'm doing tonight. (Exactly, trying to spawn near-infinite summons so the bear goes crazy! 🐻)

Also a whole bunch of new hats and team entry animations, it's wild! 🎲 pic.twitter.com/GK78CiMHiU

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 9, 2023

Bio Prototype by @bento_duck is a bullet heaven where you craft your attack patterns, e.g. "periodically fire projectiles, that spawn melee attacks around themselves on crit, which then explode after they're done". This naturally leads to crazy chain reactions almost every run. pic.twitter.com/dG1K2bGxjD

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 10, 2023

You know it's going well in #SuperAutoPets when the list of your last 4 runs looks exactly like your hall of fame when you open it.

Also the game keeps throwing loads of swans at me for some reason. Not complaining! 🦢🪙 pic.twitter.com/9VZeyObKxb

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 10, 2023

I AM THE BULLET HELL

(Game: Bio Prototype by @bento_duck) pic.twitter.com/HkvliXX7Bx

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 12, 2023

So here's a sleeper for you all: "Bing in Wonderland" is not an alternate reality where Google doesn't exist, but a sidescrolling #roguelike by @WanbaBigYu with juicy combat and movement mechanics that unfold quite a bit of depth. You dash and stomp (ideally) from enemy to enemy! pic.twitter.com/NxJzNF68Ud

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 13, 2023

Nordic Ashes by @NoxfallStudios is another bullet heaven. Norse mythology theme. Striking visual style. Challenge level pleasently high. Biggest mechanical twist: a skill tree where you roll upgrades. Personal highlight: a character with a randomly generated skill tree every run. pic.twitter.com/icPGzCdRCs

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 19, 2023

Wasn't sure how @PlayInkbound would feel to play, but the technical playtest won me over. Monster Train's @ShinyShoeGames strike again and somehow integrate continuous space naturally with quick turn-based gameplay. Lots of drafting, build-making, combos, it's already a blast! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/2aV3odUIk3

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 20, 2023

Super Auto Battlemon by @KingBit_Patrick is a bit Pokémon, a bit Super Auto Pets, but mostly a polished version of @GralGames' Automon (which you should play btw if you haven't) with fewer weird effects (that's not a positive btw, but it's in alpha, so lots of time to add stuff). pic.twitter.com/OXqYJv3ZCG

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 24, 2023

Furcifer's Fungeon (@TweetFurcifer) is just as whacky of an action #roguelike as the title suggests. Its gameplay twist is that it's a continuous sidescroller, which adds urgency and drivenness. Unlike many other games, you can't just kite monsters in circles. Free demo on Steam! pic.twitter.com/tnfQu4iYW9

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 26, 2023

Brick Odyssey is an impressive first game by @MacMorganDev showing good design sensibilities! It's a brick-breaker, real-time twist on Peglin with creative mechanics. E.g. ranged enemies fire projectiles you have to dodge. Some elites even try to grab the ball out of play! Cool! pic.twitter.com/9N04L8zI3g

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 27, 2023

Spellmasons (@spellmasons) is rough around the edges and looks like a turn-based-combat #roguelike with fairly standard verbs at first. But then you discover that you don't just cast spells, but modify and combine them in Noita-like ways. Simple example: "cone shape" + "slash". pic.twitter.com/KZfRCQ6MAW

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 31, 2023

Instant (re-)buy! Feels like the game "came home", obviously works like a charm on phones given the vertical nature of the layout. Great job! 👌 https://t.co/w2bzLZ80Pt

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) January 31, 2023

Hellcard: Prologue is a demo of the upcoming coop deck-builder by @ThingTrunk. Solid concept, polish through the roof. I like how it's not just "Slay the Spire but multiple characters", but adds meaningful space. Long runs though. Monsters taking turns 1-by-1 takes a while… 😅 pic.twitter.com/IrIStLwOFR

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 2, 2023

Finally a way for me to enjoy this without compulsively having to think about improvements I could be making instead of playing it! 😅 https://t.co/d9hwwBYzCm pic.twitter.com/5VNaRZOZf3

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 3, 2023

Tape to Tape (@Tape2Tape_Game) is an ice hockey(!) #roguelike. Imagine a simplified version of the NHL games, but with fun special abilities and "artefacts" to grant your team passive buffs. The world needs more sports roguelikes!

Demo available now as part of #SteamNextFest! pic.twitter.com/rbaqcY1ibp

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 7, 2023

Made it out of the Dark and Darker dungeon for the first time, even carrying a few shinies! 💎@IronmaceGames indeed capture the Tarkov-like PvPvE looter thrill very well, but are making a very different game with their physics-based medieval combat. Demo now at #SteamNextFest! pic.twitter.com/qedEn3H6ps

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 8, 2023

I have a soft spot for dodge-the-traffic games from playing them as a kid (mostly on these strange, tiny dedicated handhelds that only had one game on them). Good to see one of those on the #Playdate! https://t.co/R1lbt38CMX

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 15, 2023

In Tower Escape by @finalscrewgames your enemies are doing the tower defense while you plan hopefully efficient routes through randomly generated floors. Besides watching your minions run, you're shopping for more minions, spells, relics, all the #roguelike stuff. Unique concept! pic.twitter.com/1LjR56VCfq

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 16, 2023

Really appreciate that @NoxfallStudios didn't just add another character with slightly different combat patterns to Nordic Ashes, but instead this very strange guy who throws out coins, whose health is gold and whose shopping experience is insanely ambiguous all the time! 😀 pic.twitter.com/IaoAPwT2Qr

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 17, 2023

I've been waiting for @ZeroSievert to add a hardcore mode where you lose your equipment on death. It's coming next week, so I thought I'd get in some practice with the more forgiving standard mode (reset to before raid on death) for now. We need more single-player Tarkov-likes! pic.twitter.com/04DkAKm7e7

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 18, 2023

Gem Worlds by @nightblade99 is a clever Boulder Dash twist on roguelikes. Dodge falling boulders, mine your way towards shiny gems, but also attack enemies by bumping into them and throw around fireballs! 🧙‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/Q5M3axmbCa

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 22, 2023

My one gripe with Spelunky 2 is the rigid biome order. Dwelling just isn't too exciting after a thousand runs (see: https://t.co/SE2QLiM6DA).

So I finally tried the randomizer mod… welcome to level 1: The Duat City of Gold, home to deep-sea creatures and a tiki man's shop. 🤪 pic.twitter.com/272T1AoGUB

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 23, 2023

Cyclo Chambers by @hobofeller is a competent Vampire-Survivors-like where you pile all kinds of attacks and companions on top of one another to create explosive builds. Especially happy there's no "+1% damage" meta progression, but just unlocks of more items and more variety! pic.twitter.com/o3BVJDoCAG

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) February 24, 2023

Dungeons of Aether is an audiovisually beautiful dice-drafting game about stat manipulation. Without any positional layer though, depth is limited. Tried a few (supposedly roguelike) challenge dungeons, but I'd say this is one for a story-mode playthrough, not really "evergreen". pic.twitter.com/3LVMCVTyJx

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 1, 2023

New #SuperAutoPets art, same old result. 😎

Guess it's time for the new hard mode… 😱 pic.twitter.com/7achipaSuL

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 6, 2023

Golden Light is likely the weirdest #roguelike-ish game you ever played. It (deliberately) clunky first-person combat, stealth, procedural levels, randomized consumables, lots of horror and utterly ungodly creatures. Oh, and also a meta narrative full of mystery and obscurity! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/1UxmFm71oO

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 8, 2023

Hero's Hour is a modern re-imagining of Heroes of Might and Magic. It unfolds a similar "one-more-turn" core loop. The biggest difference is the real-time combat which feels a bit auto-battler-like, but allows you to cast spells to e.g. deal damage or summon supporting units. pic.twitter.com/vdyJB5wcee

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 9, 2023

Looking for ability inspirations? Check out Crafty Survivors by @FlannelBearGame! Cook your enemies, create sculptures with different effects, or spin electric threads by dashing. Game itself is a rather standard VS-like, unfortunately including "+1% something" meta progression. pic.twitter.com/8pO0wjLGLy

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 16, 2023

Nice! Slick and clever design! https://t.co/wiDl0gJwcE

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 16, 2023

Score is nice and all, but the real magic is making your words tell a story! 🧚

Seriously though, if you're into word games, check out @bmalicoat's Well Word. pic.twitter.com/ZaPOfN6bYW

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 18, 2023

Demo for Word Factori by @StarGardenGames is out! Pretty unique puzzle game that makes you think about the geometry of the alphabet.

Example:
– "C" is a bent "I"
– "A" is two merged "I" with a rotated one inside
– "T" is two "I" glued together twice, one rotated

Meow! 🐈✅ pic.twitter.com/NFSUgv9Nc3

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 21, 2023

The final playtest for Beyond the Long Night by @NoisyHeadGames is live. Likely one of the more intriguing #roguelike games of the year. Lots of items, builds and little stories to discover. Also you're permanently flying in this one for a change. Game feel is very smooth too! 🎈 pic.twitter.com/dRN2E3V4LV

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 24, 2023

So @TheCycleGame released its season 3 update and might be worth another look if you're craving a more accessible Tarkov. The biggest change here is no more mandatory wipes, so you can actually progress at your own pace now. Also new: regular free random (aka "scav") loadouts! pic.twitter.com/rvMWUB4sbG

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 30, 2023

ROGUE-FP by @JuraxGames is basically the original Rogue (i.e. very #roguelike), but first-person with Superhot-ish (but still turn-based) movement. You can even play in ASCII if you want.

In a way it's quite ridiculous that this exists. I also love that it exists. pic.twitter.com/vH1xN7A0JP

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 31, 2023

All of Matt's games are worth playing and this one is no exception! It's the juicy pixelated Glanville take on the "survivor-like" formula.

However, I have to ask: Can we nerf Flesjå? https://t.co/gzGpkyn1z1 pic.twitter.com/1rlTp1MxC9

— Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) March 31, 2023