Into the Restless Ruins

Surprised that the top reviews for this are so negative; have had a lot of fun with this, a really well designed mashup of genres that when you average out enjoyment by price is a steal. Closest comparison I can think of is Blue Prince mixed with Vampire Survivors but it has its own vibe and feel that is pretty unique. Complaining about the combat seems to miss the point of the game; its closer to a speed run that you build yourself than a dungeon crawler or action RPG. Likewise the issues surrounding lack of difficulty seem a little overblown, while the game balance is not perfect it has an light arcadey feel where the point is not about whether you will win but how well you will win (this may change, I haven't cleared all the dungeons yet) Great to pick up and play and dive into every now and again. If you think there's a chance you will like this then you should definitely pick it up its the definition of a hidden gem.

Interesting combination of deck/resource management and action.

Into the Restless Ruins results in many restless nights. The game has the magical ability to melt one minute into one hour. Short cycles of different gameplay types keep things smooth. You get to be methodical planning out your paths through rooms and picking what rooms to fill your deck; balancing consistency against utility. While the exploration part of the ruins allows you to enjoy or suffer the fruits of your labour. Managing to make a straight line from your starting point to your goal feels divine to play, but I always want to start up another run even when I walk through a labyrinth of death. The game deserves a shout out for the Welsh theming/inspiration, particularly in its few NPC's. It also deserves a shoutout for having a difficulty curve that lets players strategize. Do you use boons that boost your odds of success at the cost of exp, or banes that make the game harder? I personally found fun in making the game tougher in some areas, easier in others which has always kept me just engaged enough to not get lazy.

https://youtu.be/_PC3MllOvI0 Building the dungeon to explore to balance navigations, upgrades, and progress is a fun twist to the action roguelike formula.

A nice rogue like game with "build your dungeon twist"

So far having a half dozen maybe hours, it's alright. I like the overall gameplay concept of placing the tiles to make your dungeon rooms you then traverse... In terms of moment to moment gameplay though for a roguelike, it can't really touch something like Megabonk for instance or something similar in moment-to-moment interest/gameplay. Earning the various tiles through the leveling, feels a bit slow. And some of the cantrips you choose before runs don't seem seem to align with what you think they'll be doing, based on the description. The one that says your torch starts the run empty for instance, does not also say it burns down in like 5 seconds, despite filling it at campfires. So, some tiles/or cards do not have adequate or even accurate descriptions. That's not to touch on the music, which although is fine enough, it's very repetitive. aside from these complaints, I like the game overall, it's just not all it could be for the concept, I'd like to see run with in a future game by someone. I wouldn't buy at full price, but in a bundle for cheap it may be an okay buy as something to play.