The Book of Aaru

Great on Deck, even has built in magnification. Tight, fun, hard and a killer soundtrack. I'm just starting it, but I can already tell this is my type of game. Deeper combat than Hades, and that's saying something. I plan on putting in the hours on this one.

A very good ARPG that rewards slower and meticulous combat and exploration. I am not good at it, but it is still a great game. And the egyptian theming and soundtrack are also excellent.

Decent game, not bad at all but has its flaws. The aiming of range attack feels really awkward and the 2nd boss is a pain to fight without ranged attacks, especially with all those plants it spawns. Hit boxes are also kinda awkward in both melee and ranged, which is why weapons hitting in a wider area are better (the dagger felt terrible for me personally). Traps are also a real pain in the backside, things that decrease trap damage are almost always a must and runs without them will feel frustrating. After all that you'd think the game is bad, but actually it's not. The game overall is fun, it has replay value and enough variety for the average roguelite enjoyer. Music is also good, especially in the tense moments. If they can polish the combat some more and eliminate some of the clunk, it could be top tier. For the asking price, I would even say it's already worth every penny.

While I don't have much time in this game yet, and I feel there's still so much for me to see, I have much enjoyed my time with the game so far. The isometric action roguelite style will be familiar to players of games such as Hades or Curse of the Dead Gods. This game doesn't have the level of polish and optimisation of those games yet, but it certainly has it's charms with interesting characters and very impressive level designs. The pace of the game also feels slightly slower - not in a way that feels less enjoyable, far from it - which really brings out the rhythm of the combat and allows me to really feel that dying is absolutely due to mistakes made and less because of failing to keep up with my button mashing. This feels even more prominent with the games time slow mechanic. I look forward to seeing how this game continues to develop!

The Book of Aaru has a lot of potential and a gorgeous visual identity. The Ancient Egypt-inspired sci-fi aesthetic is slick, and I really like the idea of weapon sets that completely reshape your abilities. Combat is challenging, and the time-slow mechanic gives it some style. That said, this is a cautious thumbs up at best. Parrying feels off even after recent patches, dimensional portals can kill you for unclear reasons, and several bugs (like softlocks or broken run tracking) need attention. The UI is clunky, and content is a bit thin for a full release. I don’t recommend buying it at full price just yet, but if you’re a roguelite fan with patience for early rough edges, there’s a good chance you’ll find something enjoyable here—especially with future updates. 👉 Read the full review at TrueScore Gaming: https://truescoregaming.com/the-book-of-aaru-review

I have played a lot of roguelikes and this one was brutal (in a good way)! It has similar mechanics to Hades and Curse of the Dead Gods. A little rough around the edges, but recent updates has brought a lot of quality of life improvements. Worth playing if you enjoy roguelikes