i’ve been playing a lot of PATH OF ACHRA, a hyper-streamlined roguelike with heavy Babylonian/Sumerian vibes, a gorgeously grimy set of ghoulies, and a lovely soundtrack that manages to sound really ominous and atmospheric despite the “PC soundfont” instrument choices
ACHRA borrows from dungeon crawl stone soup in that Culture + Class + Religion are your first big three choices and how most of those cultures are cool demihuman weirdos like lizardmen, apes, imps, Conan, goblins, Swamp Women, and morlocks, and you slowly unlock these along with an assortment of classes from fairly regular stuff like the Warrior to self-flagellating cultists, chakram masters, blood knights, snake-worshippers, castrate priestesses, and various mystics. the gods are largely sourced or inspired by near-Eastern myth and continue the distinct Cradle of Civilization Crawl theme this one pulls off so well. you embark on a quest across the Path of Achra, landmass dotted by Ominous Towers and an Obelisk that pierces the heavens and whatever lies beyond.
when you create a character, you’re treated to a bit of poetry dedicated to your adventures, this tone continues thru basically all the text in the game
combat takes place on single screen maps and the only controls are moving (which also makes you attack,) intoning one of 3 prayers, and standing still. that’s it! no magic spell books to learn, no potions, no scrolls, no unidentified items.
ACHRA strips all that away because it’s for the real sickos. that’s right, this is a Build Pervert game. as you level you can spend points on skills from different elemental categories and the combination you pick affects which prestige class you can take later on. while the game has few verbs (move, stand, summon, attack, hit, get hit, pray, pick up item) they’re all potential triggers for your abilities. this offers a surprising amount of customization and player expression while being obscure and rewarding enough to master that the loop of making new little guys to throw into the dungeon continues to reward me with surprising interactions
FOR EXAMPLE: do you want to be Guts? (constant haunting by ghosts may apply) do you want to summon so many snakes every time you move that enemies are crowded out of the dungeon? do you want to blend those snakes in the giant gore-tornado surrounding you to heal yourself? do you want to stand still so hard 60 astral lasers fire out of your Perfect mind and annihilate everything on a floor before turn 1? do you want to be a bird or maybe a tree? do you want to shed the skin off your body at the start of the turn so it can walk around and beat guys up for you? do you want to be an Ape who is only at maximum power when he’s fully nude?
also OH MY GOD i love these little ghoulies
when you die (or ascend) you’re treated to a poem generated from your build, and i love the dedication to the vibe here. fitting since the final boss is Gilgamesh gone mad from accessing what’s Really in the heavens.
anyway this game is like Ten Fuckin Dollars and is the most fun i’ve had with a roguelike in years. and YES it is in 4:3 my screenshots aren’t messed up lmao. i love how it squashes the many-hour character building meta progression from a diablolike into bite sized chunks where you can rapidly test different wild ideas without wasting your life grinding. O cursed egg! O withered earth!
