Cult of Shadows

It's just not really fun. I gave it an hour and there are a lot more fun roguelikes out there. This game may be more fun in the future, but as it is right now the combat is clunky. You just kind of just wade into enemies flailing about with no access to other types of game play. Just a warrior in the beginning. I lost interest my first sit down, then slept on it and tried it again and wishing I didn't. I'll give it another go after a few months, but as it is right now, I would not recommend.

I have played in demo, dev definitely made huge progress, balance is much better, most of the bugs are gone, progress is alot smoother, but there is still some imbalance in skills power. Performance is good, I have not accrued any fps drops

wont run on steam machine with steam controller

Cult of Shadows is a punishing, yet very enjoyable action roguelike. With only 2.4 hours of game time in the books, I'm not sure I can really give the game a full and honest review. Combat is fun, the environments are dark and detailed, but progression is where it hits the wall for me. It felt as if I hardly improved my stats and weapon/armor loadout. In fact, I never came across any kind of jewelry or armor outside of a shield. The draw for these games is feeling how much stronger you've become, and that's something that never came to fruition. The other downer would be the ranged weapons. You acquire a number of staves and bows, but you can't use them. It seems you need an accompanying trinket or armor piece that is nowhere to be found in this stage of the game. I still enjoyed my time playing, but it is frustrating looking back at the fact that I honestly gained zero ground. Still a positive review, but not by a lot. I'll revisit the game in the near future in hopes of a few fixes. FINAL RATING: 6.5/10

Despite some flaws and optimization issues, I’ve genuinely enjoyed Cult of Shadows and would recommend it. The beginning can feel somewhat grindy, especially on the first level. You may need to collect and dismantle quite a few weapons before you can craft something strong enough to comfortably clear the map. However, I enjoy the weapon-crafting system and the feeling of gradually building a more powerful weapon. The game reminds me a lot of Halls of Torment, particularly in its overall gameplay style and large maps. The second map, in particular is really large. I also like that every class has its own unique abilities rather than sharing the same skill pool across all characters. This gives each class a more distinct playstyle and makes trying new characters feel worthwhile. The biggest issue is stability. Using some of the flashier abilities can cause the game to stutter and other abilities such as Hammer of Thunder when used in quick succession has occasionally caused the game to crash for me. I’ve also experienced crashes when starting a new map or switching to a different character. These problems can be frustrating and definitely need to be addressed. Even with those issues, the core gameplay is enjoyable, the classes feel unique, and the crafting system adds a satisfying layer of progression. With some optimization and stability improvements, this could become an even better game.