Evolings

Evolings is a fun game where you collect companions who you control to win battles for you. You'll find yourself speeding through runs and collecting every type of evoling with unique attributes. During your adventures however, you are gonna come across shiny and even rainbow evolings, with low chances of spawning. This brings up my one and only issue with the game, its achievements are fully based off of luck, meaning that no matter how good you are you still have to rely on getting good evoling rng. Aside from this, the game itself can go by pretty fast and honestly has really nice ui overall. I also really enjoy the design of most evolings, they are quite cute and charming.

Good base concept with frustrating execution. There are very few ways to impact your outcome beyond choosing from a very limited set of preordained options. It's obviously built inspired by Slay the Spire's pathways, but fails to understand what makes the paths work in that game. RNG plays far too large of a part in how your team will come together over time, meaning you're rarely deliberately choosing what kind of build you're ending up with. Combined evolings are the most necessary component of a good team, and require collecting 3 of a single class type (not species). Sometimes you'll start and get 3 of the same type within the first few stages. Sometimes you'll find only disparate types. In most successful roguelites, you have options to impact your results at least a little bit, and this feels more like just bashing your head into RNG and hoping.

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There are so many really basic problems with this game. It gives no explanations on pretty much any mechanics, looking at descriptions of things is either extremely annoying or not available, and extremely imbalanced. There are also very frustrating enemies, that are insanely unfun and annoying to deal with, and it doesn't help that I can't tell exactly how the enemies work so that I can make a plan around them because this game refuses to give explanations on almost anything.

I quite like the mechanics of the game but the balance is pretty bad. There is no post battle healing so if you're not offered a healer unit you just chip down throughout a run. The enemy encounters also vary WILDLY in difficulty one fight you might fight a single unit the next you might fight 6 equally powerful enemies all while you have only 2-3 yourself. The strength of your team is WAY to RNG. Normal floor fights reward a little money but don't strengthen your team at all so you just have to pray you get many rooms that give units or upgrades.

Evolings presents itself as a compact but appealing blend of monster collecting, turn-based strategy, and roguelike progression, all wrapped in a cozy pixel-art style that immediately signals accessibility rather than intimidation. From your very first run, you’re thrust into a world where tiny creatures are both your companions and your weapons, and where each expedition unfolds across randomized maps filled with enemies, treasure rooms, shrines, and branching paths. There’s no heavy lore or elaborate introduction; instead, the game drops you directly into the loop and encourages you to learn its systems by experimenting, failing, and slowly discovering how each Evoling functions within your growing team. This straightforward onboarding helps maintain a brisk pace, letting you focus on assembling your squad and navigating the dangers ahead without getting bogged down in exposition. Combat is the heart of the experience, and while the mechanics appear simple at first glance, they offer more depth than expected. Every battle plays out in turns, with both your team and enemy creatures making predictable moves based on their abilities and positioning. Success comes from reading intent, knowing when to commit to an attack, and understanding how each Evoling synergizes with the others. Some specialize in dealing raw damage, some shield or heal, and others bring utility effects that can make or break a fight. The gradual increase in enemy difficulty ensures you’re forced to adapt, often recalibrating your strategy mid-run if early choices no longer suit your situation. Despite its streamlined nature, the combat rarely feels mindless; you’re constantly thinking one or two steps ahead as you evaluate health, cooldowns, and risk. Evolutions and unlocks form the game’s most satisfying layer. Across your journey, you’ll find new Evolings to recruit, items that alter your creature abilities, and opportunities to merge or enhance your team. This creates a satisfying sense of progression that mirrors the joy of traditional monster-collector titles while benefiting from the unpredictability of roguelike structure. Because each run reshuffles what becomes available, no two teams look or function alike, encouraging experimentation and risk-taking. The Evopedia, which tracks the creatures you’ve discovered — including rare shiny variants — becomes a natural motivator, pushing you to dive back in and chase combinations you haven’t yet encountered. Even after completing a full run, there’s a strong temptation to return simply to see what strange or powerful creatures might appear next. The visual presentation contributes significantly to the game’s charm. The pixel art is bright, expressive, and consistently delightful, with each Evoling rendered in cute, memorable fashion. Enemies, environments, and special effects all share a clean aesthetic that makes the world easy to read during combat while still maintaining personality. Music and sound design support the tone well, delivering an upbeat, adventurous atmosphere that complements the game’s lighthearted nature. Even the short cutscenes that appear after boss encounters add a bit of flair, helping the adventure feel more alive despite its compact scale. Yet Evolings is not without limitations, and these boundaries define how much longevity the game ultimately offers. For one, the narrative component is extremely thin. Outside of the occasional cinematic or flavor text, there’s little sense of a larger world or story beyond the immediate push to survive the current run. The experience is designed around gameplay loops rather than worldbuilding, which may disappoint players seeking deeper context or emotional stakes. Additionally, the randomness of the roguelike structure can sometimes overshadow strategic planning. A lucky early recruit or powerful item can transform an average run into a dominant one, while an unlucky string of mediocre Evolings can leave you struggling no matter how carefully you play. This means that while strategy matters, the outcome often hinges on the luck of the draw as much as tactical skill. Even with these caveats, Evolings succeeds at being exactly what it sets out to be: a charming, low-pressure roguelike that blends monster collecting with straightforward but engaging turn-based combat. It offers enough depth to remain interesting across multiple attempts, enough variety to keep runs from feeling repetitive, and enough cuteness to make even frustrating battles feel less punishing. It’s not a sprawling epic or a deeply layered strategy game, but rather a compact, polished experience with a strong identity and a satisfying loop. For players who enjoy creature-collecting, roguelike unpredictability, or accessible tactics wrapped in a cheerful aesthetic, Evolings is a delightful and replayable adventure that rewards curiosity and experimentation. Rating: 7/10

It's pretending to be 50 year old game -- but was obviously written by a freshborn who never learned what was creating the fun in those days and what we wanted to leave there. Good thing it was in a bundle, i'd have been really annoyed for picking it up as an actual buy.

Score: 2/5 Pokemon + Slay the Spire + Bad game design + Technical issues Simply put, it's unreasonably difficult and not very fun. And I was part of the target audience. [b]The Good[/b] 1. Moderate variety, some replayability. 2. Art style and animations aren't bad. 3. Music, and about half of the audio/SFX are good. [b]The Bad[/b] 1. Balance and RNG Very bad balance, especially after about 15 minutes into a run. I don't play games to follow a meta, which is probably what's required to finish a run alongside good RNG. Luck is too important for success. New allied creatures die too easily. Fusing is very high risk / high reward. Some items will nearly double the effectiveness of certain monsters. 2. Tutorial / Amibiguity of Mechanics Most mechanics are not explained. No mouse-over tooltip. No tutorialization. No in-game rulebook in menu. Just bash your head into the wall and hope you can figure it out, dummy. 3. Audio Mixing About half or more of the SFX are twice as loud as the rest of the audio. Extremely grating.

Fun little team builder game. You start with a choice of 3 monsters, and path your way through 3 acts. Along the way you can collect more monsters. When you get a specific combo of 3, they merge into a (generally) more powerful monster. Collecting them all throughout the runs has been amusing. The main frustration I've had is a lack of information in game. Most of it can be intuited (after playing a few rounds), but there is some that is still unnecessarily obtuse. For instance, when you start a run, often you can choose between a bonus of money, or some artifacts from a previous run. You have to know what the latter are by sight though. Overall, a fun game for anyone able to hold onto the controller.

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