Halls of Torment

Halls of Torment has a lot to offer. Like other reviews says, the map selection isn't very diverse totalling 5 maps, but the character/build diversity is quite good. Unlike other VS-style games I have played, Halls of Torment allows you to invest into a theme instead of just collecting a bunch of random weapons. Most skills will have choices that that lets the character focus on either raw damage, crit, DoT damage, or other types of scaling. Certain weapons will feature upgrades that affect all skills of that type, for example applies to all fire attacks or just boosts burn chance and burn damage across the board for all skills. Because of that, it's very beneficial to select mostly fire-skills (or frost, or lightning etc) since they have some nice build synergy. Finally, the player chooses a gear loadout before venturing into the Halls, but this loadout is not final at all. Gear drops in the Halls, which are upgraded versions of what can be equipped from town, and it lets the player pivot from one style of build to another instead of having to reset the game to start over. For example if the player first decides to go for a burning DoT build, but then early in the game gets +dmg% and crit% gear and upgrades, the player is not locked into the burn build at all. Within reason of course - not all characters excel at everything, as it should be. I think the mastery ceiling for this game is quite high, as it takes some conscious planning to unlock and execute a build that will perform well in the higher difficulty levels. Hunting the achievements for unlocking the stronger or more synergistic skill upgrades can be fun, at times frustrating but that is all part of the fun - it can be a puzzle to figure out how to complete a challenge without looking it up, and not punishingly difficult to do without assistance. I was also surprised by how this game also makes rerolls and banning of skill upgrades to be an unlock put into the hands of the player via gameplay, instead of something just magically appearing in a menu. This is the first VS-style game I play that actually puts that into the player progression. Big recommend if you already like VS-style games and also enjoy the 90s retro dark fantasy graphics