Into the Restless Ruins

Interesting combination of the survivors genre with map-building. Could use some more polish and balance, but for it's uniqueness it's worth trying.

My initial review of this game was really negative, but the more I play I just think I was expecting the wrong thing going in. It's really awfully balanced, and you get offered things like a choice between 5% crit chance (5% more damage) and 5% crit damage (0.75% more damage). The enemies and combat in general are a pure stat check that might as well just be a type of slime that you have to build movement speed to wade through. Also, I don't know why there are so many rooms in the game when you just need the base deck plus portals to beat every level. The reason I changed my review to positive is that the experience of figuring out all this jank and learning what strategy works in the game has been a pretty fun one. I kind of like the fact that after 3 or 4 runs trying to optimise my DPS and learn what rooms were good I learned to just not fight enemies and not draft new rooms. Also, there are unlockable cantrips that let you change all the rules in your runs, so most of the things I don't like in the game (combat, deckbuilding, navigating the rooms) are basically optional anyway.

What a FUN game. It has the feel of Vampire Survivors before it became tired/absurd. You are slowly building map tiles, killing monsters, collecting loot, exploring hidden rooms, getting lost, and doing your best not to die in the darkness. Wonderful game and well worth the experience. Wish leveling (exp++) was slightly faster, I want more of the options sooner!

I love this ♥♥♥♥ man it's too godman good 🥹🥹🥹

Ein guter Rougelike Dungeon Deckbuilder. Absolut empfehlenswert

Into the Restless Ruins, developed by Ant Workshop Ltd and published by Wales Interactive, offers a fresh and inventive take on the roguelike deckbuilder genre by blending dungeon construction with card-based strategy. Released in 2025, the game distinguishes itself through its unique mechanic that allows players to shape the dungeon layout itself using a deck of cards, rather than simply battling through a pre-designed environment. This innovative design creates a compelling mix of strategic planning and procedural generation that keeps each playthrough feeling new and rewarding. The gameplay revolves around nightly excursions into mysterious ruins, where players expand the dungeon by placing cards that represent rooms, corridors, and other elements. Each card added not only changes the dungeon’s architecture but can also trigger synergies and bonuses that affect the player’s combat efficiency and progression. This system demands a thoughtful balance between building a cohesive layout and optimizing for the strongest combinations of cards and relics. Rather than controlling the hero directly in combat, players rely on an auto-battle system that rewards well-planned dungeon design and deck composition, adding a unique layer of indirect tactical control. Deeply rooted in Scottish folklore, the game’s narrative and world-building add considerable depth and charm. Players encounter various mythological creatures and characters, such as the Hen Wife and the Wulver, who provide meaningful interactions and gameplay benefits. These elements enrich the atmosphere, making the journey through the ruins feel like a true folklore-inspired adventure. The ultimate goal is to gather Glimour, a mystical resource from the cursed denizens of the ruins, and confront The Warden—a formidable boss drawn from legend—in hopes of unlocking the Maiden’s promise. This storytelling framework provides motivation and context that elevates the roguelike experience beyond simple dungeon crawling. The scope and variety of Into the Restless Ruins are impressive. With over a hundred cards across multiple categories, dozens of unique enemies, including several bosses, and an assortment of passive charms and weapons to unlock, the game offers plenty of content and strategic options. Each run can feel dramatically different depending on the cards drawn and the dungeon layout chosen, encouraging players to experiment with different strategies and builds. The meta-progression system adds further depth, rewarding players with new relics and cards that can shift how future runs play out, maintaining long-term engagement and replayability. While the game’s innovative mechanics and thematic richness have been widely praised, there are some points of contention among players. Some have noted occasional technical issues such as performance dips and crashes, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay. Others have expressed a desire for more variety in enemy behavior and dungeon design to deepen the combat challenge and keep encounters feeling fresh. These critiques point toward areas where the game could be polished further, and it appears the developers are attentive to community feedback with plans for future updates and improvements. Overall, Into the Restless Ruins stands out as a thoughtfully crafted and original roguelike deckbuilder that successfully combines strategic dungeon building with an evocative narrative inspired by Scottish folklore. Its unique gameplay loop, combining card placement with indirect combat management, offers a refreshing experience for genre enthusiasts. Though not without its flaws, the game’s strong foundation, rich thematic world, and abundant content make it a rewarding title for players seeking a challenging and atmospheric roguelike adventure. As the game continues to evolve, it holds significant promise to become a memorable and enduring entry in the deckbuilder and roguelike communities. Rating: 8/10

this game is really fun honestly, and anyone who likes roguelikes will love this

This is a neat little game that incorporates Scottish folklore as you create your own dungeon. There's lots of replayability here, with your character leveling up as you play through scenarios, unlock new cards and cantrips, and interact with characters during your run. I didn't expect to enjoy this game as much as I did, as I primarily bought this game to support developers who are willing to put in the extra effort to include minority languages like Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. I would definitely recommend this game for anyone who wants to try a new take on roguelike deckbuilders. Chòrd e rium gu mòr - tha e glè spòrsail! :)

This one is a short playthrough but an awesome one: it was my favorite game of 2025, and it's a criminal shame that so few people have heard of it. As a big fan of roguelike deckbuilders, roguelike ARPGs, and the classic tabletop game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, this game felt perfectly tailored to me. Think of it as an experience in which Phase I starts with you playing CoMKL, then you play low-fi Hades during Phase II (on the map that you made in Phase I), then you strategize about where on the worldmap to expand your dungeon next. A really satisfying strategy loop, just enough RNG to keep you permanently on your toes and excited for the next run, and a totaly cromulent action layer that gets its best mileage out of the fact that there is no minimap...you are forced to remember the dungeon you just laid out. Diabolical and awesome. Seriously, just pick this one up, you'll thank me.

A fun roguelike that is a mix of deck builder and dungeon crawler. You have a deck of cards that represent dungeon rooms and when you start a run, you will build a basic three room entry dungeon, then once you run out of build points you will enter your new little dungeon and explore it for loot and fight some monsters. The longer you can stay in there and earn XP the better as every time you level you will add a new room for your deck. The idea is to last as long as possible then escape using the entrance portal. Once you have escaped, you can use your new rooms to build more of the dungeon. As the game goes by, the game adds little curse skulls, one after each run, more if you die, when the skull curse bar reaches a certain point you will get a curse which will make your runs harder in some way. So you are encouraged to try and escape rather than die in the dungeon. As you slowly build more you will finally access the rooms dotted around the map that are covered in mist. Once you make a path to those rooms you can go there to uncover them and see whats in there. It might be an NPC, a room with a bit of loot, or if you are lucky a Seal room. In the Seal rooms you activate the seal and fight a wave of monsters. Opening a seal opens up blocked off areas of the dungeon making more room for you to build. Unlocking seals will also lower your curse bar a bit, keeping those nasty curses off your back a bit. It also should be noted that if the curse bar ever completely fills to the end, you are consumed by darkness and lose the game. Unlock enough seals and you will eventually make your way to the dungeon boss and if you can beat them you have finished that particular dungeon and will unlock the next. Each dungeon location has a slightly different theme and ways the seals unlock as well as a different boss. Its quite an interesting take on the whole genre mixing together card building, dungeon construction and dungeon crawling. Its quite interesting and there are a bunch of cards to unlock and the cards can also be upgraded. The base rooms you start with are corridors, rooms to recharge your torch and health etc, but as you go along you will unlock training rooms, forges, stables, graveyards etc, all with their own little kinks and twists on gameplay. Its a solid little title and I like it quite a bit. The asking price is very reasonable to given how long you are likely to get out of it. Im about 6 hours in so far and have done 3 of the dungeons and beaten their bosses. A word of advice: Plan your dungeon well as you construct it. Remember you have to walk through it yourself. If you make it a maze, you are making a maze for yourself to get lost in. Spread out your healing and torch recharge places logically so you always have SOMEWHERE nearby(ish) that you can get to to recharge if things get desperate. And dont think the signpost rooms are useless, you can move the direction of the sign yourself, I always havint the signs point to the way to go to reach the exit portal. Can be super useful when you are running for exit low and health and torchlight. Anyway, well worth it!