Tales of Maj'Eyal

This game is like smashing your balls with a hammer but the hammer has like a ♥♥♥♥ million different ways to do it so it feels fresh everytime.

I do not write a lot of reviews. I think if you are at all a fan of traditional rougelikes this is the finest example of there is. This game has limitless depth, very fun and satisfying combat, and limitless build potential. It is also always able to be bought for <$10. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get passed it the game is amazing. Even with the difficulty curve there are always very helpful community members willing to help out. 15/10. I would give this game 1 million thumbs up if steam would let me. Stop reading this review and play the game already!

5hrs into a run, you take a gamble on a chest, get instagibbed by an OP enemy, then forget to use your revive elixir (you would've died again though tbh). You immediately start again, make it a few hours in, see a chest, remark how they're never worth the risk, but you have been steamrolling everything and have a good build, so you're safe. That's how you end up starting another run, swearing you won't open any chests. Your greed gets to you, and you're not having any trouble with them--only one more and then I'll stop risking it, but then you die again. So yeah, idk about them chests but the game itself offers incredible depth, albeit there are quirks you need to read up on (don't be like me and not realize for 20hrs that sustain spells/abilities shrink your resource pools instead of having a per turn cost). You gotta be prepared to lose some really amazing runs to complete ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ (oh no you somehow betrayed your OP wizard ally when fighting the mage hunter camp and now he and his crony are invincible for 10 turns and you are all out of sustain from the fight), but idk I keep coming back. A hidden gem for sure! (one last recommendation, bump right up to insane, in lower difficulties it feels like there are more cheap tricks since the enemy power levels tend range wider, instead of simply being punishing by default).

For a game that's this minimalist, this game crashes a lot. I've even run into the issue of saves being corrupted, and of course because the game only ever keeps one save, you end up being required to create backups of your saves all the time. Yikes. There's also one major problem and that is you're locked out of the vault (item sharing between your characters) if you run any mods the developer hasn't whitelisted. Want to create a sub-mod? Well too bad, now a key feature of the steam release is locked. The logic behind that is "we want to stop cheaters". Like dude, not only are you not going to stop cheaters, but who the heck cares? It's a single player game being pushed into an always online mode. Otherwise the game is fairly fun even if the balance is a hot stinking mess, but it's also dragged down with bad code and bad direction. Unacceptable.

Firstly, I want to clarify that Tales of Maj'Eyal is absolutely a traditional roguelike. However, where this game truly excels is its character builds. There are loads of incredibly creative and well-thought-out classes and races, and the gearing system is fantastic. Everything comes together to create an amazing power fantasy. Even though it's a turn-based roguelike, it scratches the same itch for me as games like Diablo or Path of Exile. Planning a build, steadily becoming more powerful, and finding impactful gear and talents is genuinely addictive. Every level and every upgrade feels meaningful. There are also tons of classes, and races to unlock through gameplay, and every new unlock gives me a huge dopamine hit. It always feels like there's something new to work towards. Tales of Maj'Eyal has earned a place among my personal favorite games of all time. It's an incredible game—highly addictive, endlessly replayable, and ridiculously cheap for the amount of content it offers. I can't recommend it enough.

This is my roguelite Stardew. Love this game. I barely, hardly rage when dying.

Thanks to Dr. Incompetent for introducing us to this game. Lots of fun

Surprisingly good gameplay in 2026

click click click click DUN DUN DUNNNNN

It's alright :P