01Hades II on Steam: A bewitching roguelike sequel built for players who embrace repeated failure as part of mastery
STEAM DEAL · 30% OFF
Hades II
Hades II is a confident sequel worth picking up for anyone who enjoyed the first game and is comfortable dying dozens of times per session. The combat, build variety, and writing are all top-tier, though the grind between runs and the polarizing ending give some players pause.
Game highlights
Witchcraft-infused combat with real build variety
You fight through the Underworld and beyond as the immortal Princess, channeling dark sorcery alongside legendary weapons of Night. Boons from more than a dozen Olympian gods stack onto your attacks and magick, and the official store copy emphasizes that there are nearly limitless ways to build your abilities. Players repeatedly describe experimenting with radically different loadouts each run, then watching the whole strategy pivot when a new boon appears.
A story that grows through every death
Every run advances the narrative, with setbacks and accomplishments unlocking new dialogue and events. The official description highlights a sweeping story that continually unfolds through repeated failure, and reviewers consistently praise the sheer volume of fully-voiced characters and unique story events tied to player choice. Melinoë meets gods, ghosts, and monsters, and relationships deepen across runs rather than resetting.
Permanent progression and accessibility options
Permanent upgrades, Arcana cards, and the return of God Mode mean you do not need to be a roguelike veteran to make progress. The game also supports Steam Achievements, full controller support including DualSense and DualShock, captions, Steam Cloud, and Family Sharing. Supergiant's signature hand-painted environments and original score carry over with even smoother real-time 3D characters.
Escalating challenge for skilled players
If you want to test yourself, the game offers escalating challenges and greater rewards for players who do not rely on God Mode. Speedrunners and mastery-seekers get fresh goals to chase, and the new weapons plus Tools of the Unseen add mechanical depth on top of the familiar dodge-and-burst loop. This is where the punishing-mastery design really pays off for returning Hades players.
What players are saying
What keeps coming up positively
- Combat feels razor-sharp, with attacks, dashes, and abilities that snap and flow into one another, making runs cripplingly addictive.
- Build variety is enormous, and reviewers consistently describe discovering new favorite weapon-and-boon combinations after dozens of hours.
- The story and character writing reward repeated runs, with reviewers still unlocking new dialogue lines and prophecies deep into the game.
- Visual and audio presentation set a high bar, with dense, personality-rich environments and an original score that elevates every encounter.
Where the friction shows
- Several players describe the ending as a disappointing payoff that undermined their motivation for the post-game.
- Many reviewers feel the game is overstuffed, juggling two separate run paths, prophecies, tools, and resource grinds that compete for attention.
- Some players report the grind for reagents, bronze, wool, and other materials slows progression more than in the first Hades.
- A subset of players found the main story less compelling than the original because the Greek-myth-meets-roguelike hook no longer feels fresh.
Is it worth buying?
At $20.99 against a regular $29.99, this is a 30 percent discount and a fair entry point for a Supergiant release, though it is not the deepest cut we have seen. If you bounced off the first Hades because of repeated deaths, waiting for a larger sale or trying the demo first is reasonable. If build-crafting and mastery through failure sound like your thing, this price is a reasonable buy right now.
Price checked 2026-09-28：$20.99，down from $29.99（30% off）。Player-fit tags
Good fit
- Players who treat dozens of deaths per session as a feature rather than a frustration
- Roguelike fans who want dozens of hours of build experimentation and weapon variety
- Returning Hades players looking for new gods, regions, and a fresh protagonist
- Anyone who values story unfolding across many short runs rather than a single long playthrough
- Players who enjoy permanent meta-progression and accessibility toggles like God Mode
Probably not for you
- Players expecting a compact, tightly-paced narrative that wraps up cleanly in a handful of sessions
- Anyone averse to resource grinding for bronze, wool, and reagents between combat runs
- Players looking for a cozy, low-pressure experience rather than demanding combat encounters
- Fans of the original who disliked its Greek-myth reinterpretation and will not enjoy more of the same flavor
02Emberward: a tetris-block roguelite tower defense that rewards patient maze crafters who learn from failure
STEAM DEAL · 15% OFF
Emberward
Emberward is worth considering for roguelite tower defense fans who enjoy deliberately constructing mazes, accepting repeated failure, and digging into a deep tower pool. Players who dislike grind-heavy progression or cluttered interfaces should wait or pass at this price tier.
Game highlights
Maze-building with tetromino block cards
You lay down wall pieces drawn from a hand of block cards before each wave, shaping the enemy path with real spatial choices. Because blocks are a limited resource you spend each round, every placement decision carries weight. The mechanic borrows from classic Warcraft III-style custom maps while adding a deckbuilding-style twist through runes that you attach to blocks after battle for ongoing upgrades.
Diverse towers with distinctive behaviors
The roster includes poison towers that coat enemy paths, drone towers that pursue targets across the map, and D20 towers whose damage scales with luck rolls, among many others. Towers come in multiple sizes ranging from 1x3 to 3x3 footprints, so fitting them into your custom maze matters. Variety in tower archetypes drives different tactical considerations per run rather than a single optimal loadout.
Roguelite run structure with three game modes
Each run assembles a different mix of towers, block cards, and relics drawn from random pools, and Adventure Mode strings stages together with boss encounters. Endless Mode offers 80-plus event maps plus competitive leaderboards for score chasers, while Enigma Sanctum is a faster mode that challenges you to build the strongest defense from a restricted card set. The structure supports both long-session runs and short bursts of progress.
Heroes, talents, and post-battle growth
You pick a character and flame before each adventure, and every battle grants experience that feeds into a talent tree for the next run. Weekly and daily challenges rotate in additional objectives for players who want reasons to revisit a familiar mode. The progression loop emphasizes learning from failures rather than unlocking power through sheer repetition.
Polish, accessibility, and controller support
The game ships with full controller support covering DualShock and DualSense pads, Steam Cloud saves, achievements, and Steam Trading Cards. Reviewers consistently describe the visuals, audio, and UI as smooth and well-animated, which matters for a game where you read the battlefield closely each wave. The developer has also been active in pushing updates and responding to feedback during and after Early Access.
What players are saying
What keeps coming up positively
- The tetromino maze-building hook feels fresh compared to standard fixed-path tower defense games, with many players comparing it favorably to classic Warcraft III custom maps
- Towers and heroes offer genuine variety and let players experiment with wildly different strategies from run to run
- Runs feel meaningfully different thanks to randomized towers, relics, and block hands, which encourages replayability
- Difficulty can be adjusted to suit either a casual playthrough or a hard challenge, broadening the appeal
Where the friction shows
- Difficulty curves inside a single level can spike unpredictably between waves, making some stages feel uneven or confusing
- Interface clutter gets in the way during fast moments, with players reporting they miss using items or upgrades in time
- Progression later in the game leans on repetitive grinding runs rather than skill-based unlocks
- Enemy variety is limited and many foes can be handled with the same broad strategy, reducing pressure to adapt tactics
Is it worth buying?
At $16.99 on a 15% discount off a $19.99 regular price in USD, Emberward sits in an approachable price tier for a roguelite with this much content, especially given its multiple modes and ongoing updates. Players who strongly dislike grind loops or fiddly interfaces have legitimate reasons to wait for a deeper discount or more patches. Anyone aligned with the punishing-mastery loop and maze-building hook will likely feel the current price is fair.
Price checked 2026-09-28：$16.99，down from $19.99（15% off）。Player-fit tags
Good fit
- Players who enjoy roguelite runs and learn best through repeated failure and experimentation
- Tower defense fans who specifically want to design maze layouts rather than place towers on fixed paths
- Short-session players who want meaningful progress in runs that can be paused or ended quickly
- Strategists who like comparing different tower and hero combinations across runs
- Controller players who prefer couch play with full pad support
Probably not for you
- Players who dislike grind-heavy progression systems in roguelites
- Anyone sensitive to cluttered or sluggish interfaces during time-pressured moments
- Players seeking high enemy variety that forces constant tactical adaptation
- Fans of fixed-path tower defense who have no interest in maze construction
03100FRIENDS review: a charming brick-breaker roguelite for players who love unlocking weird synergies and failing forward
STEAM DEAL · 25% OFF
100FRIENDS
A small, charming roguelite brick-breaker where 50 friends combine into wild synergies, paced for players who enjoy losing runs and slowly unlocking more pieces of the puzzle. Worth picking up if you like Ball X Pit-style build craft and can tolerate a learning curve.
Game highlights
50 friends, 6 biomes, real build depth
Official materials confirm 50 unique friend types across 6 biomes with distinct bosses and minibosses. Each friend fires like a pinball with its own ability, and the game's selling point is how those abilities stack into chain reactions. The pacing is intentionally slow at the start so newcomers can pick up the basics before things get chaotic.
Runs feed a long meta-progression
After each failed or successful run, players collect charms and loot that level up the next attempt. Reviewers describe steadily unlocking new systems like pets, equipment, and cannon options over many hours. One player mentioned being 17 hours in and still finding new things to try, while the official description cites roughly 6 hours for the main story plus bonus challenges.
Towers and physics make every shot a puzzle
Beyond just bouncing friends, players place support towers like pizza (2x friends), fire grandmas (heavy damage), and sound waves (bounce friends back into play). Combined with bounce physics, each shot becomes a positioning puzzle rather than a simple aim-and-fire. Reviewers consistently call the physics solid, satisfying, and "whooshy."
Handmade soundtrack and pixel-art charm
The soundtrack is composed by the solo developer and gets called out repeatedly as punchy, atmospheric, and worth listening to on its own. Pixel art, the quirky friend roster, and the food references give the game a cohesive, endearing aesthetic. Players often describe the presentation as a big part of why they kept coming back.
Solo project with active developer support
100FRIENDS is built by a single developer publishing as TWIN PIXELS, and reviewers note the dev is engaged with the community. That means updates and balance tweaks are likely, but also that content beyond the official scope depends on one person's roadmap.
What players are saying
What keeps coming up positively
- Build-crafting and discovering synergy combos between friends, towers, and cannons feels deeply satisfying once runs click into place.
- Difficulty ramps gradually so newcomers can learn the physics before later biomes demand tighter planning.
- The handmade soundtrack and pixel-art presentation give the game a lot of charm and atmosphere.
- Meta-progression keeps unlocking new systems well past the main story, giving runs real long-term replay value.
Where the friction shows
- Onboarding is rough, with some systems like certain cannons or shot mechanics left unexplained for hours.
- Runs can feel repetitive in the early game while waiting for more friend types and towers to unlock.
- Learning how friend interactions and tower placement actually chain together has a noticeable learning cost.
- Endgame content beyond the campaign relies heavily on bonus challenges and trials, which may not appeal to players wanting a clearer conclusion.
Is it worth buying?
At $7.49 USD (down 25% from $9.99), this is a reasonable price for a small roguelite with a roughly 6-hour campaign and meaningful post-game content. It is not the lowest price ever recorded, but the discount makes it a sensible buy for anyone already interested in brick-breakers with build depth. Players who bounce off the slow tutorial or the grind to unlock systems should wait for a deeper discount or try the demo first.
Price checked 2026-09-28：$7.49，down from $9.99（25% off）。Player-fit tags
Good fit
- Players who enjoy roguelites where failing a run still earns permanent progress
- Fans of Ball X Pit, pachinko, or breakout-style games looking for build-crafting depth
- Tinkerers who want to experiment with synergy combos across 50 friends and 20+ towers
- Solo players who appreciate a small, handcrafted project with an engaged developer
- Listeners who value a strong original soundtrack and charming pixel-art presentation
Probably not for you
- Players who want clear tutorials or fast onboarding without a learning curve
- Anyone expecting a quick, casual arcade experience with no meta-progression grind
- Players looking for multiplayer or co-op, since 100FRIENDS is single-player only
Share this article
