Recent reviews by Path of Wolf

I came thinking I would be getting a casual ARPG to grind

Didn't expect diablo souls

Can't get past Act 3

Guess I'm just bad

Oof, not quite sure why this game is on mixed reviews. It's one of a kind (the last time I saw turret-typing games like this was during the flash games era) and has plenty of potential. As an avid typist I've been waiting for typing games like this forever - the only other indie typing game I can think of on steam is epistory, which is really more of a puzzle-rpg.

I haven't progressed much yet in Glyphica but I think the core of the game is sound and enjoyable. I'm a bit confused by the fact that there are a lot of auto-weapons which kill enemies for you on their own, making it difficult to maintain perfect chains since the enemies are dying before you type out the words.

My first experience with a boss wasn't well explained - there's punctuation but you don't have to type it, and it seems like you're punished for not investing into autoturrets during a boss fight? I might be missing something here lol. Either way I'll continue updating my review as I get more hours in.

Tough yes for me, I believe the game is on the very edge of being frustrating to play despite how fun it is (sheer joy of slot machine LbaL) - primarily because the game obviously plays around specific build archetypes but with no way to influence the RNG.

Take for instance if you run arrow/quiver, or shinobi weapons. You can get really ♥♥♥♥♥♥ over by just not getting enough of the necessary build items (I've personally had a run with 3 elven bows but 6 refreshes at the shop got me 0 quivers). Other games might have relics or less consequential choices. But in Spin Hero, if the build archetype you choose doesn't roll for you, it just flat out doesn't work (e.g. bow build will deal 0 damage without more quivers, or your repairable weapons build will go to 0 damage if you don't get blacksmith items, or you will get shinobi belt but have 0 shinobi weapons, wasting a slot)

This by default pushes the game towards the more reliable build compositions such as poison, gold damage scaling on the rogue class, mana weapons...

The other issue is on how ridiculously important shield is on runs. You will rarely win runs speccing into damage because there just isn't enough max hp (or ways to increase max hp) to stop the bosses from hitting for 50, 60 damage on you in a single hit. This means that in many runs you're rolling for high tier armor items over trying to get the perfect build comp. This also skews the game towards archetypes that use less slot machine slots, which drastically reduces build diversity when you're trying for a "win".

That being said, all of the above can be ignored if you're just in for a good time. The core gameplay is enjoyable, even if you die early on in the run. The price is fair for what this game offers too. Ultimately its a good 7/10 given the price, and I can only hope the developers continue to put some effort into updating the game to make it just that tad better. Its not in early access so IDK if the devs will continue updating this, but we could be looking at an indie hit with some additional time in the oven.

This is a tough one, and where a middle option between Yes/No for recommendations would be perfect... the gameplay is fun, the graphics and feel of the collisions amazing, but it's got a hyper-linear upgrade progression, unlike Nova Drift or other roguelikes. I was under the impression that new runs would come with different options, or end of runs would come with new unlocks, but the game as it is right now is very basic - all runs end up having a railgun you control, a shield that also attacks in close range, autonomous turrets on the side, and nukes you can produce (your stereotypical "bomb")

I think the game would have immense replayability if it spent a lot more time in early access and diversified to have unique weapon upgrades. As it stands right now, it's good for maybe an hour, but you'll find that upgrades are basically the same and you're not really getting better progression - just RNG on whether a tough wave spawns.

I will adjust this review in time to come once I see how the devs decide to adjust the game as it spends time in early access.

However, if you're looking for a simple $5 arcade shooter, look no further. This hits hard on the nostalgia. But you'll really just be getting that $5 arcade hit and nothing more.

Also, I understand if my review is a bit harsh - I'm expecting people who like this game more than me to comment "Not every game needs to be a roguelike you baffoon!" - but like I said, if steam offered something beyond a "yes/no" system, this would likely trend towards an above-average for me. That being said, if it had better upgrade systems and less linear progression, this would be a 10/10 for me easily.

Just 1 run in and I'm super stoked about how good this game is. Everything that was great about dicey dungeons, this game does 5x better - adding layers upon layers of mechanics that don't convolute the gameplay but rather multiply its brilliance.

I'm actually shocked this game hasn't become more popular... it's easily top 5 in my "STS-like" list. Unlike most deckbuilders, you can very much easily control your outcomes since you get a small maximum number of spells to cast. There's much less RNG as you don't really end up building a bigger deck. If anything runs feel like you're fine-tuning an engine that happens to follow what the run wants to give you. Comparing this to STS-likes where building a bigger deck becomes more frustrating the higher up in difficulty you go, Spellrogue's engine-tuning gameplay makes for a much more compelling loop.

If you're on the fence about investing in yet another STS, don't worry about this one - it's worth the sale price and more. I wish I bought it sooner rather than wait for a sale.

This game is really the ultimate Loot "idle". I almost want to say I wish melvor idle's combat and loot systems are like this game, except it wouldn't be possible because even though the game is described as an "Idle" game, I Cannot. Stop. Looting. (in a good way)

The game throws you a ton of loot (like almost 1 per second) and a bunch of auto-filters that help greatly with the process. You can play it as an idle game and let the game's natural looted stats form your upgrade path, which is probably a more chill way to play, or you can go really heavily indepth and spend your materials to modify and reroll your loot pieces yourself to make really obscene pieces that won't see an upgrade for HOURS.

The craziest part? The game doesn't just want you to build 1 team. It starts out with 1, 2, 3 characters, and just when you thought you've happy with the way your team looks, the game throws you AN ENTIRE SECOND TEAM TO GEAR. And I believe that in the end-endgame, you can have even more than these 2 full teams. Or you can gear your characters well enough to solo stages all on their own, and have a ton of dungeons ongoing.

Some of the other reviews have pointed out this is actually a nightmare for them. Well, I'm unsure if this was only added recently, but if you are not interested in manually working out upgrades for your characters at all (and just want to feel the joy of picking up overpowered "Divine" gear), there is a button next to your inventory that lets you auto-select the best upgrades based on gear you looted - I use this fairly often even playing the game actively. It doesn't take into account what you can reroll via the blacksmith, but it is a significantly more chill way to enjoy the game without worrying too much about the stats.

Ultimately, the game lets you choose how much real-time you want to spend on it. If you've only got 5-10 minutes a day, I'm pretty sure you would be happy loading up your save to press buttons, see how far you can take it on a new dungeon, and log off. Or you can spend every minute looking through gear like me and play your heart out. Lootun!

Latest patch really fixed the balance on skills in the game. Last year there would always be a super high performing build that made going other themes really frustrating at high curse intensity (difficulty), now you can go pretty much any thematic build and find a way to make it work!

It's Little Fighter 2 from my childhood but with vtubers, I'll take it

It doesn't have the gambly feeling of monstertrain/underlords/autochess, but it's a good single player interpretation. I think outside of comparing it to those games, it's a great roguelike that I would easily give a 9/10.

With further development it could really become more spicy!

I'm a huge fan of roguelikes and bullet hell games and this game is the distillation of both - concentrated, unadulterated fun. If you've played games like geometry arena or nova drift, this will be right up your alley.

While there are many good things to say, some early access feedback:

- On Kill effects don't seem to scale well for fighting bosses, which are the main challenge in every stage.
- Many perks come with a negative that don't necessarily advance the gameplay loop - for instance, a lot of weapon upgrades tend to come with a minus ability cooldown negative, when having a non-upgraded ability can come in handy at times.
- Ability to adjust cursor in settings would be nice - current cursor is too thicc and similarly colored to the player ship.
- Auto aim with mouse override as the left click (available in options) should really be the default, it would make the gameplay a lot smoother.

Overall, worth every penny and would recommend even in its current early access!