After being in development for over three years, “Rogue Labyrinth,” the debut title from Tea Witch Games, released earlier this week on Monday, Sept. 1. The indie game studio based in Seattle is run by two developers known as John Bond and Shala, with “Rogue Labyrinth” being created by a team of only four people. This pixel-art action roguelite — a genre based on progressing through procedurally generated floors that restart after each player death — is currently available for PC on Steam, with a free demo available as well with a controller recommended for play.
As stated on the game’s website, Tea Witch Games is “focused on making fun games with strong narratives inspired by their roots.” “Rogue Labyrinth” immediately honors that mission by starting off with a bang of satirical political commentary about colonization and the different perspectives that come with it. Upon beginning the game, players meet the original character Echelon, a billionaire, and discover that he’s taken over the entire country of Lantanas and turned it into a fiercely competitive gameshow. Once someone has reached the end of the labyrinth, they’re crowned the Monarch of Lantanas.
You play as Iris, a dauntless native of Lantanas returning home to speak with the Great Tree Narenga, the cornerstone of Lantanian culture, and reclaim the country. The tree gives off a highly sought-after material called Resin, which can be monopolized by the winner of the competition. The co-host of the gameshow quickly explains that you, like everyone else who enters, must conquer the labyrinth to speak with the tree.
Narenga isn’t just a part of the plot — it’s integral to the gameplay. The core of “Rogue Labyrinth,” in classic roguelite fashion, is strategically choosing buffs and upgrades to get stronger and progress through chaotic rooms of combat. As you defeat waves of enemies in procedurally generated floors, a branch of the tree grants you a Resin blessing to enhance your combat, magic or defense.
Along with waves of enemies, there are rooms containing mini games, special buffs called Artifacts and rest areas where you can heal up and obtain more bonuses. As someone who has never played a roguelite before, I found the system to be easy to learn, and it had me wanting to jump right back in after being defeated.
One of the most interesting features of the game is the unique characteristic of almost everything in combat rooms being a weapon, including trees, rocks and defeated enemies. Once you hit them enough with your bat, they begin to bounce around the room, smashing into enemies. This can be really helpful when you’re low on health and don’t want to risk getting attacked, with the only drawback being that it can be difficult to see what’s going on when there are tons of objects bouncing around your screen.
Another important aspect of the gameplay is relationships. Iris starts off knowing a few characters in the main lobby area before challenging the labyrinth, but you gain more by fighting them in rival matches or coming across them in rest areas. You can choose to befriend these characters for unique buffs and unlock over 1,000 conversations with them.
How you progress is also influenced by your performance, dictating how popular you are with the virtual audience watching your fight for your country. The faster you clear rooms, the more Hype and Fame you gain, which increases your chances of getting audience donations that you can use to get even stronger.
“Rogue Labyrinth” is full of charm with its vibrant pixel-art characters, enemies and environments. Everything from the interactable characters to the NPC audience watching you fight your way through room after room has been carefully thought out. As you go up into new floors of the labyrinth, you explore new environments and fight unique enemies with different abilities, keeping the game feeling fresh even after many runs. This dystopian-fantasy world is vast and complex with tons of lore to uncover — it’s hard to believe that it was developed by only four people.
Any roguelite game can feel intimidating at first, but it’s easy to fall into a rhythm when playing “Rogue Labyrinth” and I found the ever-changing gameplay loop to be addicting. If you’ve never played a roguelite, I would recommend this as a beginner-friendly introduction to the genre, especially at its price. The game is listed at $14.99, but is currently on sale for the first two weeks of release.
Rating: 3.5/5