aaversa: Tangledeep does away with what I consider to be some of the more "crufty" and un-fun elements of roguelikes [...] The challenge comes not from memorizing tons of weird interactions and arcane commands, but defeating powerful monsters bristling with abilities in a procedural battlefield. [...]
As you progress through the game, you'll need to learn to bob and weave through the battlefield, use lots of skills [...], select the right weapons [...] and carefully observe your enemies. Many monsters reshape the battlefield [...] while others will push, pull, and knock you around.
There's also the whole town element to the game which provides some fun and unique ways to progress outside of pure combat. For example, you can
capture virtually any monster in the game and make them your [...] If you get multiple monsters, it's possible to breed them together and make new monsters that inherit stats, traits and abilities from both parents!
It's not just a straight shot through a random dungeon, either. There are all sorts of side areas you'll encounter from forests and deserts to frozen ruins with new NPCs, shops, and quests. For the powergamers and min-maxers you can spend dozens of hours customizing your gear [...] and so much more.
The best I can say is that this game was made with love and passion. It's the dream project I've wanted to make my whole life and I've spent the last 2 years making it happen. I think you can see and hear that passion shine through if you play the game :-)
Thanks for coming forward and for the thorough explanation. It is very nice how legacy design traits that are just outdated were avoided and how the game seems to suceed in being different by studying older games, learning what works and what does not work and building on that experience.
Also, from what can be read, it seems that the game provides interesting options while making itself approachable for beginners, also offering ways to tune up and down the difficulty in meaningful, thought out ways.
Finally, some fellow GOGers mention that the overall experience wraps it all; that is very interesting for some players (like here this one) that eventually might leave unless there is a story (or hints of a backstory) and some mysteries to learn about to grip them. Music and small details can do wonders for a game if the game is up to the challenge, too, and it appears that this department was well cared for.
Congratulations for finishing this work of love, and best of luck with this game and any future ones you endeavour to make.
Edit: paragraphs.
