Knock on the Coffin Lid

While waiting in the GPU queue, I gave "Knock on the Coffin Lid" a go and found it to be arguably the best roguelike deckbuilder I've played so far, even edging out my recent enjoyment of "Across the Obelisk." My timing was perfect too, as its first major DLC, "Nightmares of Millenis," just dropped. Although there were some bugs present in the base game, the recent DLC seems to have addressed many of them, though, as is often the case, new updates might introduce fresh quirks. For the most part, however, the experience is stable and playable.

Based on my 20 hours primarily in the base game, the presentation is solid. The art style is quite pleasant and avoids being garish, while the animations and effects feel clean and well-executed, especially the cutscenes, which were more elaborate than I expected. While I didn't personally focus heavily on the narrative, there's clearly a good amount of story and world-building available for those who appreciate it. The writing also sprinkles in some fun references and memes, some subtle, others quite blatant, like a notable JoJo reference involving the character Vanadis.

The real star, however, is the gameplay. As expected for the genre, replayability is key, and this game delivers it in spades. Each run feels distinct thanks to large maps littered with events, meaningful choices (some with consequences spanning multiple runs), and significant randomness. Even trying the same path yields different results.

There are three distinct base characters (Knight, Lycan, Ranger, the latter two requiring unlocks), each playing very differently. Furthermore, each character has three unlockable subclasses offering unique twists. Some, like the Knight's "Ring of Mercy" subclass allowing you to recruit weakened humanoid enemies, introduce really fun mechanics (though it's a shame it doesn't work on monsters/bosses!). Character choice also influences event options and outcomes, reinforcing the theme of learning information across runs.

Itemization and build variety are fantastic. Luck plays a huge role, you might find an amazing synergistic set of gear (like the once-bonkers 5-piece Elven evasion set that did everything, built-in dodges, double damage, healing, debuffs, now nerfed hard in the DLC hahah) and feel unstoppable, or struggle to even complete basic equipment slots. The randomness can lead to thrilling discoveries, like a run where I combined a reusable potion-generating card with gear granting invincibility on consumable use. It was powerful, but carelessness against a boss still led to defeat, proving you always need to pay attention.

Enemies and bosses generally offer interesting challenges with unique patterns and mini-puzzles to solve, though some encounters, especially on the 'Terrible' difficulty (highest), can feel a bit unfair. Thankfully, many optional tough fights can be avoided with experience.

There are alot of good things I can say about this game, but keeping it short, I fully recommends it, if you enjoy the genre or completely new, it's worth a try.