I’m rather partial to a clever deckbuilder, and I’m also a big fan of tile-placement board games. And so, with Moonsigil Atlas presented as a fusion of the card-playing antics of Slay the Spire and the tile-placement tactics of Carcassonne, you can bet your procedurally-generated bum that I was going to take a closer look.
If I’ve got it right, each card represents a sigil, and you can position these sigils on a board (that also happens to be the moon). This system means that efficient sigil/tile placement will allow the player to take more actions.
Your played cards will do damage to huge celestial beings called Astral Titans, in abstract battles that will settle the fate of the universe (no pressure, then). These Titans will even be able to play their own sigils on your board, no doubt ruining your best laid plans…
When can we expect Moonsigil Atlas?
Announced just a few days ago, Moonsigil Atlas is, as far as I can see, the debut title from a boutique indie studio called Snake Tower Games. Apparently, the game was conceived during Ludum Dare 52, where the first iteration of it was made in just 48 hours!
A lot has changed since then, no doubt, with the developer building a game around three playable characters, each of whom will have access to hundreds of upgradeable cards as well as “mysterious boons” that should shake things up and diversify gameplay further.
The release is currently pencilled in for 2025, and so I’ve got my fingers crossed for a demo sooner rather than later. In the meantime, if you’d like to do the whole wishlisting thing, head over to the new Moonsigil Atlas Steam page. Before you do that, however, cast thine eyes at the announcement trailer beneath these ramblings…
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Still with us? Of course you are! If you want to keep reading about great hand-picked rogues, the following articles represent a huge collection of the best roguelike games ever made.
Next, there are genre-specific lists that delve into the best roguelike games of all types. I’ve pulled out the best examples from each category, alongside the links to more in-depth articles!
The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.
Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!
Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.
Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.
Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all. There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!
