Fans of fast-paced first-person shooters that send you beyond the earthly plane to murder demons while heavy metal plays in the background should have their interest piqued by a certain upcoming release. No, no, not another Doom. We’re talking about an indie game called Into the Pit, which looks absolutely bananas. Microsoft showed off a first look at its Gamescom stream earlier today.
See just how bananas for yourself:
Into the Pit casts you as a travelling mystic on the hunt for “occult power.” One of your cousins stumbles upon a demonic portal in a ramshod, farflung village overcome by eldritch horrors. Your cousin’s communiques, which had previously been frequent, halt. So obviously you have to go check things out.
Though details about Into the Pit are currently thin, the setup is clear: You dive into that demonic portal. Rather than boring old guns, you cast spells. As you explore, you can rescue captured villagers, who will then build out the town and open up various shops. You can further mix and match your permanent unlocks and upgrades to customise how the dungeon manifests during each of your runs.
Yes, “runs.” That’s right: It’s a roguelike…with nakedly apparent Doom inspirations — from the shred-heavy music to the brisk movement to the whole “killing demons” thing — written on its sleeve. Sign me the heck up. (My editor also suggested the game has some Hexen and Heretic vibes. I admit I haven’t played those but they sound cool, and the association might fire up those who have.)
Read More: I Guess I Actually Like Roguelikes Now
The past few years have offered no shortage of terrific roguelikes, but most of the best — whether it’s the hellish horrors of Dead Cells or the godlike thrills of Hades — are third-person action games. I’m curious, excited even, to see how a tight first-person shooter roguelike plays.
Into the Pit is planned for an October 19 release on Xbox One and PC, and will launch as part of the Xbox Game Pass library.
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