In a shock to absolutely no-one, I was an emo kid growing up. While my Catholic all-girls high school forbade the use of fluorescent dyes and facial piercings, my weekends were spent perfecting my cheap eyeliner (quite the task when you have a tremor) and haunting Glasgow city center. While you’ll be happy to hear I no longer spend my days skulking around indoor malls, I’ve never quite let go of that gothic aesthetic – it’s never been just a phase. So, when I first saw Reignbreaker, a counterculture-inspired roguelike bearing similarities to Hades, it was like a good ol’ blast from the past.
Described as a “medieval punk roguelike,” Reignbreaker casts you as Clef, a former child solider turned fiesty anarchist. You and your merry band of misfits are tasked with breaking into The Bastion, the gothic seat of power that sits at the heart of The Queen’s domain. Take her down and plunge the kingdom into anarchy by becoming, you guessed it, The Reignbreaker.
Sporting gorgeous, heavily stylized graphics bathed in cyberpunk neons and heavy blacks, you’ll tear your way through various Diablo-style environments, including what appears to be catacombs, dungeons, and laboratories. You’ll have to dodge traps and complete fiendish puzzles to progress, with each stage dropping various different power-ups and modifiers in a similar vein to Hades.
You’re armed with your trusty mechanical javelin, a high-tech version of the traditional medieval lance. It functions as both a fancy lockpick and the perfect bludgeoning device, and is, of course, customizable and upgradable.
There’s no official release date for Reignbreaker at the moment. You can, however, wishlist it on Steam if you fancy some good ol’ fashioned punk rock brawling (or if you want to relive your emo days like me).
While we wait for news, we have a list of all the best action-adventure games if you love hacking and slashing your way through hordes of monsters. Alternatively, in the wake of all of ONL’s announcements, here’s a rundown of all of the upcoming PC games for 2024 and beyond.
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