Catacomb Kids Preview – Hardcore Roguelikes Have a New Name

If you read the name Catacomb Kids expecting something easy or casual, you’ve already fallen for the first of many traps this deadly game presents.

A brutal experience with few comparisons (the recent AAA title Bloodborne comes to mind), FourbitFriday is aiming to take hardcore 2D roguelikes to the next level. The premise is familiar to those who (slightly masochistically?) enjoy the genre: Each play session, a randomly generated character enters the catacombs, always restarting from the beginning. Those play sessions will initially last anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes, and it will be a while before you can progress any substantial amount.

The kids are heroes of different classes, with six in total (though only two are available in the current build), further splitting into five people to choose as the next “victim.” Each differs by statistics, like STR, SPD, INT, equipment, and special traits. The traits seem irreverent, but they can have a huge impact on a playthrough. Playing with a Kid who’s Loud and Clumsy probably won’t help much with sneaking by some of the tougher enemies, but he may have magical armor or some item at the start. There’s a ton of strategy with just the initial choices, and playstyles are sure to further multiply when more classes become available.

Despite the typical appearance of a 2D pixel RPG, the game has a greater depth to controls than most. Playing on the keyboard didn’t seem very practical, so I hastily switched to a pad. It was difficult to manage on the keyboard because there are different buttons for picking up objects, stowing them into a “carry slot,” and using them, not to mention options to roll, use spells, and so on. There’s a heft of additional commands, like sprinting (double-tapping direction), rolling, high jumping, and special attacks that become available with certain weapons and abilities.

The progression goals in Catacomb Kids smartly support its randomly-generated levels. To advance to the next level, you need to find a door, usually quite a good distance from your starting location. Nothing stops you from charging straight to it, though you may easily die from the numerous traps before then. Though the game has a strong RPG skeleton, there’s a nontraditional approach to leveling up; it’s not by killing enemies. Each stage contains an Orb of Leveling that empowers the character, giving two stat choices and one learning point for skills. Putting a point in DEF seems like a passive idea, but behind every stat there’s a number of skills. Raising DEF allows picking Parry or Extra Tough, and increasing STR will let you pick up boulders and use charge attacks. Adaptability and synergy play key roles here, and despite picking Poet (the mage-user class), I would often combo healing magic and pouring points into DEF and SPD rather than MAG or INT, to increase precious survivability even further.

One of the most amazing design qualities of Catacomb Kids is the fact that the smallest, most innocuous things matter immensely. Simple rocks and skulls turn out to be amazing scouts and can set off all the traps in their wake, alerting you to their existence. A thrown torch is even better, since it lights the area. The traits also play big roles, and as mentioned above, a Loud character inadvertently alerts a group of Grumbuls, or a clumsy hero may trip over a rock to their misfortune. Similarly, the many potions scattered throughout the dungeon provide entertainingly risky choices . That’s because, until drank or used, they are unidentified. For all you know, you might be drinking a Fire Potion that bursts you into flames or poison, or something life-saving like Regeneration or Health. Holding the flasks over time gives interesting hints, such as “the potion is cool to the touch” or “smelly,” and it helps to have high INT. They have different colors, but their properties switch with every game. Truth be told, that murky-looking potion starts looking like an option when your health is low.

In essence, Catacomb Kids is about figuring out clever solutions to bypass traps and use those against enemies. This is often tough to pull off (partially also to my relative inexperience). Random generation doesn’t always provide deadly tools in vicinity to enemies, or you might just lack options to set up an ambush. Often, enemies are on shorter ledges, and it’s difficult to make them follow you, because their AI tracks your position horizontally, meaning, they’ll stand right above or below you and not be able to figure out how to walk around this unless you move. Often, it’s easier to just stand at a ledge and keep swiping and hoping the enemy will run into it. Despite this, the enemy AI is otherwise surprisingly good: They roll around you to attack from the other side, keep a good distance if they have a spear or halberd, and often retreat to drink their potions.

I can’t wait for more updates from FourbitFriday. Catacomb Kids already has an excellent foundation and bugs are scarce. I’d like to see the hitbox adjusted around the crushing traps and boulders, because sometimes touching them killed me when they were barely in motion. One issue for me that may not be for others is that the game feels just a bit too fast. Combat is lightning-quick, and it’s often hard to pull off anything clever; the Haste spell doesn’t seem as useful, because a large increase in speed led me to easily walking into traps. But even still, it will be exciting to see new content and the four remaining classes roll out, one of which surely will be some kind of assassin class, as the game already has a solid base for sneaking.

Playing this is an incredibly brutal, merciless experience, requiring lots of patience, skill, and gradual build up of knowledge, mainly from self-discoveries. More skills, spells, weapons, and enemy types will keep each playthrough more and more distinct, especially for those (like me) who spend most of their time on floors one and two, where it gets a bit stale seeing familiar layouts and the same enemy types.  I’m also looking forward to the addition of cooperative play and the prospect of dying together with a friend.

Catacomb Kids is available via Early Access on Steamnow .