Addition By Addition
Sometimes - adding additional elements to an already-proven formula in a genre can lead to unnecessary convolution. However, in some instances, it can unlock an extra layer of satisfaction.
First and foremost, Supergiant Games are my all-time favourite game developers
They're the creators behind incredible titles such as Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and more recently - Hades and Hades II. The latter two entries, in particular, could be argued as their "coming out" party to many not familiar with their earlier titles. Quite simply - the games were fantastic action rogue-lite games with a memorable story and memorable characters.
The key elements in those games? Narrative between runs, satisfying weapons, procedurally generated boons to choose in-between encounters, and dynamic boss fights. Hades II did a commendable job with increasing scope from the formula in the original Hades by adding the overworld as a completely new area to play in with its own interesting mechanics. Ultimately though, the core gameplay loop was extremely similar - as many sequels tend to be.
So, how do you evolve a gameplay genre/loop that's already proven and well adored by fans and critics alike? How do you make this type of game differently while still feeling familiar?
Enter: Echoes of Mystralia.
Keep the gameplay loop familiar, but add around the edges
Borealys Games
Echoes of Mystralia is an action-heavy spellcrafting ARPG roguelite, where rapid combat meets deep customization. Craft your own spells, unlock new combinations, fight epic bosses, and discover a narrative-rich world that never plays the same twice.
Echoes of Mystralia is unabashedly a "Hades-like", for the purposes of this post. And I mean this with incredible sincerity. It's a game that is attempting to tell a story intertwined between runs, with characters that will change along the way. You go through a series of battle rooms/encounters, and after vanquishing all enemies, you are met with a choice of the next room to enter, with an icon above it indicating what power-up/boon you will receive. So far so good, right?
How EoM does builds differently
Instead of having multiple unique weapon types that play very differently like Hades, Echoes of Mystralia has 4 simple elemental attacks (albeit, that can be upgraded and can change form later) based on the 4 elements - Ice, Wind, Fire, Lightning. From these, you can select two to use as your attacks for the entirety of that run. The variation, then, comes in the form of triggers and modifiers.
Triggers are akin to a "major" buff to your attack. Perhaps you want to make your lightning bolt spell also inflict Chill damage, or make your wind spell split into three forms that do a subset of damage. They are the building blocks of your build. How you modify them, then, comes in the form of modifiers.
Modifiers, then, are added along a node tree that map into your overall spell. The effects are then applied in series. If you want to add a "Bounce" effect to your spell - you would add a modifier that adds "Bounce" to your attack further down the node tree.
Better yet - you're not locked into these decisions - you can make changes at any point (outside of combat) during your run. Triggers and Modifiers can also be upgraded if you happen to pick instances of them as your end-room rewards provided they are at the same level already.
Adding variety to the world map
The other area that Echoes of Mystralia keeps this sub-genre fresh is to add procedural world map choices.
Unlike Hades and Hades II where you have the exact same locations that you tackle in the exact same order, Echoes of Mystralia adds a very subtle wrinkle to this: You are given choices as to which "subset" path you take going from "major point A" to "major point B" (typically a Boss and end of area). It's subtle - and it adds just a tiny bit of difference (even if visual only) in-between runs. The map itself will feel similar to other games that do similar mechanics like Mewgenics, Slay the Spire, etc.
A game worth playing and seeing for yourself
If you're a fan of this sub-genre, you owe it to yourself to check out Echoes of Mystralia to see these subtle differences in action. Do I like this game more than Hades or Hades II? I don't think so, but do I ever appreciate it and appreciate its existence.
Who knows, though? It's been the game I've been thinking about most lately - so perhaps my mind will change once I play it more.
Check out *Echoes of Mystralia* on Steam now. If you want to see me play the game in action, check out the following VOD:
GRIDDLYBEAR is an Indigenous and neurodivergent Canadian, father, husband, brother, and goof. He streams on Twitch twice a week, and can be seen hanging around numerous internet dwellings including Kinda Funny and Hang Time. Don't ask him what the latest meme is though - he likely won't know. For a Canadian he's also weirdly obsessed with Philadelphia sports teams - GO BIRDS.