This is a pretty good Mystery Dungeon game. If you liked Shiren and want more, this is it. A warning though: it's a difficult game with a 99 floors long dungeon and no pre-identified items other than swords/shields.

It's definitely good for a new game, but I don't think it's worth buying if you're looking for the hours of fun, learning and experimenting that most older roguelikes have. But if you like playing games while they're still being actively updated, definitely try this one out.

- Controls are simple, but that's partly due to having no classes or customization, so the starting parts are boring, consisting only of trying out unidentified items and spamming melee attack in corridors. I thought that was because alternative options pop up really quickly, but every wand and book I found did absolutely nothing in combat (plus they weren't identified on use), and I could not find a ranged weapon either. Only a flail to increase my melee damage. Admittedly I have a soft spot for games that let me start out as a magic user.. And customize my appearance..
- Even though the controls are simple, that doesn't mean they aren't repetitive. There's no hotkey system for items like wands
- The translation from Japanese to English is not really clear, has a few spelling mistakes and is sometimes actually misleading. For example: "Walk in place" is the name for the wait/skip turn action and "Fix Orientation" is the name for aim/look action The instructions screen has been fixed!
- No fullscreen, arghh! But it's understandable because it adds to the old style feeling, and the art would probably look bad if zoomed in too much..
- Love the aesthetic
- Any flaws this game has are mostly from missing something that'll probably be added later. It's an otherwise strong foundation and I can't fault much of what's currently already in the game.

I still think the story and art is cool though, and I like the nostalgic vibe the game has.

EDIT: Also, I think the developer listens to feedback, so that's a big plus

This is a game for MEN.

traditional and thoroughly enjoyable 2D roguelike which perfectly sits alongside the classics. Give this a go, and you will not be disappointed!

I'm always looking for traditional roguelikes that can take the tried-and-true formula, strip it down to its essentials, and deliver a streamlined, elegant experience. I feel like The Spiral Labyrinth does this very well.

The staples are here: unidentified items, invisible traps, monsters that'll tear your head off and send you reeling back to the top floor. You know the drill.

There are some quality of life improvements that I found really novel - the movement options are really refined, for example. On top of your default 8-directional movement, you can also move solely diagonally, and there's a really nice "sprint" mechanic which lets you fly around a map at lightning speed. I hadn't seen a movement mechanic exactly like this in a roguelike before and I really appreciated it.

The music is fantastic, the pixel art is crisp, and the overall presentation is solid. I wouldn't mind some higher-resolution display options, though - definitely had to play on a tiny window on my 4K display, which wasn't great.

Just a simple, fast, well-executed traditional roguelike here. Worth a couple bucks. Also, this would be a perfect port to Switch or Game Boy via GBStudio. Just a thought!

Find more reviews and recommendations on my Steam Curator page, Indie Infinitesimal:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41769714/