Between Monster Train 2 and the upcoming Slay the Spire 2, competition among the best deck-building roguelikes is tough, and that’s without even branching into the Balatro side of the equation. What I will jump on, however, is something with a strong style and flavor such as Starless Abyss, or with a unique mechanical hook like Die in the Dungeon. Newcomer Malys offers both of these, and Summerfall Studios has an extra ace up its sleeve in the form of worldbuilding from co-founder and former Dragon Age creator David Gaider.
Malys has just leapt out of early access on Steam, and I’m just as enamored with its art direction and tone as I was back when it first landed. In the role of ‘priest turned demon hunter’ Noah, you’re picking your path through a noir-soaked city in search of a particular prey: the eponymous Malys, “a demon of extraordinary cunning and power.” To get there, you’ll need to deal with the locals, many of whom are possessed by entities that’d put Metaphor Refantazio’s strangest foes to shame. This is where the card game begins.
The presentation of battles is immaculate. Your victim is strapped to a chair as the demon rises up behind them, twisted and gargantuan, their deep red hues striking against the monochrome world. Noah doesn’t deal in mana, but rather trades his own deck out to invoke the powers and tools needed to exorcise victims of demonic corruption. Here, the ‘cost’ you pay represents the number of cards you must burn from your hand to play your chosen tricks, creating an endless string of tough decisions about what to keep.
Things get even tougher when you face a greater demon. These beings are initially able to obscure their very form and name from your sight, meaning you won’t know what they’re planning to do until you can force them to reveal themselves. Once you’ve done so, however, you’ll just be exposed to their full wrath, escalating matters even further.
Finally, as your foe begins to weaken, there’s one more stage you’ll have to handle, and it’s often the most tense part of the process. Drawing on the very life force of their host, the demon will pull out their deadliest desperation moves. This poses yet another problem, as you need to force them out while ensuring that the victim doesn’t die in the process. When Noah fails to protect a host, or his own will falters, the run ends and the night starts over with only he and a select few others aware of what happened.
Gaider told us in an interview earlier this year that Malys started life as a side project, and that the team wanted to offer something with more gameplay bite than the studio’s previous story games. “Honestly, I just really like deckbuilders,” he explained, noting that “I love roguelikes where the run, the repeating element, is a diegetic thing. Where the characters know it’s happening and not just ‘we try again.'”
Malys 1.0 is out now on Steam, and you can expect to pay $14.99 / £12.79. Get it here. If, like me, you’re open to a unique twist on a familiar format that comes in at a reasonable price, it’s certainly worth your time.
For more great options from smaller teams, take a look through the best indie games on PC. Or test your brain with the best strategy games instead.
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