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Following my time with in excess of 200 fresh titles this year, It's time to wrapping things up on 2025. My annual roundup is published, and I am at peace with the concluding selections, despite being aware numerous stellar titles may have dropped under the radar. Now, there's nothing for me to do other than unwind, unplug a little, and possibly go for a nice walk in the— ah crap, found another amazing experience. So much for my peaceful respite!

An Early Favorite Surfaces

With my laid-back sessions, usually reserved for a few oddball curiosities, I've discovered what might become my earliest beloved game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual roguelike for Windows PC that reimagines a classic dungeon crawler into a chance-driven game of major consequence risk and reward. View this a preview for the in-the-know: If you relish in knowing about a game before it hits the mainstream, sample Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your indie credit card.

A Calculated Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a thought-provoking procedural game that's a departure from all I've ever played. The premise is that you are tasked with descending into a dungeon, descending floor after floor to find the sun, which has disappeared from its world. In practice, this creates some familiar roguelike structure. Pick a hero possessing unique attributes and skills, fight through each level of foes, acquire some permanent upgrades (in the form of teeth), and overcome a few area guardians. Straightforward, right!

The Distinctive Gameplay Loop

How you actually clear a dungeon room, however. Whenever you begin a fresh level, the game presents a sixteen-square board of boxes. All spaces holds a monster, a treasure chest, a trap, or a life-giving berry. To make a move, you just select on one of the horizontal lines, but the exact space you land in is a matter of probability.

You could encounter a row with two monsters, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You start with a 25% chance of selecting a specific tile in a row.

After that, the chances are recalculated. The question becomes: Do you press your luck, or do you click on a different row first and try to make more cautious selections early? This is the risk-reward dynamic on display in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing once you get its rhythm.

Manipulating Probability

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated during an attempt by collecting teeth that change what things you're drawn toward. To illustrate, you may obtain a perk that will lower your chances of encountering a trap, but will similarly reduce the odds of finding a reward too.

• Crafting a loadout is about manipulating math optimally to have a better shot at getting your desired outcome.
• In one run, I put all my attribute improvements toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth possible that would improve my probability of attracting me toward monsters aligned with that strength.
• On a different attempt, I developed my adventurer around reward boxes and paired that with a perk that would weaken adjacent enemies each time I opened a chest.

The strategic possibilities are limited, but it provides ample to engage with to let you manipulate the odds the way you want.

An Ever-Present Risk

Unsurprisingly, it remains a game of chance. There remains the possibility that you have a likely outcome to land on the desired tile but ultimately choose on an enemy that would eliminate your last bit of health. Every move is a gamble, so a persistent nervousness exists as you navigate a level and choose whether to continue selecting or to advance to the subsequent stage rather than pushing your luck.

Consumables including destructive ordnance aid in reducing the chance, just like some character abilities. A particular character's special power, powered up by making four moves, lets gamers to choose a column in place of a row during that action. If you play this move wisely, you can hold that ability for the right moment to sidestep a dangerous choice. You'll find an astonishing level of strategy in the basic action of clicking.

The Road to 1.0

Sol Cesto is currently in its preview phase, and it has at least one more update planned until the final game is unleashed. Another playable adventurer and a new boss are expected to drop by the end of January. The full launch likely won't be much later, but the studio haven't set a final date yet.

A Concluding Thought

Whenever the complete game arrives, you might want to put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. I have been positively obsessed with it, finding all of hidden nuances and saving my accumulated currency per attempt to access a constant flow of permanent unlocks, including additional heroes and items available for acquisition while playing. I still haven't completed the dungeon, and I suspect I'll continue attempting that goal when 1.0 finally hits. Sign me up for the complete journey.