A demo of upcoming ChompBurg has launched on Steam, bringing a roguelike deckbuilder that leans hard into score-chasing arcade sensibilities wrapped in a gothic premise. Developed and published by Crooked Path, the demo lets players control a Dracula acolyte hunting through the maze-laden county of Chompburg, collecting villagers and blood while dodging hunters who patrol the streets. The setup sounds grim, but the gameplay loop focuses on synergy-hunting and customization rather than dark storytelling.
The demo’s core systems center on blood magic experimentation. Players buy, merge, and customize blood strains to create unique strategies, collecting flasks during runs to trigger combo effects that transform them from prey into predator. The county itself becomes a strategic tool, according to the developers.
You’ll customize Chompburg by choosing from over 40 buildings and 10 special road tiles, positioning them on the maze to shape each run. The demo includes three playable cycles, 40 blood strains, 20 buildings and road tiles, and three different mazes to explore. Each run introduces different boss encounters with unique rules that reward careful decision-making about when to engage them.
Score matters here. Collect villagers, defeat hunters, and build synergies tight enough to potentially break free from Dracula’s curse. The demo appears modest on paper. Yet if you’re drawn to arcade roguelikes that let you experiment with deck-building mechanics and reward mastery through high-score runs, ChompBurg warrants a closer look.