Elias has a scythe, a mysterious companion, and a fairly serious problem. He’s trapped inside a nightmare, and the only way out is to fight through dangerous enemies, defeat bosses, and find doors that don’t always appear where you’d expect them to. Dying doesn’t help much either.
Conquisterra Roguelie launches today on Steam, bringing a 2D action roguelike from developer Ilustreverso and publisher Gigantic G. You’ll fight your way through the nightmare using two different scythes, collect upgrades to improve your chances, and gradually uncover why Elias ended up here in the first place.
There’s also a choice waiting somewhere along the way, between accepting a comforting lie or facing a painful truth. Neither sounds appealing, but first you’ll need to stay alive long enough to find out what they mean.
Two Scythes Are Better Than One
Elias isn’t going into the nightmare empty-handed. He carries a physical scythe and a Spirit Scythe, giving him different ways to attack the enemies standing between him and the next stage. Combat is fast, with attacks, blocks, parries, and dashes all playing a part in keeping him alive.
You’ll need to do more than swing at everything that moves. Blocking and parrying give you ways to deal with incoming attacks, while dashing helps you reposition when an enemy gets too close or a fight starts going badly. There’s also a healing ability, although knowing when it’s safe to use it is another decision you’ll need to make.
Bosses are waiting throughout the nightmare too, and getting through those encounters means learning how to use the different parts of Elias’s moveset rather than relying on the same attack every time. Then there’s the small matter of finding your way forward.
Doors appear in unpredictable locations, so reaching the next stage isn’t always a case of following the same route you took before. You’ll need to explore, fight through whatever gets in the way, and adjust your approach depending on what the current run throws at you.
Each Run is Different to Keep You Hooked
Defeating enemies earns Memory Points, but those aren’t the only rewards you’ll find during a run. Combat Blessings let you change how Elias fights, with upgrades that can strengthen his basic attacks, improve special abilities, or help him survive longer. Other resources can be collected along the way, giving you more options as you put together a build.
You could concentrate on dealing more damage with your scythes, improve the abilities you rely on most, or give yourself a better chance of surviving the next boss. What’s important is making use of what you find.
With doors appearing in different places and new blessings available during each attempt, you won’t necessarily have the same options every time you enter the nightmare. A useful upgrade may encourage you to change how you’re fighting, especially if it improves an ability you weren’t making much use of before.
Of course, none of those upgrades will help if Elias ends up dead.
You Can’t Take Everything With You
Death sends you back to try again, but Conquisterra Roguelie doesn’t make you start completely from scratch. The resources collected during a failed run are lost, while your Memory Points remain. Those can be spent on permanent upgrades between attempts, making Elias stronger before he heads back into the nightmare.
That means even a run that ends badly can still help you make progress. You may not reach the next boss or find the door you were looking for, but the enemies you’ve defeated can still contribute towards making the following attempt a little easier. Over time, those improvements give you more room to experiment with different Combat Blessings and work out which abilities suit you best.
There’s also the story to uncover. Elias begins as a young prisoner trapped in a nightmare, with a mysterious ally helping him search for answers. As you push further, you’ll learn more about his fate and the truth behind the place he’s trying to escape.
Conquisterra Roguelie launches today on Steam for PC, with its scythe-based combat, permanent upgrades, and unpredictable stages.