Our Darker Purpose

A month ago, Cordy’s teacher stepped out of the classroom and never came back. Since then, the Edgewood Home for Lost Children has descended into chaos, its students turning on one another as something far darker takes hold of the school. Somewhere above, in the Administrators’ offices, lies the truth of what’s really happening here.

Our Darker Purpose is a top down, rogue like action RPG from developer Avidly Wild Games, drawing influence from genre defining classics like A Link to the Past, The Binding of Isaac, and Diablo. Battling feral classmates and monstrous creatures through a procedurally generated version of Edgewood with every attempt, Cordy fights her way upward, uncovering more of the school’s dark secrets each time she falls.

What Makes It Different?

• Explore a fully procedurally generated version of Edgewood every playthrough
• Choose your own route through the school, picking which dangers to face
• Assemble randomized perks and upgrades to shape a unique playstyle
• Fight through fast, combat oriented gameplay against bizarre bosses and enemies
• Earn permanent lessons and upgrades from your scarecrow guidance counselor after every death
• Uncover more of Edgewood’s dark story with each new attempt
• Unlock 64 Steam achievements as you learn the truth behind the Administrators

Death Isn’t the End of the Lesson

Permadeath runs deep through Our Darker Purpose, and every version of Cordy’s journey through Edgewood eventually comes to a violent stop. What happens next is where the game sets itself apart. Falling in battle sends Cordy to spend time with her scarecrow guidance counselor, who offers his own strange brand of insight in exchange for the resources earned during the run just ended. Spending those resources on lessons and upgrades means that even a failed attempt leaves Cordy a little stronger and a little wiser heading into the next one.

Build Cordy Your Way

Levelling up presents a choice between two new abilities each time, and the perks and upgrades gathered along the way can be assembled into wildly different builds depending on how you want to play. A tanky bruiser, a glass cannon, or a fleet footed assassin are all valid approaches, and stacking the right combination of skills together can turn Cordy into something genuinely devastating. The house itself never plays out the same way twice either, with multiple routes available through each floor and unique credit tokens waiting to be spent on whichever upgrades suit the path chosen.

How Long Does a Run Take?

A typical run in Our Darker Purpose lasts between 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your playstyle, how thoroughly you explore, and how quickly you conquer the fiendishly difficult floor layouts. As this is a roguelite, a run ends once Cordy runs out of her point based health. Since the game leans strategic rather than run and gun, spending time managing traps and navigating unpredictable enemy combinations can easily stretch a successful later stage floor closer to an hour or more.

While each specific run ends upon death, certain bonuses and persistent upgrades carry over between attempts, slightly easing the difficulty and aiding future runs through Edgewood.

Controller Support

No information available.

Good If You Like…

The Binding of Isaac, bit Dungeon, Sephiria, and Debugging Hero cover similar ground, and Our Darker Purpose earns its place among them with a grim, procedurally generated dungeon crawl that rewards experimentation and punishes carelessness in equal measure.