Four spells might not sound like much to take into an arena packed with monsters. Give Neophyte half an hour though, and those four spells can become part of a build throwing so much magic around the screen that keeping track of everything trying to kill you becomes a challenge in itself.
That escalation is a big part of what makes Regal Pigeon’s action roguelike so much fun. There are 22 spells to experiment with, more than 70 emblems capable of changing how your build works, and 12 stats to upgrade as you fight through waves of enemies and three increasingly dangerous arenas.
You only get four spell slots, so you can’t simply grab everything and hope for the best. Maybe you want to keep enemies at a distance with a beam of sunlight, surround yourself with spinning arcane blades, or find four spells that become far more dangerous once the right emblems start appearing.
Neophyte spent several years in Early Access before reaching 1.0 in May 2026, and it’s picked up more than 650 Steam reviews along the way. Yet it’s still surprisingly easy to have missed, especially among the ridiculous number of action roguelikes fighting for attention on Steam. If you did, it might be time to start practicing your magic.
Four Spells, Plenty of Possibilities
Choosing which four spells to take with you is only the beginning. Neophyte gives you 22 to experiment with, covering everything from magic that keeps enemies at a comfortable distance to attacks that require getting much closer to the monsters filling the arena. You can swap them between battles too, so finding something new doesn’t mean waiting until the next run before you can start playing around with it.
The more important decisions come when those spells meet the rest of your build. More than 70 emblems can appear during runs, adding effects and bonuses that open up different ways to develop your wizard. There are also 12 upgradable stats split across offense, defense, and utility, letting you push particular parts of your build further as the enemies get tougher.
Get the right pieces together and those four spell slots suddenly don’t feel quite so restrictive.
Things Get Busy Pretty Quickly
There are three arenas to survive in Neophyte, each throwing its own enemies at you before finishing with a boss.
Combat happens in waves, and there’s no automatic firing here to do the hard work for you. You control your movement and spells yourself, dodging incoming attacks while deciding when to use each ability and trying not to get boxed in as more enemies arrive.
Cooldowns mean you can’t simply hammer every spell until the arena is empty either. Knowing when to use something powerful, when to keep moving, and when it’s safe to get closer becomes increasingly important once the screen starts filling up.
Then there are the bosses, which have their own attacks to learn while you’re trying to put whatever build you’ve created to good use.
Half an Hour Can Change a Lot
A complete run takes around 30 minutes, which gives Neophyte enough time to turn your wizard into something much more dangerous without dragging out the journey to get there.
That shorter runtime also makes experimenting with different setups much easier. A run built around keeping everything at range can play very differently from one that encourages you to stay close, while changing a couple of emblems can push familiar spells in another direction entirely.
There are five challenge modifiers to unlock once you’re ready to make things harder, giving you another reason to revisit those three arenas and see whether your latest combination can handle the extra pressure.
Still Plenty of Magic Left to Try
Neophyte isn’t enormous, and it doesn’t pretend to be. There are three arenas, 22 spells, and runs that can be wrapped up in around half an hour. What gives it staying power is how much you can do within those limits.
Four spell slots force you to make choices, while the emblems and stat upgrades give you plenty of ways to turn those choices into something much more powerful. Add manual spellcasting and increasingly crowded arenas, and there’s enough going on to keep you busy even when you already know what’s waiting ahead.
Sometimes becoming an all-powerful wizard doesn’t need an enormous adventure. Thirty minutes, four spells, and a few dozen monsters to practice on will do nicely.