Ring of Pain

Ring of Pain can be frustrating in its difficulty, but more often than not, it's satisfying and wonderfully creepy.

A speedy roguelite with confusing narrative content that bogs down an otherwise fulfilling blueprint of satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay and positively off-putting visual design. A case of carte blanche backfiring in the face of a finale that fails to uphold a promise on one end, betraying that quick-thinking nature.

Ring of Pain shows creativity and promise, but all to little depth to carry those qualities through. The choices presented by the game are interesting in principle, but in practice your success or failure are determined by luck more than anything else. The result is a game defined by repetition, which struggles to justify the time it asks of you. That said, for a minor price and a fun few runs, you could do far worse as a distraction.

GOOD - Ring of Pain is an artistic blend of casual card combat, procedural dungeon running, with some roguelike mechanics. Its strengths are in the short play sessions, and dynamic outcomes that can be had, along with the more advanced strategy that’s possible. Shortcomings include a heavily RNG based system, where sometimes the cards just won’t be in your favor. Additionally, a lack of really any meta unlockable carry-thru content was a strong disappointment for me. Still, I can see myself jamming on a run or two over a lunch break for the foreseeable future without feeling burned out, which says a lot for this genre.

This is a game designed with a vision which was successfully executed. Playing Ring of Pain to see that execution alone would be worth it. Fortunately, there also happens to be a decently compelling dungeon crawler in there despite some pain points.

All in all, Ring of Pain is a different enough take on the card game genre that it’s definitely going to be a good time. While not perfect, it has enough lurking in its depths to keep you thinking “Okay, well just one more run!”

Ring of Pain has some slight issues that hamper its replayability but, overall, its a dark, atmospheric and well rounded addition to the card rogue-like genre

Ring of Pain probably isn’t something you’ll sit and play for hours at a time. It’s the sort of thing you’ll enjoy a few rounds of before turning it off, more than likely feeling defeated. But it won’t be long before you’re itching to jump back in and try again. There’s something infectious about its simplicity; it’s a roguelike dungeon crawler like no other, and despite the lack of action or actual dungeon-crawling, it’s huge amounts of fun. Even when you’re exploding left, right and centre.

Ring of Pain is an excellent concept which is almost perfectly executed, but falls flat at the final hurdle. The gameplay is as engaging as it is moreish, which is why it's such a shame that the difficulty spike at the end ruins the experience. Hopefully this is something that's amended after today's release.

There's certainly room for improvement in Ring of Pain, but what is here is an intriguing step forward for the genre that's just in time to celebrate the Halloween season. With a few content updates and a rebalance that lets players experience more of the game's arsenal more consistently, this could be a real contender. As it stands, it's an engaging mystery waiting to be solved, a gameplay loop that's perfect for shorter play sessions interspersed with more in-depth dungeon dives done elsewhere.