Roguelikes are an excellent fit for the Early Access format we’ve seen more and more titles utilize, but the constant new releases can get hard to track. With so many games dropping and then actively being supported, titles can slip through the cracks, even when they’re super solid.
Recently, Cinderia almost passed me right by, and after getting plenty of time to play it, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make sure it reaches all the players it deserves to.
Another in a long line of indie games from MyACG Studio, Cinderia takes notes from many of the genre’s recent successes while infusing it with a style all its own.
Is this gothic roguelike the next Early Access darling? I think it just might be, but let’s go in-depth on why that is.
Charming, Cutthroat Chibis
The first immediate draw is the games visual style, both in its intro cinematic and gameplay. It opens with a gorgeous storybook styled cutscene, going over a brief history of Cinderia, its tribulations, and the seemingly cyclical witches that wish it harm.
Gameplay pivots to an adorable chibi-inspired style that still manages to give every character, enemy, and environment genuine texture. The marriage of cutesy proportions and gritty coloring gives it a style I’ve seen rarely used, already all but mastered here.
Some animations, especially on enemies, are a bit stiff, but the smoothness of the player characters and the amazing feeling of piloting them makes me confident these issues won’t survive active development very long.
For a game in as early as version 0.6, the style feels whole and confident. And that’s not even going over the music. While not super standout, each theme allows the game’s various areas to feel their own, and the boss tracks are especially frenetic.
The Forest’s boss has a great mix of fairytale Fae energy and pounding rhythm, making what could be a frustrating boss a whole lot of fun.
Mountains of Munitions
In a roguelike, your skills are everything, and Cinderia provides plenty of variety while giving your playstyle a bunch of synergy. Abilities can further be upgraded with branching trees, allowing you to build even individual abilities differently in back-to-back runs.
In addition to the spells and passives on offer, Cinderia has four playable characters to find, each with unique abilities and playstyles.
You start with Rue, a red-hooded assassin who can very easily abuse the Backstab mechanics for extra damage while keeping herself safe. On the other hand, my personal favorite, Rivet, is all about heavy ordinance.
Rivet packs turrets, bombs, and a massive Tristana-esque cannon with all kinds of ammo. We’ve got mages, summoners, every fantasy archetype that could fit in the setting shows up, and each is a ton of fun in its own way.
The sheer range of abilities is astounding, with every character boasting multiple potential builds that mix and match wonderfully. I’ve never gotten frustrated with my selections, which is a nice change of pace from other Roguelikes that have clearly good and bad options.
Combat is frenetic, rewarding good positioning with bonus backstab damage, effective AOEs, and plenty of ways to mitigate incoming damage if you’re ready for it.
Aside from some controller hiccups that the devs have already acknowledged, Cinderia feels like a dream to play. The folks at MyACG Studio seem to know how smooth the game is as well, because bosses are refreshingly tough without ever feeling unfair.
It’s not often you get a game where the people behind it are this confident in what they’re putting together, and it’s great to see.
Progression and Plot
The in-between run progression is the other part every roguelike needs to nail, and Cinderia’s home base-focused construction is solid fun. Each run will see you gather various materials from enemies, and each can be uniquely used to permanently empower yourself.
Soulfire Blessings provide small, stackable buffs for combat, ranging from bonus damage, starting cash, and even Death Defiances. Witch Research can open up new functions from each room type, and even unlock new ones.
The most satisfying to pursue comes from the Blacksmith, who takes Stone alongside other resources to upgrade the Shelter and introduce rooms for each NPC residing in it.
Not only does this unlock all kinds of new progression points to go through, but it also visually upgrades the Shelter, giving you great feedback as you progress.
The little bits of plot are genuinely pretty engaging, especially the opening crawl when you first start a save file. Each character is fun in their archetype, but they aren’t anything crazy.
The hints of plot currently in the game have me very excited to see what story MyACG Studio wants to tell, and I’m definitely going to stick with the game to find out.
The Slightest of Stumbles
In its current form, Cinderia is a really solid purchase for its cost, but if you’re looking for a fully polished experience, it may be worth waiting. As mentioned before, some animations are clearly still in early stages, especially on enemies in later areas.
Alternatively, random background audio issues persisted throughout my time with the game. Nothing debilitating, but enough to be noticed and annoy.
A few items were also fully untranslated, an issue acknowledged by MyACG Studio in an opening message about the localization. Again, understandable based on the game’s current state, but hiccups exist either way.
In the end, Cinderia is a genuinely stellar showing from MyACG Studio, balancing quick as hell combat, solid presentation, and an addicting roguelike loop that has me hooked. If you’re open to supporting a game in progress with a lot of potential, give it a shot; you won’t be wasting your time!
