Tyrant's Realm

There will be many roguelike games released in 2025, but one of the earliest is Tyrant's Realm and I could not be any more excited for this game! This is made to have a retro original PlayStation look to it and I think that it is so awesome developers are doing this now and not just going for an 8 or 16-bit retro style. This is going to be balls to the wall challenging which along with its very cool dark fantasy setting help make this one of the games I am most looking forward to in the first quarter of the year as I have played the demo to death!

Hmm, Sounds Familiar!

I think that the premise of the plot of Tyrant's Realm is very cool and it kind of reminds me of the trouble that the Belmont family have had in the Castlevania games series. We play as a warrior who is part of a family that for generations has been trying to cast away this big evil force that has pretty much decimated the world. The world is a dark and gloomy shadow of its former self and we are the next in line to pick up the sword, axe or whatever we can get our hands on in order to try and be the one to finally bring this evil to a stop.

Something Nightmarish About These Creatures

What drew me to Tyrant's Realm initially was the awesome retro visual style that the game has. The developer states multiple times that it is the low poly, PlayStation 1 era that they are going for here and I think that is so much fun and it is honestly something I love to see. However, while I have already referenced the Castlevania series, I also think that this game has a bit of the classic Nightmare Creatures about it as well. I played the hell out of the demo of that game, but I never actually owned the original, but I did get Nightmare Creatures II for the Sega Dreamcast and the whole vibe and art style of the game reminds me of that.

The Higher End Of The PlayStation One

While it may be the PlayStation 1 that inspired the developer to make the game look the way that it does, Tyrant's Realm is actually a fantastic looking game and I would put it up there as one of the best that goes for that PS1 style. This game does have a retro look about it, but not in a purposefully janky way if that makes sense. This is actually a fantastic looking game with very cooly designed characters and the animations are nice and smooth as well. Stuff like the ground textures and the blood splatter though do give me major PS1 vibes, especially the early Resident Evil games on the console. However, this is still a great looking title and they clearly have a wonderful creative side with this dark and gloomy fantasy world that they have created.

A True Souls Like Experience

Hey, I am one of the people who is so sick of hearing the term “souls like” yet when I do hear it in a game's description like Tyrant's Realm I am automatically interested in the game! It is a weird catch-22 situation. The souls like gameplay here is awesome. No two runs are the same as the stage and the enemies are randomly generated as is the loot and stuff you will get for completing a run is! This is so addictive and you can have a great run and then a crappy run where it feels like the game is out to get you! What makes this all work is that the controls are nice and snappy and I found myself liking to get in there and attack, but also I was making a real effort to be smart and defensive when needed. It may not try and be as flashy as some other souls like games with its combat, but I honestly think that the gameplay here is all the more fun for this.

Pros:

• I love the gothic dark fantasy setting the game has
• The retro PlayStation 1 inspired visuals are awesome
• The story has a ton of potential
• The souls like gameplay is challenging, but not at the expense of being fun

Cons:

• Some runs may feel a bit unfair
• You do have to be into souls like to get into this game