Iratus: Lord of the Dead Reviews

Drives me crazy and i love it

Hot take: I actually enjoyed this more than Darkest Dungeon.

good way to spend a quick 15 to 25 min at a time

this game delivers a fresh twist on the tactical roguelike, making it a blast for strategy enthusiasts who enjoy a darker aesthetic. One of the game's most commendable aspects is its reverse dungeon-crawling approach, which puts players in the shoes of the undead, commanded by the nefarious necromancer Iratus. This innovative perspective allows for engaging gameplay mechanics, such as managing various minions and utilizing a plethora of unique abilities to conquer foes. However, despite its intriguing premise and artistic charm, the game can feel somewhat repetitive over extended play sessions. The difficulty curve is also quite steep, which might get on the nerves of casual players. Nonetheless, for those willing to embrace its challenges, it really offers a fun experience that stands out in the crowded landscape of strategy games.

This was is great. I had a lot of fun playing it, but forgot to leave a review. The game balance feels right, and if you plan your strategies with your units, you should prevail. Really nice look and feel. The developers obviously cared about their game, and it shows. Looking forward to the release of their next game.

Excellent Darkest Dungeon style Roguelike. Highly recommended, stands on its own merits.

love the game, but after some time i couldnt start my game anymore without getting a bluescreen of death.

To be fair, its pretty much a bare-bones DD. The difficutly is not even close and the builds are much more simple. Took me four stagers (levels) to lose a battle, BUT, the game was made with love and is an absolute blast.

"Rogue-like" does not describe the game well. Create minions from multiple types, and unlock more types. Each has 6 basic powers. Including, melee, various magic, ranged, defense, buff, de-buff, etc... Powers can be tweaked. Minions can be equipped (a little). Pick 4 you have developed, and lead them into a battle. You will mostly be casting spells in the battle. Battles are 4 on 4 (mostly) and tactically simple. Battles provide the rewards for minions and their boss (you). Boss development includes potions, spells, alchemy, etc. Simple to grasp, but lots of options and layers. Once you unlock something it remains unlocked, both good things and bad things, in subsequent play throughs. Minions will die. Just as you can critical your opponents, they can critical you. Plan to replace folks. But you won't have to start your new folks @ level 1, the game keeps you in the flow. The mix and match options to create various teams with different strengths and vulnerabilities, and finding the tweaks and gear to make a sweet team is the core challenge. Sadly, there are some weak types and it would be better if some rewards tied back to more of the stats and skills, e.g. potion making. The artifact system is weak. It needs some sort of player driven growth, level savvy rewards, or both. The things that do grow are good, but almost everything SHOULD progress, many things don't. Still, it is very much a, "just one more battle" game. Pro's 65% Cons 35% (Play hours are inflated by me having the game on in the background, I have played through twice prior to this review.)

Comparing this directly to Darkest Dungeon (not DD2) since that's what most players will be doing. Iratus: Far less RNG No grinding, less time wasted on leveling new units More flexible for build experimentation Play as the bad guy Token system similar to Darkest Dungeon 2 Runs on potato PCs Darkest Dungeon: Much more depth Unparalleled atmosphere Iconic artstyle and aesthetic Also runs on potato PCs Final verdict: Iratus is the best $4 I've ever spent on a game