PC Gamer - UK (2022-06)

R

oguelikes have become so

ubiquitous they’ve invaded

history. Here’s a roguelike

made for ye olde original Game Boy

• as in, you can download the ROM
  and play it on the actual hardware.
  You can also play it in your browser,
  delving into the dungeon to save an
  imperilled fantasy kingdom.

Traumatarium is a pretty simple

game. I was reminded of the board

game Escape the Dark Castle, which

contains a dungeon made up of 15

shuffled event cards. That’s how the

world is constructed here, as a series

of rooms presented in a random

sequence, with randomised events

occurring as you search each room.

You’re linearly shunted along, before

you face the end game boss.

It’s a game of taking, or avoiding,

calculated risks. Winning the

turn-based battles grants experience,

but in doing so you’ll chew through

items to recover your health. Should

you try to avoid combat, and hoard

your medicine for the upcoming

boss instead? It’s an engaging

enough system, although I found

that boss to be a pushover that I

defeated easily on my first time

through. Still, I was inspired to play

the game again, where I was

rewarded with a notably different-

feeling dungeon.

The weakest element is the

combat, which is turn-based but

sorely lacking in options. You can

attack, use an item and there’s

actually no third thing, no way to

prevent the enemy damaging you.

While it’s too small in scope to

have been a legitimately published

Game Boy game,

Traumatarium is still a

striking roguelike that is

worth a play.

S

ome PlayStation-style games
are convincing, while others
feel like modern games with a
couple of filters applied. Happily,
House of Necrosis is the former. It’s
a traditional, turn-based roguelike
mixed with a gory survival horror.

As in most traditional roguelikes,
positioning is hugely important, as
you close the gap between you and
your enemies. If you move next to the
enemy, you can hit them with your
melee weapon, but they’ll get an
attack in return. This can really gouge
your health bar, although there are
ways to mitigate it. Firstly, you can
shoot them from afar, using your
pistol and its limited ammo. You can
also level up in power, by deliberately
seeking out enemies.
The one thing you don’t want to
do is approach a monster from the
side or front, as they’ll get a free

opening hit if you’re in range. The

margin for error is slight, while

life-restoring herbs can be rare, so in

every battle you have to move

tactically. Shoot a monster to gets its

attention, then reach it first to secure

the opening strike. Early enemies die

in only two hits, so that’s nice.

There is a bit of procedural

shenanigans, as in many roguelikes.

One run was bountiful with ammo,

while others have been stingier.

Sometimes you’ll spawn in a room

teeming with enemies. But on the

whole I feel it’s fair, while enemies

can generally be avoided. It’s only on

the later floors that you wonder

whether you should have killed them

for the experience points.

This is a simple yet tactically

compelling roguelike, with

a grungy horror aesthetic

that brought a smile to this

old survival horror fan.

FREE GAMES REVIEWS

89

EXPECT TO PAY

Free

DEVELOPER

Horatiu.nyc

LINK

bit.ly/Traumatarium

NEED TO KNOW

TRAUMA CENTRE

Boy, is TRAUMATARIUM a good game

BELOW: The art’s better than in many original GameBoy games.

EXPECT TO PAY

Free

DEVELOPER

Warkus

LINK

bit.ly/HouseNecrosis

NEED TO KNOW

BELOW: I’d like a bit more meat to the combat. No, not that rotten meat.

Guns are satisfying

and useful, but

ammo can be rare.

HOUSE OF FUN

HOUSE OF NECROSIS is an itchy, tasty horror roguelike

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