Warm Snow is aiming to be the next big roguelike game, and it deserves the Hades comparisons it draws.
If you're not familiar with the sweet satisfaction of roguelike games, then allow me to link you to this piece, where I go in detail about the hurtful love affair that roguelikes represent. In short: Roguelikes are all about trying and failing, trying and failing, trying and failing... until you get that sweet feeling of accomplishments through means of your own improved skill, rather than hand-holding like in other genres. Now, Warm Snow looks to be another top-tier roguelike, that follows in the footsteps of Hades.
What Is Warm Snow & Why Is it Amazing?
Warm Snow is all about throwing blades. Literally. The game starts you off with six swords that you throw at enemies and recall them. That's the basic foundation, along with a beautiful and rare Chinese fantasy visual.
Story-wise, you play Bi-an, a warrior that battles the Five Great Clans, each having their own theme: Wolf, swine, crane, turtle, tiger, dragon. Thus, you have your five areas, each with the roguelike-typical tough a** at the end. As is the name of the genre, you pick up better weapons and skills with every run, and you'll have to start over with every death. Aside from throwing your blades, you also have plenty of melee options, and Buddhist gods as accomplices, who give you special powers.
Just like Hades, Warm Snow tells an engaging story, though it does so via visuals more so than dialogue. It's similar in its approach to games like Dark Souls, in that you have to piece the story together yourself by finding clues scattered throughout the game.
If you wanna give Warm Snow a go, you can find it on Steam for $14,99, and that's where you'll also the game's biggest flaw: Poor localization. Good thing, then, that the story-telling is grounded in visuals...