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Cursemark

Cursemark Game Cover
93%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:optimization, story
93% User Score Based on 289 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Cursemark Game Cover

About Cursemark

Cursemark is a single player open world hack and slash game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by FrivolousKnight and was released on June 8, 2026. It received very positive reviews from players.

Cursemark is an action-exploration roguelike where you forge unique equipment to pierce the depths of the Unknown Lands. Unlock hundreds of items and spells, then discover powerful rune synergies every run in this place beyond the edges of the world.

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Cursemark screenshot
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Reviews

93%Audience ScoreBased on 289 reviews
gameplay24 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • Engaging and fun gameplay loop with rewarding build experimentation through runes, talismans, and skills combinations.
  • Unique blend of roguelike and soulslike elements with a persistent map and increasing difficulty balancing exploration and risk.
  • Beautiful pixel art and atmospheric world design combined with an active and responsive developer providing frequent updates.
  • Controller support is currently clunky and incomplete, causing frustration in menu navigation and gameplay for controller users.
  • Balancing issues remain present, including overpowered rune combinations and some builds feeling underwhelming or mandatory.
  • Early access bugs such as crashes, performance drops, unclear abilities descriptions, and occasional progression blockers.

  • gameplay

    62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    39% positive mentions, 56% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The gameplay is widely praised for its engaging core loop, diverse build and rune systems, and tactical depth, offering satisfying exploration and progression. Some users find certain mechanics, like dashing or upgrade effects, clunky or confusing, and note occasional repetitiveness or visual clutter during combat. Overall, the gameplay is considered solid, fun, and fair, with room for refinement and added content to enhance variety and finality.

    • “Cursemark already has a fantastic gameplay loop that keeps me coming back for "just one more run." The variety of rune and talisman combinations makes build experimentation genuinely rewarding, while the cursemark system adds a tactical layer to route planning and progression decisions.”
    • “A good example of a perfect game: fair price, interesting gameplay loop, no performance issues, and strong replayability.”
    • “The atmosphere is fantastic, the art direction is gorgeous, and the fast-paced gameplay is incredibly satisfying, somewhere between Hades and Hyperlight Drifter.”
    • “I can forgive the clunky UI and animations, but the core gameplay loop is too tedious and exhausting.”
    • “There isn't enough variety in the content to make it feel like a good roguelike and the unlocks aren't important enough to actually affect the gameplay, leaving probably half of the runs feeling like a slog.”
    • “The mechanics of getting orbs to unlock the various weapons, spells, wards and ultimates feels bad.”

  • graphics

    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 36% neutral mentions, 14% negative mentions

    The game features a distinctive and charming pixel art style with a dark fantasy aesthetic reminiscent of classics like Diablo and Dark Souls, which many players find engaging and visually appealing. While the art and overall aesthetic receive high praise for their personality and atmosphere, some users note occasional performance issues like FPS drops and desire more modern graphical options. Overall, the graphics effectively complement the gameplay and contribute to a nostalgic yet fresh experience.

    • “Every environment, enemy, and effect has a lot of personality, and the overall aesthetic gives the game a unique charm that kept me engaged from the very beginning.”
    • “The dark fantasy aesthetic is outstanding, very reminiscent of early Diablo, and the gameplay has a classic Gauntlet Legends feel to it.”
    • “A rune system similar to Path of Exile's gem system, a progression where you feel stronger as you fall each run with beautiful pixel graphics like that of Death Must Die, and puzzles/secrets nostalgically remind me of games like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Castlevania; put that all together and you get Cursemark.”
    • “The art style could and should be improved a bit; it's 2026, we don't need to fully go back to pixelated graphics.”
    • “There is such a limited graphics options setting; there is nothing more to do on my end.”
    • “Also, the game music and ambience they capture with the graphic aesthetic was something I didn't know I was missing in gaming.”

  • music

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    57% positive mentions, 36% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The game's music is widely praised for enhancing the gameplay flow and complementing the pixel art aesthetic, with many users finding the soundtrack immersive and enjoyable. While generally well-received, some note slight repetitiveness or occasional mismatch with intense combat scenes. Overall, the music is considered a strong and integral part of the game's atmosphere.

    • “The audio is also fantastic, with constantly amazing soundtracks to immerse yourself in.”
    • “Also the game music and ambience they capture with the graphic aesthetic was something I didn’t know I was missing in gaming.”
    • “The music, the aesthetics, the enemies, the weapons, abilities, runes, wards, ultimates, the bosses and the sheer amount of build variety... all of it is just perfect and I’m only a few hours in.”

  • optimization

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    43% positive mentions, 14% neutral mentions, 43% negative mentions

    The game generally performs well with smooth gameplay and strong optimization, especially on devices like the Steam Deck. However, early access status means some skills and spellcasting feel unpolished, and performance can drop during heavy effect usage or specific builds, indicating room for further optimization.

    • “A good example of a perfect game: fair price, interesting gameplay loop, no performance issues, and strong replayability.”
    • “I haven't found any problems with pacing, performance, visuals, or balance, and I think all are actually good so far.”
    • “Really buttery performance on Steam Deck.”
    • “Although the game is still in early access, skills are not yet very optimized or balanced, and casting spells can sometimes feel clunky.”
    • “There is a bit of FPS drop with some builds, so some optimization will be needed.”
    • “Performance drops when many effects are happening, and audio can cut out during large combinations.”

  • atmosphere

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    57% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its grim, medieval European style combined with a strong souls-like tone. Reviewers highlight its fantastic art direction and immersive ambiance, which effectively enhances the overall experience. The atmosphere successfully blends elements from Hades and Souls, creating a compelling and satisfying setting.

    • “Great iteration on the Hades formula with a Souls-style atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is fantastic, the art direction is gorgeous, and the fast-paced gameplay is incredibly satisfying, somewhere between Hades and Hyper Drifter.”
    • “It really nails tone and atmosphere, which for me would have been enough, but coupled with the combat system?”

  • story

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The story is straightforward and integrated into the game's progression, offering a basic but solid fantasy backdrop. While not complex or cryptic, it effectively supports the gameplay and includes some rogue-lite elements. Overall, the story is considered fair and serviceable.

    • “I like that the progression is built into the map/story as well as featuring a few rogue-lite elements outside of each run.”
    • “It's got a story!”
    • “Nor is there cryptic storytelling.”
    • “The story is generic but serves as a solid little fantasy background.”
    • “Story: fair.”

  • replayability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game offers strong replayability, with engaging gameplay and surprising depth even in early access. Players remain interested and continue returning after completing current content, supported by active developer updates.

    • “A good example of a perfect game: fair price, interesting gameplay loop, no performance issues, and strong replayability.”
    • “Even with only a few zones available in early access, there's already a surprising amount of depth and replayability.”
    • “Don't let the early access of this game fool you; it's full of content, replayability, and the devs are very active releasing patches every day.”

  • grinding

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users find the grinding in this roguelite somewhat tedious and exhausting initially, but once the mechanics and rune synergies are mastered, gameplay becomes more engaging without requiring excessive farming or incremental grinding.

    • “I can forgive the clunky UI and animations, but the core gameplay loop is too tedious and exhausting.”
    • “A roguelite, it takes some grinding to get good enough to start opening doors, but once you get the mechanics and timing as well as a good synergy with runes you'll be hooked.”
    • “Become a hacking, slashing, fireball throwing, lightning bolt launching avatar of destruction... and do it all without dedicating dozens of hours to farming drops and incremental percentage improvements.”

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The emotional aspect is minimally addressed, with users focusing more on gameplay mechanics like damage stacking rather than emotional engagement or impact.

  • humor

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The humor aspect is criticized as unfunny, with some users feeling that technical issues like FPS drops undermine any intended comedic effect, making the joke fall flat.

    • “FPS drops in a game with 2D Contra-like pixel graphics are not only lazy but an unfunny joke.”

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users find the game's ads to be overly frequent or intrusive, contrasting with the relatively easy boss battles.

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Play Times

15h Median play time
34h Average play time
2-85h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
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Game News

Pixelated soulslike game Cursemark launches in June

April 27 on nichegamer.com
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Frequently Asked Questions

Cursemark is a open world hack and slash game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. Common tags for Cursemark include indie, roguelite, magic, exploration, pixel graphics and others.

Cursemark is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 34 hours playing Cursemark.

Cursemark was released on June 8, 2026.

Cursemark was developed by FrivolousKnight.

Cursemark has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Cursemark for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

Cursemark is a single player game.

Similar games include Obsydian, Heretical, VOIN, Neon Spellstorm, Sands of Aura and others.