Deepest Chamber

About

Deepest Chamber is a single player tactical role playing game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by Balcony Softworks and was released on October 24, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Deepest Chamber is a single-player horror turn-based strategy game with masterful mechanics and compelling visuals. As a roguelite strategic deck builder, it challenges you to descend into the depths of a dying city with three heroes, each having class-specific cards, abilities, and equipment. With an easy-to-learn, hard-to-master campaign, vast customization options, and a hero party system, Deepest Chamber offers high replayability and a balanced, synergistic experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 440 reviews

gameplay60 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game features a unique card boosting mechanic that adds depth to gameplay, allowing for interesting combinations and strategies.
The art style and atmosphere are well-crafted, providing an engaging experience reminiscent of other successful roguelike deckbuilders.
The developers are active and responsive, continuously improving the game with updates and quality of life enhancements.

The game suffers from balancing issues, making it frustratingly difficult at times, especially with certain bosses that counter many strategies.
There is a lack of content variety, leading to repetitive gameplay and limited replayability after a few runs.
Some mechanics and card interactions are poorly explained, resulting in a steep learning curve and confusion for new players.

gameplay
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
61%
5%
The gameplay of "Deepest Chamber" is characterized by its unique card boosting mechanic, which enhances adjacent cards and encourages strategic play based on card positioning. While the game offers a fresh take on deck-building with multiple classes and mechanics, some players find it lacks depth and variety, leading to repetitive experiences. Additionally, technical issues and unclear mechanics can detract from the overall enjoyment, though many appreciate the game's addictive and challenging nature.
- “The gameplay is really addicting and pretty challenging.”
- “The boost system, and several other mechanics that pop up directly in response to its existence, give this game a unique mechanical feel that helps it stand out from other games in the genre, and makes it worth playing.”
- “The card boosting mechanic is a nice twist and makes you think about what order you play the cards in your hand so you can boost your other cards for better effects.”
- “But unfortunately, this game offers very little variability, weak (simple) card mechanics, and so it becomes very repetitive and not fun.”
- “After 20 hours of play, it feels like it really lacks depth of card options/mechanics and a feeling of real variety of gameplay approaches.”
- “Some mechanics are very poorly explained, and I just don't see why I wouldn't play Slay the Spire.”
graphics
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
41%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the art style and aesthetic, describing it as visually appealing and fresh. However, criticisms arise regarding the 3D models and animations, which some feel lack polish and detract from the overall experience. While the visuals are often highlighted as a strong point, there are concerns about the user interface and the game's performance, suggesting that improvements are needed for a more polished presentation.
- “Solid game with a great aesthetic.”
- “The graphics are very well done.”
- “I love the art style, it feels fresh and new.”
- “The one thing, rather major thing, that lets the game down as a whole is the 3D graphics and animation of the environment and enemies.”
- “The game basically lacks a lot of polish where the graphics and animations come in.”
- “Graphics are meh compared to other games of this genre; sound design is meh, the game is just meh.”
story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
68%
18%
The game's story is described as dark and gritty, with interesting elements but ultimately lacking depth and engagement. While it features appealing 2D art and snippets of narrative, the overall storytelling is considered poor, with minimal dialogue and little impact on gameplay. Players feel that the story could be expanded significantly, as it currently serves mainly as a backdrop for card and deck management rather than a compelling narrative experience.
- “A wonderful dark and gritty game with an interesting story.”
- “The little snippets of story, and the 2D art that the game has for events are good.”
- “Story and dialogue are very light; not sure if it was intentional or cut back, but it seems like it could easily be expanded as well.”
- “Story and dialogue are very light; I'm not sure if it was intentional or cut back, but it seems like it could easily be expanded.”
- “There's little story or alteration of the events; you go to them mainly to just alter your cards and decks, and you know what the choices are from the menu.”
- “Combat mechanics are okay, visuals and audio are below average, and storytelling is just very poor.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
22%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its engaging grimdark aesthetic, high-quality visuals, and immersive sound design, reminiscent of titles like Dark Souls. Players appreciate the unique blend of dark medieval themes with solid deckbuilding mechanics, enhancing the overall experience. With its rich backgrounds and well-animated enemies, the game creates a captivating environment that keeps players invested.
- “One is a unique card ‘boost’ mechanic and two is the grimdark atmosphere and quality of visuals and animation.”
- “Great grimdark atmosphere, looking forward to the full release.”
- “A super interesting take on digital deckbuilders, with a dark medieval atmosphere that reminds me of stuff like Dark Souls or movies such as The King.”
- “It is worth the cost and if you like Slay the Spire-like games and dark atmosphere you're going to like this.”
- “One is a unique card 'boost' mechanic and two is the grimdark atmosphere and quality of visuals and animation.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its fit with the game's atmosphere and find it enjoyable, many criticize its random usage and overall quality, suggesting that it detracts from immersion. Overall, there is a consensus that the sound design and music could benefit from improvements to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The music also fits the game well and the sound effects are satisfying.”
- “Nice graphics, nice music, nice atmosphere.”
- “[*] started game... nice music and opening screen”
- “The main downside is the music; you get some, but it is used randomly, which is sad. I think the music in card games plays a big role in immersion.”
- “The sound and music aren't the greatest.”
- “Generally, the sound design and music should be improved.”
replayability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The game offers a solid level of replayability, enhanced by an ascension-style difficulty scaling, diverse card mechanics, and character variations. However, some players feel it lacks the depth found in other genre titles, like "Slay the Spire," and suggest that expanding the game's concepts could further increase its replay value. Overall, while there is enjoyment to be had, the replayability may not meet the expectations set by similar games.
- “Mix all that with an ascension style scaling difficulty and you have a ton of replay value.”
- “The clever boosting system of the cards gives this deckbuilder a new twist while the card variations, hero differences, and increasing difficulty let us gain a decent replayability.”
- “Along with meta progression from successful runs carrying over new gear acquired and relics obtained gives this game a ton of replayability.”
- “Sure there is some replayability, but nothing like others in the genre (i.e. Slay the Spire).”
- “34 hours for a card battler is pretty bad since these games are built on replayability.”
- “I think there is a lot that can be done with expanding the game's ideas and concepts, like expanding the map, various monster encounters, and scenario outcomes for going different directions, which would add a lot of replay value to the game.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game's performance quirks, such as running it smoothly at higher settings compared to other titles, and the amusing monster effects that elicit laughter from others. The clever mechanics, like manipulating enemies to harm each other, add a layer of comedic genius to gameplay, enhancing the overall enjoyment.
- “I have to use headphones or my girlfriend will start laughing at some of the monster effects.”
- “Love seeing the different card combinations I have gotten and potions/trinkets thus far; being able to change an intent and have an enemy whoop his buddy or debuff his buddy instead of me is also genius and hilarious to activate in a run.”
- “The fact that I can run this game at 30fps 1440p while I can barely run Astrea at 20fps 1080p is hilarious to me.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally well-optimized and runs smoothly, with users reporting minimal glitches and only occasional stutters, particularly on high-end PCs. Overall, the performance is praised, though some concerns about optimization on less powerful systems remain.
- “It's well optimized and glitch-free so far for me.”
- “Performance-wise, it runs amazing, with only the occasional stutter, but I have a monster PC, so I'd be worried if it didn't.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates impressive stability for an early access title, with users reporting no stability errors or buggy quests, which is often a common issue in similar games.
- “No stability errors or buggy quests as I've just simply come to expect in this type of early access game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, especially when learning mechanics, as new enemy buffs and actions can significantly hinder progress without adequate means to counter or recover. This can lead to frustration and a less enjoyable experience.
- “When you are still learning the game mechanics, the addition of new buffs and actions from enemies can seriously hinder your success rate, making the experience extremely tedious without any means to counter or recover.”
- “The grinding aspect of the game feels excessively repetitive and lacks meaningful rewards, leading to a frustrating experience.”
- “The constant need to grind for resources becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game, detracting from the overall experience.”