Malys

About

Malys is a single player strategy game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by Summerfall Studios and was released on October 23, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Expose, endure and expel evil from innocents on your hunt through a corrupted city. As Noah, former priest turned demon-hunter, you'll perform exorcisms, forge precarious alliances and strengthen your deck of arcane tricks in this unholy roguelite deckbuilder.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 153 reviews

gameplay33 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features a compelling narrative and engaging characters, with a unique art style that enhances the overall atmosphere.
The core gameplay mechanics, including the card burning system, provide a fresh take on the deckbuilding genre, encouraging strategic decision-making.
The game successfully combines elements of roguelike gameplay with a rich narrative, making each run feel meaningful and immersive.

The game suffers from balance issues, with some encounters feeling either too easy or excessively difficult, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
There are significant UI and quality of life issues, such as text cut-offs and unclear card descriptions, which can detract from the overall experience.
The narrative can become repetitive, with long blocks of text that may disengage players, especially during multiple runs.

gameplay
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
68%
4%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the unique mechanics, particularly the card-burning system that adds strategic depth. However, some find the overall experience repetitive and lacking in balance, with issues such as clunky mechanics and insufficient variety in card archetypes. While the art and narrative elements are praised, the gameplay may not fully satisfy those seeking a more robust deck-building experience, though it shows potential for future improvements.
- “At the end of the day, I find the moment-to-moment gameplay fulfilling, its characters and art style compelling, and its narrative engaging - it's hard to offer a stronger recommendation than that, I think, even if it's not necessarily blowing the doors off of anything in its approach.”
- “The gameplay is really enjoyable and addicting, with lots of variety in cards, paths, demons, and strategies.”
- “The core gameplay is fun, but the tutorial could be simplified a bit.”
- “Unfortunately, none of that can compensate for a slow, repetitive, and kind of dull underlying game mechanic.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly slow.”
- “Gameplay is extremely underexplored, surface-level deckbuilding with barely any archetypes and synergies; just go for bigger damage numbers and you're golden.”
story
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its intriguing premise and well-written prose, while others find it repetitive and lacking in meaningful choices. Many noted that the narrative evolves over multiple playthroughs, but the roguelike format can lead to a loss of engagement due to the repetitive nature of encounters. Overall, while the art and atmosphere are praised, the story's execution may not satisfy those seeking a deep, choice-driven experience.
- “The story is engaging, the art is so cool, and the gameplay is super fun!”
- “Every little interaction between the characters feels natural and ties the story together little by little.”
- “While they may seem to be isolated at first, as you complete runs you'll gradually realize how each exorcism changes to paint the full story.”
- “Unfortunately, after a single extended play session, I gave up on the story, as it lacks the interest of making choices.”
- “Ultimately, all the story scenarios kind of blend into one thing more or less, and at the end of the story blurb, you inevitably fight the demon possessing someone.”
- “Unfortunately, what we were left with isn't really worth it - the fights are slow, the narrative scenarios are repetitive, and the intrigue of the plot falls away for me very quickly, despite my love for a lot of the characters.”
graphics
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
24%
7%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their striking and unique art style, which blends gothic and modern aesthetics effectively. Many players appreciate the semi-black and white visuals, atmospheric writing, and the overall artistic direction that enhances the gameplay experience. While some minor graphical issues were noted, the overall presentation is considered beautiful and engaging, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The art style is fantastic, even if I'm not a religiously knowledgeable person and seeing this Constantine-inspired deckbuilder, the thematic trappings are still quite neat.”
- “A beautiful game both by visuals and sound, the encounters are very well written.”
- “The aesthetic and vibes of the game are top notch, the art is amazing and stylish.”
- “There were a few graphical issues I had with the voiced scenes at the beginning and end of the runs.”
- “Occasional graphical abnormalities and some odd interactions with end of turns and some effect interactions.”
- “- the text box border for 'skip story log' appears immediately upon event starting, and it still functions to skip story (so basically the graphic for the button loads before the button + text)”
music
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
39%
9%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its atmospheric and haunting qualities, perfectly complementing the dark aesthetic and narrative themes. Players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the overall experience, with many describing it as fantastic and immersive, although some note that the main character's repetitive narration during battles can be a drawback. Overall, the combination of music, art, and storytelling creates a compelling and engaging atmosphere that resonates well with players.
- “I really enjoyed the game - great roguelite deckbuilder, it has great music, art, and ambience; everything comes together for the dark atmosphere of an exorcist on his personal journey, exorcizing demons and doing his best to save people where he can.”
- “The art, soundtrack, and storyline are top notch.”
- “The music is atmospheric, the combat encounters are strategic and fun, and those narrative beats allow the lore to bloom at a steady pace.”
- “The game is also early enough to have the same song play on repeat during some fights, maybe with a different song or two for fighting the region boss.”
- “Music and soundtrack complement the style well, but the main character's narration during the battles can feel repetitive and might grate on your ears.”
- “The music is atmospheric, but the combat encounters can become monotonous due to the repetitive nature of the soundtrack.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
12%
13%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, immersive qualities, enhanced by haunting music, striking art, and engaging writing. Reviewers highlight the successful integration of atmosphere with gameplay mechanics, creating a moody experience that resonates with players, particularly those who appreciate a gothic aesthetic. While the atmosphere is a standout feature, some note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time.
- “I really enjoyed the game - great roguelite deckbuilder, it has great music, art, and ambience; everything comes together for the dark atmosphere of an exorcist on his personal journey, exorcizing demons and doing his best to save people where he can.”
- “Gorgeous art and immaculate atmosphere.”
- “The little goth deckbuilder of my dreams - sooooo moody, very atmospheric, heavy on the noir demon hunter vibes.”
- “Overall, if the atmosphere is your jam, you will love it; if not, then the gameplay, while fun, is probably not enough to carry it on its own.”
- “Atmosphere, tone, music, and character design are really cool.”
- “Malys stands out not only for its slick mechanics but for how it ties them into story and atmosphere.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its stunning art and distinct character designs that enhance the overall atmosphere and world-building. Reviewers appreciate the fun and exciting character aesthetics, which contribute to an engaging narrative and immersive gameplay experience.
- “The art is gorgeous, character designs are fun and exciting, and the world building is very well done.”
- “Super distinct style that really pulls the game together; cool character designs, great sound, good boss fight mechanics, keep an eye on this one!”
- “Atmosphere, tone, music, and character design are really cool.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any meaningful way throughout the game.”
- “Despite the interesting premise, the characters remain one-dimensional and fail to grow or change as the story progresses.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that grinding can be a significant aspect of the game, with lengthy runs and certain battles becoming tedious if players lack the right offensive cards.
- “Runs can be very long, and certain fights can become grindy if not properly equipped with offensive cards.”
- “The grinding aspect of the game feels tedious and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find myself spending too much time grinding for resources instead of enjoying the gameplay.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its lack of stability, with users reporting numerous bugs and problematic gameplay interactions even after its official release from early access. Overall, players express disappointment with the game's performance, describing it as slow and riddled with issues.
- “This is an exceptionally buggy game.”
- “I picked up this game now that it left early access but was disappointed with some of the gameplay and some buggy interactions.”
- “However, it is slow and buggy.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's replayability is considered low, primarily due to its limited scope and lack of additional content, making it less engaging compared to similar titles. While players can explore lore, the experience feels overly punishing, and enhancing build flexibility could improve replay value.
- “This is unnecessarily punishing, and allowing players to be flexible with their builds will give more replay value.”
- “In terms of replayability, this is pretty much zero without additional future content.”
- “It's not bad or clunky by any means, it's just broken in your favor, and isn't nearly as replayable as other games due to the smaller scope, unless you want to wring out all the lore there is for Noah and the city.”
- “This is unnecessarily punishing, and allowing players to be flexible with their builds would give more replay value.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly during extended play sessions, leading to severe performance degradation that hampers gameplay. Many users express frustration, stating that these problems make the game barely playable despite its solid core mechanics.
- “Most notably, the game has some rough performance, especially if you run it for more than a few hours.”
- “After playing a bit more and continuing to run into horrific performance issues, I'm negative on it until that stuff is addressed; it's barely playable at this point, despite the core mechanics being good.”
- “There are definitely performance issues.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a dry, film noir-inspired wit, reminiscent of titles like Hellblazer, featuring quirky and sometimes tacky descriptions of the setting and characters. While the writing quality is high, the frequent typos in storylets add an unintended layer of humor, making the overall experience both engaging and amusing.
- “The writing is very comparable in tone to Hellblazer and similar titles - dry humor with sometimes even a bit tacky (and I say this with all the love) descriptions of the very film noir city and characters.”
- “The only thing for now is that there would be a typo in every other storylet, which isn't much of a problem and can be easily fixed, but it's pretty funny considering the writing itself is of such high quality.”