Slasher's Keep

About

Slasher's Keep is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Damian Schloter and was released on November 19, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

You have been imprisoned and left to rot in the depths of Slasher's Keep, a frightful construct towering above the forgotten forest in the remotest wilds of Ool. As rulers came and went the keep remained the final destination for the nation's most undesirable elements. Many a scoundrel has tried and failed to escape its dungeons, perilous as they are. Will you share their fate, or will you overcom…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,717 reviews

gameplay147 positive mentions

grinding60 negative mentions

Unique art style and charming visuals that enhance the gameplay experience.
Engaging combat mechanics with a satisfying progression system that allows players to retain skills and some items after death.
Fun crafting system that lets players create their own weapons and customize their playstyle.

Significant difficulty spikes, especially after the first boss, can lead to frustrating gameplay and a sense of unfairness.
Clunky movement and collision detection issues can result in getting stuck on objects, hindering gameplay.
Mandatory platforming sections in later levels feel out of place and can be frustrating, detracting from the overall experience.

gameplay
379 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
6%
The gameplay of *Slasher's Keep* is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics and frustrating elements, with many players noting its unique crafting system and satisfying combat. However, issues such as bugs, repetitive gameplay, and a slow progression system detract from the overall experience, leading to a sense of monotony after initial enjoyment. While the game offers a fun loop of exploration and resource management, the lack of enemy and level variety, along with clunky mechanics, can make it feel stale over time.
- “The gameplay is smooth and a blast to play.”
- “The combat mechanics and roguelite elements are a treat.”
- “A fantastic roguelike with unique visuals and very clean gameplay.”
- “I ran into multiple bugs within the first minute of gameplay: missing textures, physics seizure objects (with horrid clanking sounds), UI broken for ultrawide monitor.”
- “The gameplay is sluggish and punishing, the build variety is disappointing, and the UI seems to be missing a couple of modern quality of life features, such as item comparisons and quick slots for consumables.”
- “The gameplay loop is the annoying, specifically grinding and praying to the RNG gods for what upgrade you get.”
graphics
293 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
45%
1%
The graphics of "Slasher's Keep" are widely praised for their unique and charming art style, which combines hand-drawn elements with a retro aesthetic reminiscent of classic games. While many players appreciate the visuals and atmosphere, some note that the graphics can feel unpolished or lead to gameplay issues, such as awkward hitboxes. Overall, the game's distinctive visual presentation is a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal despite some gameplay shortcomings.
- “The art style and lighting in this game is amazing.”
- “I absolutely adore the aesthetics and the plot, and the art style is fantastic.”
- “The graphics are slick, the floors are slick and the enemies are sick!”
- “The graphics are old-school sprite-like but with a modern feel to them.”
- “While the graphics are probably the most polarizing aspect of the game, the combat, gameplay loop, and overall feel of the game is truly an achievement!”
- “My graphic card is GTX 1080 but the game is still laggy for me, making the enemies 'teleport' from time to time and impossible to block.”
music
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its charm and ability to set the mood, while others find it repetitive and lacking in variety. Some describe the soundtrack as fitting and enjoyable, enhancing the overall atmosphere, while others criticize it for being too minimalistic or quiet. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, but players express a desire for more diverse tracks and better volume control options.
- “The music is fitting, gameplay is simple but fun, lots of items, customization and strategies you can use to clear rooms.”
- “The soundtrack is filled with these plucky, mellow guitar strums that create this weird mix of coziness and tension, and each area has its own themes and instruments that really come together to create engaging environments that you won't forget.”
- “The art, music, voices, sound effects, atmosphere, and occasional silliness all come together to deliver a truly unique and entertaining experience that keeps me coming back.”
- “The music sucks if I'm being frank, just boring guitar strumming and picking.”
- “The music is very quiet even turned up and isn't all that good.”
- “There's basically no music, apart from an incessant little lute/guitar solo that is just about catchy enough to prevent complete insanity.”
story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
71%
4%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through character-specific journal entries that players encounter between levels, providing a unique backstory for each race and character. While the overarching plot involves escaping a dungeon and defeating a final boss, many players feel the narrative lacks depth and is often overshadowed by gameplay mechanics. Despite this, the aesthetics and gradual unveiling of lore keep players engaged, with some appreciating the immersive environment and humor woven into the storytelling.
- “The story itself is told through journal entries that are given to you in the loading screen between levels, which are character-specific depending on the race you are playing as.”
- “I absolutely adore the aesthetics and the plot (at least of the characters I played as, every character has a different story that unlocks as you progress) is surprisingly good for a dungeon crawler.”
- “Each character has a story that is revealed to you as you progress in the game.”
- “The story is meaningless; in my 20 or so runs, I have 0 idea why I'm in a dungeon or why I need to go up instead of out.”
- “No narration of the story and very little voice acting overall.”
- “The story bits for every character are pretty neat and that does make me look forward to progressing more floors to hear the story, but I wish there was actual gameplay variety.”
grinding
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly as they progress through levels. While some appreciate the rewarding nature of grinding for upgrades and loot, others feel that the gameplay loop becomes frustratingly monotonous, especially when compounded by the loss of progress upon death. Overall, the game appeals to those who enjoy grinding in roguelikes, but it may deter players seeking a more dynamic and less repetitive experience.
- “Unless you feel like grinding for items for hours, then I think you'll get your dungeon adventure somewhere else.”
- “Unfortunately, due to the tedious grind the game wishes you to perform, your best bet is always dumping the best gear you can find at a chute, going back and killing every monster, rinse and repeat ad nauseum.”
- “To be clear: this game gets extremely repetitive, grindy, boring, and frustrating very, very quickly.”
humor
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky and cheeky nature, with players enjoying the funny art style, clever weapon names, and amusing in-game moments. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to blend challenging gameplay with lighthearted humor, making the experience both entertaining and engaging. While some players noted that the humor can become repetitive, the overall consensus is that it adds a delightful charm to the dungeon-crawling experience.
- “The humor is there, the art is hilarious, and the jokes are just my style.”
- “I adore the weapon crafting system and love making a funny face-on-a-stick and then bashing enemies with it.”
- “The crafting system is quite a lot of fun; after 90 hours, I still get a kick out of making hilarious looking weapons to bop enemies with.”
replayability
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
35%
7%
The game offers high replayability, particularly for roguelike fans, due to its procedurally generated dungeons, unique character traits, and diverse item discovery. While some players note a lack of mechanical depth compared to other titles in the genre, many appreciate the variety and randomness that contribute to an engaging experience. Overall, the combination of meta progression and different character builds ensures that players can enjoy numerous playthroughs.
- “With procedurally generated dungeons, unique character traits, and a variety of items to discover, the game offers high replay value for roguelike enthusiasts.”
- “The floors of the dungeons, enemies you encounter, perks you get, and weapons you come across are always randomized, giving the game a ton of replayability.”
- “Absolutely fantastic gameplay, stunning visuals, and huge replayability (duh, it's a roguelike).”
- “The skills and physics interaction almost make this game like an immersive sim, but they aren't impactful enough for completely fruitful replayability.”
- “There's not a huge amount of mechanical depth or level and enemy variety like you'd find in other roguelike dungeoners (Binding of Isaac or Gungeon), so replayability is much lower in comparison.”
- “Typical dungeon crawler with 0 replay value.”
atmosphere
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
42%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its fantastic art style, engaging music, and unique charm, creating a nostalgic and immersive experience. Players appreciate the blend of humor and engrossing settings, which contribute to the game's replayability and overall enjoyment. However, some critiques mention that certain areas, like dungeons, may lack the same atmospheric depth found elsewhere in the game.
- “The art, music, voices, sound effects, atmosphere, and occasional silliness all come together to deliver a truly unique and entertaining experience that keeps me coming back.”
- “The atmosphere is top notch, and it's satisfying to gather the various pieces of gear.”
- “The dungeon lacks any kind of atmosphere.”
- “I really like the game, I haven't played that much of it but from what I've played I can't help but say that the art style and atmosphere are fantastic; however, I am not a fan of the side swinging attack movements. To elaborate, I don't like the fact that your whole body moves with the swing; just something about it doesn't feel right, and besides, what's the point when you can just block, attack, block, attack? At that point, it kinda seems redundant.”
- “I really love the janky, retro, high fantasy atmosphere of the game that does not take itself too seriously.”
stability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of *Slasher's Keep* is widely criticized, with players reporting frequent and severe bugs that disrupt gameplay, including glitches that lead to unfair deaths and hinder progression. Many users describe the game as "extremely buggy," with issues ranging from unresponsive controls to game crashes, making it frustrating to play despite its potential. While some minor bugs are acknowledged, the overall consensus is that the game's stability significantly detracts from the experience.
- “The number of bugs and balancing issues that exist in the game's current state make progression touch-and-go at best, and genuinely impossible at worst, and force closing the game every time you get stuck because of buggy platforms or falling through floors during challenge rooms is... well, it's not fun.”
- “I'm supposed to run to avoid bullets but I can't run, I can't open the inventory for the invincibility potions, and I can't open the pause screen to quit the game to reload, so I die and get punished for playing permadeath on a buggy game.”
- “20 hours in, the game continues to be trash; jump mechanics are extremely bad and buggy, so why not add jump puzzles?”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
20%
50%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting poor performance even on capable hardware, including issues with UI responsiveness at lower resolutions and specific problems for GeForce 10 series cards. Overall, players feel that the game strains their systems unnecessarily and requires smoother animations and gameplay to enhance the experience.
- “The progression is neat - previous runs accumulate or hinder you based on your performance.”
- “I appreciate this both for the nostalgic looks and the ridiculously high performance that this design choice provides.”
- “In addition, there are some known performance issues with GeForce 10 series cards, and I experienced this myself.”
- “It hurts me to not recommend, but something is really bad with the optimization.”
- “I understand that I don't exactly have a state-of-the-art gaming rig; however, as of writing this review, it is poorly optimized and has a bug where the UI clicks to a different location if you change to a lower resolution.”
- “However, I feel like people should understand that this game is not optimized well at all and will strain your hardware way more than you think it will.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a mix of emotional highs and lows in their experiences with the game. The initial excitement of progressing through dungeons is often overshadowed by frustration from vague hit-box mechanics and the harsh penalties of dying, leading to feelings of heartbreak and disappointment, particularly after significant achievements like crafting powerful weapons. This emotional rollercoaster ultimately drives some players to abandon the game altogether.
- “Feels great to get through the first dungeon and then you are like, 'Oh my god, there is a new dungeon!' It feels different, it's got different mechanics, and man, it made me feel like I actually progressed somewhere.”
- “It's heartbreaking when you die after crafting the ultimate weapon.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is considered fair, as players feel the purchase price aligns well with the quality and experience delivered, matching the expectations set by its advertising. The game effectively combines engaging roguelike elements with a distinctive art style, enhancing its overall value.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Character development in "Slasher's Keep" is highlighted as a strong aspect, offering a more fleshed-out RPG experience with inventory management and character progression, despite the game's rogue-like and FPS elements. Players appreciate the balance between action and deeper character customization, making it appealing to fans of both genres.
- “I was looking for a distraction and this was on sale. I saw that each level was randomly generated, and it had a rogue-like flavor, but included some character development and even crafting.”
- “Overall, I would definitely recommend Slasher's Keep to fans of FPS roguelites, as long as you know it is a little less action-packed in terms of high-octane combat and more fleshed out in RPG elements like the inventory and character development.”
- “I was looking for a distraction and this was on sale. I saw that each level was randomly generated, and that it had a rogue-like flavor, but included some character development and even crafting.”
- “So overall, I would definitely recommend Slasher's Keep to fans of FPS roguelites as long as you know it is a little less action-packed in terms of high-octane combat and more fleshed out in RPG elements like the inventory and character development side of things.”