The 7th Circle: Endless Nightmare
- September 10, 2018
- 68k Studios
Get on SteamIn "The 7th Circle: Endless Nightmare," players descend into a hellish underworld filled with demonic enemies and traps. Armed with an array of weapons, they must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind their descent. With permadeath and procedural generation, each run is a challenging new nightmare.
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Reviews
- The game features a unique horror aesthetic with impressive monster design and a compelling atmosphere.
- The permadeath and metaprogression mechanics add depth and encourage experimentation with different builds and playstyles.
- Despite its flaws, the game offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers, appealing to fans of the genre.
- The combat system is repetitive, uninteresting, and lacks strategic depth, leading to a grindy experience.
- Frequent loading screens disrupt the gameplay flow, making navigation and combat feel cumbersome.
- The game suffers from a lack of variety in enemy types and level design, resulting in a monotonous experience.
- gameplay40 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of depth and simplicity, featuring a variety of mechanics such as permadeath and skill improvement, but often feels repetitive and lacks pacing balance. While the aesthetic and atmosphere are praised, many players find the combat and overall experience to become monotonous over time. Despite its unique elements and interesting ideas, the gameplay can feel shallow and disconnected from the story, leading to a mixed reception.
“The game has a great aesthetic and a fun improve-skills-as-you-use-them character building system, but what really sets it apart from other games of the genre is its permadeath/metaprogression mechanic.”
“All of its custom art is gorgeous and horrific, and it has a cool understated atmospheric soundtrack, good audio design, and solid gameplay to back that up.”
“In short, it's a nice well-hidden gem of dungeon crawling with a few unique mechanics akin to permadeath, experience that carries over after death, and quite fancy keyboard casting magic spells.”
“The gameplay is boring and repetitive; it's a very simple slogfest of going through the same combat moves over and over again.”
“Unfortunately, past a certain point, gameplay starts to feel a little samey.”
“It has a lot of mechanics and complexity, but in action, it all feels shallow and random.”
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The story is set in a unique and dark environment, exploring the fragmented subconscious of an insane man after a suicide attempt, which intrigues players with its mystery. However, many reviewers find the narrative to be sparse and often disconnected from the gameplay, with limited storytelling elements early on, particularly in a roguelike format. While the themes of death, growth, and alter egos show potential, the overall execution leaves some players confused and craving a more coherent narrative.
“The setting and plot are unique--you play as fragments of an insane man's subconscious as he lies delirious in a pool of his own blood after a suicide attempt.”
“There's enough story and mystery to pique your interest, and the pursuit of the next little bit of narration to try and figure out what's going on is always a good hook.”
“The monster design, the storyline, the concepts of death and growth, the use of alter egos all have potential.”
“- the 'story' feels unrelated to the gameplay.”
“The story is a bit scant early on, with only two narrative drops I've found thus far in the first level, but it's a roguelike, so that's kind of to be expected.”
“Med - no NPC, no actually understandable story.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a compelling horror aesthetic, featuring lush and grisly visuals that enhance the overall atmosphere. While the dungeon architecture lacks variety, the standout elements are the unique monster designs and artwork, which contribute significantly to the game's appeal. Overall, the visual presentation effectively supports the game's themes and mechanics.
“The game has a great aesthetic and a fun improve-skills-as-you-use-them character building system, but what really sets it apart from other games of the genre is its permadeath/metaprogression mechanic.”
“7th Circle is a dungeon crawler with a lush and grisly aesthetic.”
“The dungeon itself is also not particularly varied in its graphics or architecture.”
“7th Circle is a dungeon crawler with a lush/grisly aesthetic.”
“But where the game really shines is the monster design and artwork.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with higher difficulty levels merely prolonging battles rather than increasing their challenge. The need to farm resources and the strategy of creating disposable characters for resource gathering further emphasize the grindy nature of gameplay, making it feel repetitive and laborious. Overall, the grinding experience is viewed as a significant drawback.
“Opting to play on higher difficulty levels doesn't help much as its major effect is to draw out battles and make them more tedious than actually harder.”
“Incredibly grindy.”
“Getting a full map up is again a tedious thing.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its psychological horror elements, complemented by stunning custom art and detailed creature designs. Reviewers highlight the effective audio design and understated soundtrack that enhance the immersive experience, although occasional loading screens can momentarily disrupt the mood. Overall, it is regarded as a captivating and macabre environment that significantly contributes to the dungeon-crawling experience.
“All of its custom art is gorgeous and horrific, and it has a cool understated atmospheric soundtrack, good audio design, and solid gameplay to back that up.”
“I especially like its macabre atmosphere and fantastic art and creature designs.”
“I was amazed at the level of detail that has gone into building this system... from its creepy atmosphere to the mathematically perfected battle system, this is the best dungeon-crawl experience I've had in a very long time.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is characterized by an eerie and atmospheric soundtrack that complements its grotesque and brutal monster art, appealing particularly to horror and metal music fans. Reviewers appreciate the solid audio design, which enhances the overall gameplay experience.
“All of its custom art is gorgeous and horrific, and it has a cool understated atmospheric soundtrack, good audio design, and solid gameplay to back that up.”
“I personally like the eerie music, and grotesque creature and environment designs.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally considered mediocre, with users reporting long loading times that feel excessive for a smaller title. While some players can enjoy the experience if the game runs smoothly and they overlook minor UI issues, the overall performance may not meet everyone's expectations.
“If you relish the grind, and if you can get your game to run smoothly, and if you don't mind a bit of UI jank, this is a good title.”
“In terms of cons, the optimization is quite mediocre; sometimes the game loads pretty long.”
“The optimization is a bit quirky; it loads too long for a small game, but that's just my opinion.”
“In terms of cons, the optimization is quite mediocre; sometimes the game takes a long time to load.”
“The optimization is a bit quirky; it takes too long to load for a small game, but that's just my opinion.”
“The optimization is quite mediocre; sometimes the game loads for an extended period.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from the potential chaos of local co-op or versus modes, where players could engage in mischievous antics, such as griefing newcomers in challenging environments. The game's difficulty adds to the comedic tension, as players envision the frustration and hilarity that would ensue from such interactions.
“The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever writing and hilarious situations that keep you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game balances its challenging gameplay with moments of pure comedy, making every defeat feel a little less painful.”
“The quirky characters and their witty dialogue add a delightful layer of humor that makes the experience even more enjoyable.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers find the character design to be engaging, suggesting that the characters are well-crafted and contribute positively to the overall experience of the game.
“Character design feels engaging.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews do not provide specific insights into the monetization aspect of the game, focusing instead on the art direction and overall experience. There is no clear information regarding pricing models, in-game purchases, or any monetization strategies.
