The world of retro gaming is full of classic genres that are pretty much ignored today.  Well, ignored if your gaming appetite is only handled via mainstream publishers.  Now if you venture outside of the world of Sony and Nintendo you may just find some developers and publishers remember most of these genres quite well.  Take GreedVentory for instance, this is an upcoming game from Black Tower Basement and hearkens back to the days of Rogue.  Don’t know what Rogue is?  Make the jump and learn something.

Rogue is a classic role playing game that is stripped to its bare essentials.  The original Rogue is nothing but text pieces representing the game world.  “X” on the screen may represent an area you cannot, or should not, traverse.  Colored “@” symbols could be different enemies that you must either destroy or avoid.  The levels were 100% randomized each time you played.

GreedVentory has claims to this style of game with modern trimmings such as scenes and static areas.  These static areas are, for me, quite interesting and unique.  They may also be what helps bring in new fans weary of the genre, or taking a chance on an independent developer.

Other changes that Black Tower Basement have made to the classic formula of Roguelikes include some interesting choices.  Your Heroic Bag is the most obvious standout.  Things you throw in this bag are not as safe as you would think.  Artifacts placed in your Heroic Bag will be eaten by magical bugs.  Food in the bag will spoil too.  I know it is a small feature but it is a new take on the “inventory” screen if you know things will go bad and could eventually be removed without your consent.

Battles in GreedVentory appear to be side view based affairs with some pretty good graphics.  I have to say thank you to the Black Tower Basement team for not going with the pixel art look- a look that is WAY out of date now.

GreedVentory by Black Tower Basement
Genre: Roguelike
Platform: PC, Macintosh, Linux
Release Date: 2018

Carl Williams

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