While 2023 was the year of Lilith and Diablo 4, 2024 is the year of the ARPG. With the Path of Exile 2 launch lurking over the bloodstained horizon, and indie hits like Last Epoch soaring to the top of Steam, dungeon crawlers are back and I’m in heaven (or, well, hell). Shadow of the Depth hopes to be the next big hit, and combines the roguelike elements of Hades with Diablo’s top-down loot collecting and demon slaying to create something truly unique.
Much like Blizzard’s RPG game, Shadow of the Depth thrusts you into a world engulfed in chaos. As dark and light feud, you’re the one who’s left cleaning up the mess, putting out the fires, and, of course, slaying seemingly never-ending hordes of demons.
You’ll be able to choose from five different preset characters, akin to Diablo 2. There’s Arthur the tanky warrior, Arya the dual-wielding assassin, Stephanie the elemental sorceress, Phyllis the archer, and Ginzo the samurai-inspired swordsman.
Each character has their own unique playstyles and devastating combos, which you can chain together to weather the demonic storm. There are over 140 passive abilities for you to choose from, opening up various different builds for you to experiment with and refine to your heart’s content.
But where exactly does the Hades element come in – after all, we need something to do while we wait for the Hades 2 release date. Well, Shadow of the Depth is both an ARPG and a roguelike game, and features ever-changing, randomly generated dungeons. As a result, you’ll never been facing the same monsters twice, meaning dungeons will feel less linear than Diablo’s, but no less deadly.
If all of this sounds right up your alley, then you’ll be pleased to know that Shadow of the Depth is out in early access form on Steam right now.
You can pick it up for 10% off as part of its launch sale, bringing it down to $13.49 / £11.51, but you’ll need to do this before Saturday May 4, so I’d suggest you move quickly.
If you’re already knees-deep in the Hades 2 technical test, though, we have a list of all the Hades 2 gods and characters, as well as a rundown of all of the Hades 2 Arcana cards and how they work – after all, according to our guides editor Cheri, Hades 2 is better than the original in every way, so you don’t want to miss out.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.