When demons infest a town and the corruption is spreading, it’s up to a single exorcist to fight back. Cut a path through town by expelling demons from the bodies of the townspeople. A mix of allies helps you develop your powers further, but it’s proper strategy that is the most important. Eventually, your efforts take you to one of the lead demons, but the quest doesn’t stop there. You must banish demons and save who you can, or the town falls into ruin.
Malys starts with the typical roguelike formula of choosing your path and fighting enemies. Unlike most roguelikes, you sacrifice cards to gain the energy to play others. This opens up a variety of strategies that allow every card to be useful. The UI has problems making text difficult to read, and the threats are somewhat exaggerated. However, what Malys does so far in Early Access is promising, and it’s exciting to see what’s in store.
Malys’s story is simple: you are a demon hunter named Noah investigating a demon-infested town. He’s largely fighting on his own; even the nearby angels are doing nothing more than observing. Noah must visit people and expel the demon within without killing them. Despite largely being a solo adventure, there are a few allies who scrounge some aid together. With every advantage he gets, Noah must stand against the demons at the heart of the corruption.
It’s a dark, noir-like atmosphere when you arrive in town. You feel like the hope has been sucked out of the place, replaced with nothing but despair. The colours are dark and dreary, with all the characters obscured in darkness. As they reveal themselves, you see possessed individuals, sturdy allies, or powerful demons. This helps immerse you in the setting and makes you realise that you are up against overwhelming odds.
What impressed me the most were the card mechanics. To play cards, you must use energy from candles. However, you must burn cards in your hands to get the energy. This adds a layer of strategy that makes you think about what you sacrifice. Many cards play with the card-burning mechanic and are equally viable, though I settled on my own strategy faster than others. Malys does a great job giving every card its time to shine, even if I had to spend time strategising.
I noticed that some of the text was cut off when choosing cards or reading skill descriptions. That made it difficult to fully understand the cards that were offered as a reward or the strategies I could come up with. While roguelike games encourage risk-taking and experimentation, not being able to check what you can get is another level of risk. While I did manage to reach the final battle with a solid strategy, I took several risks with cards that ended up not being useful.
Combat involves defeating demons while keeping the human host alive. This means watching out for the demon’s actions and ensuring you don’t harm the host much. Thankfully, I didn’t run into many situations where the host was ever in danger and treated combat like a duel. However, I had to watch out for moves that targeted everyone because human hosts were much weaker than the demon.
Travelling through the town requires charting your own path through various landmarks. Symbols let you know what the landmarks represent. I found it confusing since the landmarks didn’t tell you much other than the ones indicating the presence of demons. What does an Angel do, or what are the benefits of going to the nightclub? I didn’t know until I reached the icon, but it was a risk that felt unnecessary.
Malys’s unique take on the roguelike experience makes you think differently while feeling the dread of a cursed town. Burning cards for energy and using that strategically is also fun, and it’s great to experiment with different strategies. The UI needs some work, and some extra guidance would be useful. Malys has just hit Early Access, and I’m excited to see what comes next. With additional assistance, more cards, and different enemies, this locally-made game could really stand out.
Malys is currently available on Steam in Early Access if you want to give the roguelike deckbuilder a few runs.
About the Author
Victor Tan
He/Him
Victor spends his time trying to help players out of tricky situations and give them the guidance they need to succeed. Outside of the video game world, you can find him training at the gym or doing simple improv activities.
