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╟╢║Σ│≥Θδ╚√╒╟╢║╞ φ
Here is a simple game with a neat idea. In Hieroglyphika, aside from the letters in the title, you’ll find not a single recognizable English alphabet character in the game. All the information that you’ll need to uncover on how to play the game, weapon stats, armor resistances, movement and actions are all communicated to the player via some symbol or another. It’s surprising how quickly you’ll pick up on it all once you start to figure it out and while concept isn’t mind blowing (or entirely the main focus of the game) it’s a neat little trick that adds some fun and uniqueness to this title.
The actual gameplay of Hieroglyphika is rogeulike. You play as some nameless safari adventurer who after raiding a few coffins will be geared up like an ancient Egyptian in no time. Before your equipment starts to mess with the core mechanics of the game, you may move in one of any of the 8 standard directions one square, then the traps trigger and then the monsters move. Traps come in a few varieties but what makes them fun is that they are not the same trap each time they are triggered and they never stop (randomly) triggering. You get a one turn warning in the form of a graphical indication for each trap and then they fire. Sometimes they’re a strong gust that will knock you back. Other times they explode into fire. It’s simple once you learn them but fun enough.
Elements themselves play a large role in the game. Enemies are weak or resistant to certain ones and they all affect the map in some way. Fire burns, poison deals DOT, ice freezes or creates walls and wind pushes objects around dealing moderately heavy damage if they collide with something or are instant death if the object (or entity) flies into a pool of acid. Shields are a thing as well involving a blocking mechanic as well as a shove mechanic. A buff spell and an offensive spell slot allow for customization of special abilities and lastly your head, body and amulet armor slots round things out. Health is locked in at a maximum of 99 and is restored by white hieroglyphic fairies that you have to chase down and catch. There’s also black fairies that deal damage instead of healing if they bump into you, and to add complexity to the situation, enemies can interact with the fairies as well.
Hieroglyphika is good Tier 2 game but lacks enough content to push it past novelty. I like the way you have to discover what everything in the game means but after you do it’s almost too easy. I suppose that there is a hard mode but I’m not sure I’d really be looking for this game to be harder… I think there just needs to be more to it. After I figured out the mechanics, it was fairly easy to progress down to level 6 which is past the halfway point. The game also runs a bit slow–if it processed the traps and enemy turns quicker, it would have been more enjoyable. Definitely worth trying but probably nothing that is worth devoting more than a couple of hours to… of which I have been the victim of doing so already.
