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Having experienced more than 200 new releases this year, It's time to wrapping things up on 2025. My annual roundup is published, and I'm satisfied with the final results, accepting that plenty of fantastic releases probably slipped by the wayside. Currently, my only job is to but sit back, disconnect briefly, and maybe enjoy a pleasant stroll in the— well, shoot, stumbled upon a amazing experience. And just like that, goodbye to my plans!

A Premature Front-Runner Appears

During my off-hours play, typically earmarked for a handful of quirky titles, I've discovered what could be my earliest beloved game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual roguelike for Windows PC that reimagines a traditional labyrinth explorer into a chance-driven game of major consequence risk and reward. Consider this a hipster's insider tip: If you enjoy discovering a game before it hits the mainstream, test out Sol Cesto so you can burn a spot in your indie credit card.

A Tactical Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a thought-provoking procedural game that's unlike anything I've previously experienced. The premise is that you need to explore a dungeon, progressing deeper and deeper in search of the sun, which has vanished from this mythical realm. When you play, this creates some recognizable genre framework. Choose an adventurer possessing unique stats and abilities, defeat enemies on every stage of enemies, acquire some permanent upgrades (which are teeth), and overcome a few biome bosses. Straightforward, right!

The Unique Gameplay Loop

The method by which you actually clear a chamber, though. Every time you start another stage, you see a sixteen-square board of boxes. Each square holds a monster, a reward cache, a trap, or a healing strawberry. To make a move, you simply click on one of the four rows, but which square you select is determined by luck.

You could encounter a row with multiple foes, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You start with a quarter likelihood of selecting a specific tile in a row.

Subsequently, your probabilities change. The question becomes: Do you press your luck, or do you choose on a safer line first and attempt some safer moves early? That's the risk-reward dynamic in action in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing after you develop its rhythm.

Shaping the Odds

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated through a run by gathering teeth that change what things you're more attracted to. For example, you may obtain a perk that will decrease your odds of hitting a trap, but will concurrently lower the odds of finding a treasure chest too.

• Creating a build is about tweaking the numbers to the utmost to have a improved likelihood at selecting the optimal square.
• In one run, I put all my attribute improvements toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth possible that would boost my chances of landing on monsters with that damage type.
• During a separate session, I developed my adventurer around treasure chests and coupled it with a perk that would debuff nearby foes whenever I secured loot.

The customization choices are somewhat constrained, but they are sufficient to experiment with to allow you to tweak the odds to your preference.

A Constant Tension

Unsurprisingly, it remains a game of chance. You constantly face the risk that you have a high probability to select the preferred space but ultimately choose on an enemy that would take out your last bit of health. All selections is a gamble, so a persistent nervousness exists as you clear a floor out and determine if to keep clicking or to proceed to the following level instead of risking it all.

Consumables including explosive devices help cut down the chance, similar to some special skills. An adventurer's special power, activated once clearing four squares, allows players to choose a column in place of a horizontal line on a turn. Should you use this move wisely, you can reserve that option for a crucial point to avoid a risky decision. There's a shocking amount of nuance in the seemingly straightforward task of clicking.

The Road to 1.0

Sol Cesto is still in early access, and it has a final update planned until the full version is launched. Another playable adventurer and a new boss are expected to drop before the conclusion of January. The full launch likely won't be far behind, but the creators haven't committed to a final date yet.

A Concluding Recommendation

Regardless of when its 1.0 launch occurs, you might want to put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. For the past week, I've been completely engrossed with it, finding all of little secrets and storing my run rewards in each run to reveal a continuous trickle of persistent upgrades, such as fresh adventurers and items available for acquisition during a run. As of now, I am yet to completed the dungeon, and I suspect I'll continue attempting that goal when the official release drops. Count me in for the complete journey.