According to the story, the Sun has disappeared from the sky. Without light, life withered, and monsters spread across the world. Among the survivors, legends say that someone hid the luminary deep within the dungeon. These rumors attracted heroes pursuing their own goals in the darkness.
Heroes differ in health, skills, and starting inventory items:
- The Peasant is not particularly strong, but has many item slots. Love for his tribesmen gives him a second chance after death.
- The Knight is good in combat. This is a suitable hero for mastering mechanics.
- The Lizard is healthier than the knight, but has less inventory. Can shed its tail.
- The Warrior has the strongest health, but is vulnerable to mages.
- The Huntress is weak in melee combat, but shoots from afar.
- The Wizard deals increased damage to mages and suffers from physical attacks from warriors.
The dungeon consists of biomes, divided into floors. Levels include 16 tiles. The player can land on one of four cells in a horizontal row with equal probability, after which they are free to move between rows. Treasures, monsters, and health-restoring strawberries are scattered on the cells.
Enemies use physical or magical attacks. If the hero's corresponding defense stat is equal to or higher than the enemy's damage, no damage is taken. If lower, the hero loses health. Some opponents can change attack type, infect strawberries, and buff themselves and neighbors. It is more advantageous to get rid of such creatures using items.
To descend deeper, you need to survive several turns. Moving or using an item consumes one turn. Hero skills and tricks can help avoid clashes: for example, you can plant strawberries to collect on the next turn or attack the lizard's own tail. The player's task is not to clear the entire floor, but to survive and conserve resources for further descent.
Some floors are special:
- On the floor with the merchant, useful items are sold. The game also provides hidden ways to get them for free.
- The Cauldron brings earned coins to the surface. The player has to choose: save money for future runs or spend it at the merchant.
- The Blacksmith increases the hero's physical or magical attack stats.
- The Stone Statue's teeth affect luck. For a fee, you can increase or decrease the probability of landing on a cell with a chest, strawberries, or a monster. However, even reducing the trap trigger chance to 4% does not guarantee complete safety.
- The Metal Statue's teeth weaken enemies if certain conditions are met. Can heal the character for descending or using inventory.
- The Magic Spring expands inventory, reduces ability cooldowns, and restores health. You can also fish out a discount for the shop or an extra life there. If you pull a knife from the water, a goblin will kill random opponents.
Sol Cesto encourages experimentation with the environment. The player will receive gold if they provoke a goblin or release a butterfly in the spring. If you freeze water or light up the blacksmith's room, access to a bonus melody for the flute will open. New heroes are unlocked by fulfilling conditions or purchased with gold.
At the end of each biome, there is a boss. It complicates passing the floor, but the global goal remains the same - to survive until the final turn. At the very bottom is the door to the Sun. To unlock the ending for each character, you will need to activate this mechanism four times.
Upgrading statues, the spring, and buying heroes require a lot of currency. The accumulation process is long, and the save system does not forgive mistakes: if you exit a run prematurely, current progress is lost. It is important to note the presence of bugs - an attempt to interact with the merchant in an unconventional way can lead to the application freezing and loss of loot.
Diagnosis
Sol Cesto attracts with detailed pixel art and environmental interactivity. Almost all elements on the screen respond to player actions, and the melancholic soundtrack emphasizes the atmosphere of a fading world.
The player will have to understand the non-obvious balance and learn to manage probabilities. Once the random number mechanics become clear, playing as each of the unique heroes will reveal the full potential of the project.