Info about Cursemark:

Official game description:
Intense melee and spellcasting combat, near limitless build diversity, and dark mysteries to solve. Forge your path as you explore the Unknown Lands in Cursemark, a fantasy action roguelite.
Define your build and playstyle with runes that change how every ability works by integrating them into your attacks, spells, wards, and ultimates. Add chain lightning to your sword and burst enemies into poison clouds. Multiply your fireball spell and erupt ice pillars from the ground when you cast it. Blind enemies and heal yourself when they strike your ward. The possibilities feel endless.
The Unknown Lands are vast, full of secret passages, hidden relics, and strange sights. The world unravels more and more with each run as you make new discoveries and solve riddles to unlock power and shortcuts. No map-markers, no hand-holding.
Pathfinding is a part of your build as well. Discover permanent shrines and forges that expand your power and rune slots. Upgrade them for future runs and target the blessings best suited to your build as you grow in skill and knowledge.

Release date: Jun 8, 2026

Categories: Roguelike, Soulslike Combat, Action RPG, Exploration, Build Crafting, Spell-based Combat, Meta-Progression, Puzzle Solving

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 5; verdict: Works Well; summary: Based on the two user reviews, the game runs 'well' on Linux with Proton and 'perfectly' on Steam Deck. There is no evidence of launch failures, crashes, performance issues, anti-cheat blockers, or required tweaks. The consensus is strongly positive.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 1.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The clearest evidence for session length comes from 'played an hour straight', indicating a typical session of about 1 hour. The 'two hours of play' quote may also represent a single session, but is less explicit. No reviews provide concrete numbers for game completion, story/campaign completion, or endgame; the 50-hour mention is a player's total hours including demo time and does not specify completion, so those metrics remain unsupported.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Fun builds as players unlock skills and progression opens up the buildcrafting, but early meta progression can feel tedious and later areas may become monotonous.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Unlock more skills
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: tedious meta progression at camp; samey three-option choices; boring areas; monotonous gameplay
  - Unlock drivers: unlocking more skills; satisfying progression; intuitive buildcrafting; clever roguelite elements
  - Conditions: enjoying diablo-like and roguelike genres; appreciating solid meta progression; balancing screen clearing with difficulty progression (Risk of Rain style)
- Player Archetypes:
  - Diablo-Roguelike Hybrid Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoying the fusion of ARPG loot and roguelike runs with solid meta progression.
    - Playstyle: Casual to moderate play through runs, experimenting with builds and progression unlocks.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: ARPG fan; roguelike enthusiast; Diablo-like enjoyer
    - Reference games: Diablo
  - Depth-Seeking Build-Crafter (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastering the interconnected systems of routes, upgrades, and ability combinations to create powerful, synergistic builds.
    - Playstyle: Methodical, exploratory, and optimizing. Focuses on unlocking secrets, upgrading forges, and experimenting with rune combinations across many runs.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old-school player; hardcore enthusiast; strategy-focused player
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Rich exploration and world design (weight 0.93): Exploration is a highlight, with many enjoying the hand-designed world, secrets, puzzles, and the integration of gameplay with world building. The atmosphere and immersive environments are frequently praised.
- Excellent audiovisual presentation (weight 0.84): The soundtrack, pixel art style, and overall visual design receive widespread acclaim. Reviewers mention fantastic audio, beautiful pixel art, and polished graphics as key strengths.
- Engaging and fun gameplay (weight 0.78): General enjoyment is a recurring theme, with many praising the game as fun, addictive, and with high playability. The 'one more run' feel and overall enjoyment are consistently noted.
- Deep buildcrafting and customization (weight 0.7): The extensive buildcrafting system, including runes, talismans, and skill combinations, is highly praised. Players love the variety and depth of creating unique and powerful builds.
- Balanced difficulty and progression (weight 0.64): The difficulty curve is well-received, offering a fair challenge that scales with player skill. Progression systems with permanent upgrades and rewarding exploration are cited as satisfying.
- Overall excellent quality (weight 0.61): Many reviews simply state the game is great, awesome, or incredible, reflecting a high level of satisfaction. This includes mentions of being one of the best in its genre.
- Smooth and responsive combat (weight 0.54): Combat mechanics are described as smooth, solid, and responsive, with enjoyable enemy patterns. Players appreciate the combination of melee and spell options, along with the overall feel.
- Engaging ability and skill system (weight 0.5): The ability and skill customization, including skill gems and support systems, is highly praised for its depth and variety, allowing for creative builds.
- Innovative meta progression (weight 0.45): Systems like map persistence, metaprogression, and the curse intensity mechanic are noted as clever and distinguishing features. The interconnection of world and character upgrades adds depth.
- Genre fusion praised (weight 0.43): Players highly appreciate the successful combination of Soulslike combat and Roguelike progression, finding it engaging and innovative. This mix is frequently highlighted as a standout feature.
- Promising early access state (weight 0.39): Despite being in early access, the game already provides a healthy amount of content and a polished experience, exceeding expectations. The development approach is seen as dedicated.
- Extensive content and variety (weight 0.34): Players appreciate the wealth of content, including multiple builds, skills, weapons, and abilities. The variety keeps each run fresh and encourages experimentation.
- Unique roguelite mechanics (weight 0.33): Specific mechanics like the token conversion on death, zero cap on power scaling, and clever progression elements are highlighted as unique and enjoyable, adding strategic depth.
- Beginner friendly yet deep (weight 0.29): The game is accessible for newcomers due to its easy-to-learn mechanics, but also offers sufficient depth and difficulty for experienced players. This balance is well-received.
- High replayability (weight 0.28): The combination of varied builds, fresh runs, and addictive gameplay loop results in high replayability. Players are motivated to play repeatedly.
- Solid technical performance (weight 0.27): The game runs well on various platforms including Steam Deck and Linux via Proton, with support for cross-save and 21:9 resolutions. This is recognized as a positive, polished aspect.
- Puzzle integration enhances gameplay (weight 0.27): Puzzle mechanics within the world are seen as a positive addition, providing clever challenges and hidden treasures that enrich the exploration experience.
- Good storytelling and narrative (weight 0.16): The story and narrative are appreciated, with good world building and a satisfying start. It contributes to the overall immersive experience.

Common complaints:
- Buggy and unstable (weight 0.41): Multiple bugs exist, including a game-breaking fire walk + ice trail combo causing PC stutter, freeze from too many effects, and framerate crashes requiring restarts. Some happen repeatedly ruining runs.
- Game too easy (weight 0.34): The game is too easy from the start, with enemies locked behind fences making attack reads impossible. With few runes, players take zero damage, and bosses die in seconds. Unlocking makes it even easier.
- Early access content lacking (weight 0.32): Only 3 biomes are available, leading to a short 6-hour completion time. Locked doors cause confusion, mistaken for puzzles.
- Combat mechanics need polish (weight 0.28): Attack selection and rune usage feel unpolished, and the dodge mechanic is crappy but balanced. Boss mechanics are hard to see due to visual noise from the player.
- Buildcrafting mediocre (weight 0.27): Buildcrafting is mediocre and relies heavily on random buffs; balance is questionable, with the rot build being especially weak.
- Sound design needs improvement (weight 0.21): Sound design is lacking, with hard-to-read spelling and unsatisfying hits; overall polish needed.
- Progression reset frustrating (weight 0.16): Players dislike losing runes and levels after each run; they want persistent progression with NG+ scaling.
- Limited graphics options (weight 0.14): Graphics options are limited, with no 32:9 support and overall restrictive settings.
- Poor controller support (weight 0.09): Controller adaptation is too poor, making gameplay difficult.
- Unplayable first run (weight 0.08): The first run is unplayable due to various issues.

Gameplay feedback:
- Hades-like roguelite with soulslike influences (weight 0.93): The game blends roguelite mechanics (progression resets, meta progression) with soulslike combat (dodge-focused, enemy pattern recognition) and dark fantasy aesthetic. This hybrid approach creates a unique gameplay loop that combines strategic buildcrafting with high-stakes action.
- Non-procedural hand-designed worlds (weight 0.63): Unlike typical roguelikes, the game uses fixed maps, multiple paths, and persistent worlds with exploration, puzzles, and secrets. This design emphasizes planning and rewards thorough exploration without procedural generation.
- Rune and talisman customization (weight 0.61): The game features a deep rune system similar to FF7's materia, Path of Exile's skill gems, and Noita's spells, allowing players to slot runes into weapons, wards, and ultimate slots. This provides extensive buildcrafting options with elemental choices and customizable abilities.
- Buildcrafting with diverse loadouts (weight 0.59): Players can create unique builds by combining skills, runes, talismans, starting equipment, and spells. The variety of loadouts and build options allows for high replayability, though it depends on in-run drops.
- Meta progression with permanent upgrades (weight 0.47): Players can earn permanent upgrades and shortcuts that persist across runs, with progression tied to world upgrades and a camp-based system. This reduces the impact of permadeath and encourages experimentation.
- Variety of skills and spells system (weight 0.46): Players can combine skills, spells, and Runes with cap limits, similar to Path of Exile's support gems or Noita's spell system. This allows for creative synergies and builds.
- Difficulty curve with risk/reward mechanics (weight 0.43): The game's difficulty increases per room cleared, with curse intensity, elite spawns, and boss scaling. This creates a fair challenge loop where players must manage resources and plan their path.
- Dodge-focused soulslike combat system (weight 0.34): The combat emphasizes dodge mechanics, parrying, and learning enemy patterns, including fast combos and elite spawns. It requires precision and timing, reminiscent of Dark Souls but adapted for a 2D action roguelike.
- Progression resets and permadeath system (weight 0.34): Each run starts fresh with permadeath, but meta progression unlocks permanent upgrades, shortcuts, and world improvements. This classic roguelike loop is enhanced by persistent elements like unlockable areas.
- Exploration with secrets and puzzles (weight 0.22): The fixed hand-designed maps hide secrets, puzzles, and hidden treasures that reward thorough exploration. This adds depth beyond combat, encouraging players to uncover narrative and lore elements.
- Narrative start and lore integration (weight 0.21): The game features a narrative start and integrates lore through exploration, areas, and item descriptions. This adds context to the action and reinforces the dark fantasy theme.
- Early access content overview (weight 0.19): Currently in early access, the game features two completed areas, three biomes, about a dozen spells, and nearly 100 runes and talismans, with legendary bosses guarding seals.
- No grinding and fair progression (weight 0.15): The game avoids excessive grinding, offering a fair difficulty loop with metaprogression that feels earned. Players can progress at a steady pace without repetitive farming.
- Resource management and token conversion (weight 0.15): Players must manage resources like runes and tokens, with a conversion system that adds strategic depth to upgrades and purchases between runs.
- Multiple paths and choices in map (weight 0.15): The fixed map offers multiple paths, room choices, and branching routes, allowing players to customize their run strategy and risk level.
- Pixel art aesthetic (weight 0.08): The game uses pixel art visuals, which contributes to its retro appeal and dark fantasy atmosphere.

Performance notes:
- Performance issues on screen (weight 0.18): Players report that the game freezes or crashes to 2 FPS when too many effects appear on screen, often requiring a restart. This is a significant technical problem that disrupts gameplay.
- Good compatibility with Proton (weight 0.1): The game runs well on Linux using Proton, indicating solid compatibility for Linux users. This is a positive note for platform support.

Recommendations:
- Strong overall recommendation (weight 0.76): Multiple reviews express strong, general recommendations for the game, using phrases like 'Recommended', 'Highly recommend', and 'Go get it'.
- Recommended for action RPG/roguelike players (weight 0.31): The game is particularly recommended for fans of action roguelikes, action RPGs, and games inspired by Diablo, suggesting a blend of genres.
- Appeals to Dark Souls fans (weight 0.25): Several reviews highlight the game as suitable for fans of Dark Souls-style dark fantasy and hardcore action games, indicating a specific target audience.
- Appeals to exploration and strategy fans (weight 0.1): A review recommends the game for players who enjoy exploring secrets and strategic planning, highlighting a specific gameplay strength.
- Try the demo first (weight 0.09): One review encourages trying the demo if interested, suggesting a cautious approach for potential buyers.
- Best value on sale (weight 0.08): One review advises buying the game on sale, implying that while the game is good, its full price may not be justified for some players.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Excitement (weight 0.15): Players are excited about the magical experience, unique genre mix, and intuitive build crafting. The game exceeds expectations with its roguelite mechanics, OP builds, and vast potential for exploration and experimentation.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.15): Satisfaction arises from the token system that eliminates grinding, deep buildcrafting, and responsive combat. The game's accessibility, difficulty curve, and smooth progression contribute to a highly rewarding experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.15): Enjoyment stems from the unique genre combination, engaging combat, and satisfying upgrade systems. Players appreciate the secrets, planning, and solid gameplay that balances challenge with fun.
- Frustration (weight 0.13): Frustration is caused by visual noise obscuring mechanics, bugs and crashes affecting runs, and balance issues. Poor controller adaptation, limited areas, and confusing puzzles also detract from the experience.
- Anticipation (weight 0.07): Players eagerly anticipate future updates and additions, hoping for improvements to the game. They look forward to the full version and its potential enhancements.
- Appreciation (weight 0.06): Appreciation is directed at the beautiful pixel art, soundtrack, and fair gameplay loop. The skill gem and support system design, along with the spell system's potential, are particularly praised.
- Disappointment (weight 0.06): Disappointment arises from the lackluster sound design for combat, mediocre buildcrafting, and wasted potential due to low difficulty. Pixelated art style and game-breaking bugs also contribute to the letdown.
- Love (weight 0.04): Love is expressed for the style, world building, and build variation. The Risk of Rain style system, clever progression, and ability to upgrade the world alongside the character are key draws.
- Fun (weight 0.04): Players describe the game as tons of fun, with the core gameplay loop delivering a highly enjoyable experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration is reserved for the game being one of the best soulslikes tried, with praise for its music and art direction.
- Immersion (weight 0.04): Immersion is achieved through the game's tone, atmosphere, and visually appealing world. Fantastic audio and soundtracks further enhance the experience.
- Surprise (weight 0.04): Surprise comes from neat surprises in progression and the demo being a pleasant unexpected find. The game is considered one of the most surprising indie titles recently.
- Hooked (weight 0.02): Players are immediately hooked due to being fans of ARPGs and roguelikes, finding the game instantly engaging.
- Liking (weight 0.02): Liking is based on the art style, smooth combat, and the blend of exploration with puzzles.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy stems from the best build mechanics and a fun gameplay loop, with one player humorously expressing extreme enthusiasm.
- Bitter taste (weight 0.02): A bitter taste is left by the progression reset after each run, discouraging long-term play.
- Amazement (weight 0.02): Amazement comes from the game being unlike anything else seen, standing out as a unique and exceptional experience.
- Encouragement (weight 0.02): Encouragement is given to support the developers, showing belief in the game's potential and future.
- Mild frustration (weight 0.02): Mild frustration results from quality-of-life lacks and bugs, which slightly mar an otherwise enjoyable experience.}