Source of Madness Critic Reviews

These smaller issues pale in comparison to what Source of Madness gets right. The gorgeous 2D art style, atmospheric music, and crunchy sound design underpin a combat system that is deep and rewarding, and is sure to keep surprising players deep into their time with the game. For gamers searching for a gratifying roguelite filled to the brim with passion and creativity, Source of Madness is more than worth the cost of admission.

I did find that the AI enemies seem to flop around like more of a fish than a monster, but for the most part, they provide a fresh experience. Source of Madness takes the traditional roguelite formula and adds in its own spices showing that a genre that’s been beaten to death still has some life in it.

Procedurality and Lovecraft are two words that we never expected to come to life together, yet the three guys from Carry Castle did.

Source of Madness is a roguelite with a brilliant potential, which unfortunately feels mostly squandered. It’s a fun game mechanically, but repetition kicks in after just a few hours.

Source of Madness is a charming and interesting roguelike, but it’s also the proof that taking too much risk isn’t always a good idea.

Visually, this is a cosmic horror fan’s fantasy. Nameless creatures and an accursed world are all procedurally generated for a unique experience in each run. The downside is the incredibly disappointing gameplay often layered with grinding, camera and control issues, underwhelming combat, terrible UI, and repetition beyond the norm for a roguelite. Accompanied with a few haunting bugs here and there, Source of Madness is merely a shadow of more enjoyable games.

I tried my damnedest to like Source Of Madness... but it all comes back to The Itch. The game has its moments and the world's beautifully horrid, but when everything's churned out of a machine-learning bot it makes for a roguelite that's too random. Yes, you've got to think on your feet, but a lack of defined margins means your life's often snuffed out by mess. And mess leads to frustration. And frustration leads to excuses. When you're pinning your demise on the game itself, it's hard to summon the willpower to push on.