The Book of Aaru

I came into this game as a fairly experienced Hades and Hades II player. While The Book of Ahru isn't as polished as those titles mentioned, it immediately drew me in with its Egyptian theme and fitting music. I feel like I can sink a decent number of hours into it. For now, I’m still exploring, and even 10 hours in, there’s still a lot to learn and (unlearn from similar games). I would recommend this game for its positive features, such as the ability to craft consumables during dungeon runs and its overall smooth gameplay. While it does have some minor issues—like the frustrating button design when sending resources to your base they don't significantly detract from the experience. It's a solid effort for a first game from a new, small studio. Given the current state of AAA gaming, supporting new indie creators like this feels like the right move.

Great on Deck, even has built in magnification. Tight, fun, hard and a killer soundtrack. I'm just starting it, but I can already tell this is my type of game. Deeper combat than Hades, and that's saying something. I plan on putting in the hours on this one.

Very promising. I really do enjoy this game. It is super unique in the genre. This has a great concept, has great art, the music is very good, the general audio design is very cool, and the action is well enough designed that it is fun and engaging. I think this is a really unique addition to the roguelite market, and I'm excited for the development. This game moves slower than some others that it resembles (Hades being the most prominent, though Curse of the Dead Gods is a better reference). This game is much more calculated than Hades. Parrying is much more common here, though dodge rolling is also critical. Your attacks are quite powerful but in general they do carry a lot more momentum, and so you cannot be button mashing this combat. It still gets hectic with ranged, melee, and AoE enemies all ganging up on you. To help you out, the game not only has light/heavy melee/ranged attack combos but also provides more powerful combos linking heavy melee and heavy ranged attacks. Each weapon set I have played with is very distinct. The traps in this game are much more of a problem than in other games as well. They really are something you need to watch out for as you fight, because often they won't trigger until you accidentally dodge close to them. So if you aren't paying attention, you can take a fireball up the rear before you realized the launcher was there on the wall. I actually think this makes it fun, and gives the combat arenas more for you to focus on than just the enemies. Another point I will make is that the development team here is really working on the game and listening to feedback. That's great to see. I think this game is under-appreciated if I'm honest, and I definitely think it is worth picking up and trying out if you like isometric action roguelites.

It's a fun quick paced game with fitting background music. I especially enjoyed dodging all the traps and killing foes with them. Some of the dialogs are pure gold.

The Book of Aaru has a lot of potential and a gorgeous visual identity. The Ancient Egypt-inspired sci-fi aesthetic is slick, and I really like the idea of weapon sets that completely reshape your abilities. Combat is challenging, and the time-slow mechanic gives it some style. That said, this is a cautious thumbs up at best. Parrying feels off even after recent patches, dimensional portals can kill you for unclear reasons, and several bugs (like softlocks or broken run tracking) need attention. The UI is clunky, and content is a bit thin for a full release. I don’t recommend buying it at full price just yet, but if you’re a roguelite fan with patience for early rough edges, there’s a good chance you’ll find something enjoyable here—especially with future updates. 👉 Read the full review at TrueScore Gaming: https://truescoregaming.com/the-book-of-aaru-review