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Following my time with in excess of 200 new releases this year, It's time to closing the book on 2025. My best-of compilation is live, and I feel content with the final results, despite being aware numerous excellent games probably slipped by the wayside. Now, there's plan is to but sit back, take a short break, and possibly go for a refreshing hike in the— well, shoot, found another amazing experience. There go my peaceful respite!

An Early Contender Emerges

During my casual gaming time, typically earmarked for a few oddball curiosities, I've discovered potentially my initial top game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that breaks down a classic labyrinth explorer into a luck-based game of significant risk peril and prize. Consider this a hipster's insider tip: If you take pride being aware of a game before it's cool, test out Sol Cesto so you can punch a hole in your wallet for unique titles.

A Tactical Roguelike Twist

Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelike that's a departure from all I've previously experienced. The premise is that you need to explore a dungeon, going down level by level on a quest for the sun, which has gone missing from the fantasy world. When you play, that makes for some recognizable genre framework. Select a character who has attributes and skills, fight through each level of foes, collect some permanent upgrades (which are teeth), and defeat a few biome bosses. Easy to grasp!

The Novel Core Mechanic

The way you actually clear a area, however. Whenever you begin a fresh level, the game presents a sixteen-square board of boxes. Each square features a monster, a treasure chest, a trap, or a life-giving berry. To make a move, you just select on one of the four rows, but which square you land in is up to chance.

You could encounter a row with multiple foes, a strawberry, and a treasure chest in it. You initially will have a one-in-four probability of hitting a particular space in a row.

After that, the chances are recalculated. The question becomes: Do you take the risk, or do you click on a different row first and aim for more cautious selections early? This is the risk-reward dynamic at play in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing when you acquire its rhythm.

Shaping the Odds

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated over the course of a session by collecting teeth that modify the types of squares you're more attracted to. For example, you might get a perk that will lower your chances of landing on a trap, but will concurrently lower the odds of landing on a treasure chest too.

• Developing a strategy is about influencing the statistics as best you can to have a improved likelihood at getting your desired outcome.
• In one run, I put all my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth possible that would increase my odds of attracting me toward monsters of that variety.
• In another run, I developed my adventurer around loot caches and combined that with a perk that would weaken adjacent enemies each time I claimed a reward.

The strategic possibilities are somewhat constrained, but it provides ample to engage with to allow you to tweak the odds the way you want.

A Constant Gamble

Naturally, it remains a game of chance. You constantly face the chance that you have an 80% chance to select the square you want but ultimately choose a foe that would deplete your remaining life. All selections is a gamble, so there's a constant tension as you clear a floor out and decide when to keep clicking or when to move on to the following level rather than pushing your luck.

Tools such as enemy-killing bombs help cut down the chance, similar to some hero powers. A particular character's special power, powered up by clearing four squares, enables you to choose a vertical column rather than a row for that move. Should you use this move wisely, you can save that move for the right moment to circumvent a perilous selection. It's a surprising amount of nuance in the simple act of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is currently in its preview phase, and it has a final update to go before the complete edition is unleashed. Another playable adventurer and a additional end-level foe are planned for release sometime in January. The full launch may not be long after, but the studio haven't set a final date yet.

A Parting Thought

Whenever its 1.0 launch occurs, you ought to put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. I have been completely engrossed with it, finding all of small details and banking my earned gold every session to access a constant flow of permanent unlocks, such as fresh adventurers and items purchasable while playing. To this day, I have not found the deepest level, and I get the feeling I will remain attempting that goal when 1.0 finally hits. I'm committed for the long haul.