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After playing in excess of 200 new releases this year, I'm formally closing the book on 2025. My annual roundup is out in the world, and I feel content with the concluding selections, despite being aware a host of fantastic releases likely fell under the radar. Now, there's plan is to other than unwind, take a short break, and possibly go for a refreshing hike in the— oh no, found another amazing experience. There go my peaceful respite!

A Surprising Contender Emerges

With my laid-back sessions, often set aside for a selection of unusual games, I've come across potentially my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual roguelike for Windows PC that breaks down a classic dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of major consequence danger and payoff. Take this as a preview for the in-the-know: If you take pride discovering a game before it hits the mainstream, give Sol Cesto a try so you can make a dent in your indie credit card.

A Strategic Dungeon-Crawling Innovation

Sol Cesto is a thought-provoking procedural game that's different from everything I've previously experienced. The premise is that you must venture into a dungeon, progressing deeper and deeper to find the sun, which has gone missing from its world. In practice, that makes for some recognizable genre framework. Choose an adventurer who has parameters and powers, clear floor after floor of foes, acquire some stat improvements (represented as teeth), and overcome a few biome bosses. Straightforward, right!

The Unique Gameplay Loop

The method by which you effectively complete a area, is unique. Every time you enter a new floor, you're shown a four-by-four matrix of boxes. Every tile either contains a monster, a loot box, a trap, or a healing strawberry. To explore a room, you just select on one of the horizontal lines, but which square you land in is up to chance.

You could encounter a row with two monsters, a strawberry, and a treasure chest in it. You start with a quarter likelihood of selecting any given square in a row.

Subsequently, your probabilities change. The question becomes: Do you go for it, or do you choose on a alternative option first and attempt some safer moves early? That's the risk-reward dynamic at play in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing when you acquire its rhythm.

Manipulating Probability

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated through a run by picking up teeth that change what things you're more likely to land on. As an instance, you might get a perk that will reduce the probability of hitting a trap, but will also decrease the odds of getting a treasure chest too.

• Developing a strategy is about manipulating math as best you can to have a better shot at getting your desired outcome.
• On a particular session, I invested my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and selected all the teeth possible that would increase my odds of landing on monsters with that damage type.
• On a different attempt, I built my character around loot caches and paired that with a perk that would debuff nearby foes each time I secured loot.

The strategic possibilities are somewhat constrained, but there's enough to engage with to allow you to tweak numbers to your preference.

An Ever-Present Risk

Naturally, at its heart, it's a game of chance. There remains the possibility that you have an 80% chance to hit the square you want but end up landing a monster that would eliminate your final hit point. Each click is a gamble, so there's a constant tension as you clear a floor out and decide when to keep clicking or to proceed to the following level rather than testing fate.

Consumables including enemy-killing bombs help cut down the chance, similar to some hero powers. One hero's unique ability, powered up by selecting four tiles, allows players to select a vertical column instead of a horizontal line on a turn. Should you use this move wisely, you can hold that ability for the right moment to circumvent a perilous selection. You'll find an astonishing amount of nuance in the basic action of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is remaining in its preview phase, and it has another update to go until the complete edition is unleashed. Another playable adventurer and a new boss are expected to drop by the end of January. The full launch probably isn't much later, but the creators haven't set a specific release window yet.

A Parting Recommendation

Whenever it's fully released, you ought to put Sol Cesto in your sights. I have been thoroughly captivated with it, uncovering each of small details and storing my run rewards per attempt to reveal a continuous trickle of persistent upgrades, including fresh adventurers and items available for acquisition mid-attempt. I still haven't completed the dungeon, and I get the feeling I'll continue working on that task when 1.0 finally hits. I'm committed for the complete journey.