When I first started playing PC games, DOOM II and X-COM were among the first things I got into, shaping my gaming tastes for years after. Now more than two decades on, I’m only just playing a game that combines aspects of the two? ChaosForge’s Jupiter Hell hopes to be better late than never as it finally emerges from Early Access.

Jupiter Hell takes on that tried and true method of trading on gaming nostalgia with modern conveniences. In this case, it’s a top-down turn-based shooter akin to X-COM, but set up both structurally and tonally, like the mazy corridor shooter of choice in the 90s; DOOM. oh, and it’s also a roguelike to boot. 

 It’s presented like a 90s game in so many respects, from the metal soundtrack, the admirably stubborn refusal to allow mouse control, to the old-school menu and UI text format. The key giveaway that this is a game from 2021 and not 1997 is that its relatively simple visuals have an atmosphere and style that would be tough to replicate in that era.

The brilliant tagline for Jupiter Hell reads ‘Like Chess. With Shotguns’ and rarely has such a brief description painted such an accurate picture. The unapologetic riff on DOOM’s setup (which is completely understandable as the game began life as a successor to DOOM: The Roguelike) sees the player put into the boots of a space marine fighting their way through demonic forces on Ma…Jupiter’s Moons. There are undead marines, monsters, and as you’d expect from this formula, there’s a lot of them…often at once. The key difference is that things are a little less frantic in Jupiter Hell thanks to the turn-based nature of its combat. It sounds like an odd combination, but ChaosForge has ensured that with practice, the seemingly awkward turn-based nature can become a flexible transition from fast-paced movement with split-second decision making to slowing things down when necessary, all still within the confines of a turn-based format.

It’s clear that this is where ChaosForge has focused its attention most. The smart gelling of a shooter with turn-based mechanics ends up feeling almost natural when it flows right, and that’s a huge credit to the developer. Mapping everything to the keyboard works really well. Neat touches such as being able to throw a dropped grenade instead of just picking it up get you out of plenty of jams, and adds a touch of flair to combat I didn’t expect. While tricky to remember at first, reloading as a turn feeds into the strategic flow of things quite nicely.

 It actually meant I found myself swapping between weapons depending on how many turns it would conceivably take for a particular fracas. Using cover helps to open up your options and give you a breather, and is entrenched in the turn-based mechanics of positioning your marine up against a wall (indicated by a green bar) and seeing what differences that made to your chances (displayed in the top right corner is hit chance percentage and the like). As I mentioned, it takes a little getting used to, even for someone who’s savvy to the inner workings of games like X-COM, but it’s a pretty successful partnership of styles overall.

It does appear to need a little more fine-tuning to ensure that switch in pace isn’t always jarring, however. At times, button presses simply didn’t register as something in the game clearly tried to catch up. Small freezes can mess up your strategy, and that’s aggravating when you’re up against a wall of hell and one wrong move can send your run spiraling into calamity and death. If you’re going to get gibbed by space demons, it’s a lot more palatable when it’s your own fault.

While I’ve focused on the turn-based aspect of the game a lot so far, the real hook for Jupiter Hell is that it’s a roguelike. The essence may well be DOOM’s corridor shooting, but there’s also the need to be cautious and pick the right kind of build for your playstyle. Want to be a shotgun-toting bringer of death? Sure, Jupiter Hell lets you embrace that, even if it does go out of its way to push you into trying new things whether you want to or not by only providing certain ammo on certain floors. 

What the roguelike template also brings is variety and uncertainty. The thrill of understanding and then conquering the unknown is part of the fun. The story of any given run goes through some variant on the rollercoaster ride of coming back from near-death situations thanks to a timely explosive barrel in the right place, and then getting caught with your pants down and your ego out because you thought your firepower was going to be too much for the demons to handle. 

Yes, you can eventually get a good idea of what to expect, where to go, and what to avoid, but Jupiter Hell keeps things surprising in the smaller moments where your choices can flip the fracas in a different way. No matter how much you might know better about going into an area that’s a death machine, the temptation to do it anyway for potential rewards can easily override common sense.

Jupiter Hell will be a refreshing spin on a classic for some, and the best of a bad situation for those mourning the loss of DOOM: The Roguelike. Some technical grumbles aside, its straightforward, no-nonsense approach to turn-based roguelike shoot n’ loot works well, and provides a compelling game to either dip into for an hour here and there, or lose a few days to.

Jupiter Hell review code for PC provided by the publisher.

Jupiter Hell is out now on Steam PC.