Video Games
Lovecraftian Roguelike ‘Source of Madness’ Out Now on Steam Early Access
It’s been a few months since we last heard about Thunderful Publishing & developer Carry Castle’s dark action roguelike RPG, Source of Madness. Well, the game is out now on Steam Early Access, and it’s every bit of a trip as you might expect.
The story puts you in the role of an Acolyte as they embark on an odyssey through the nightmarish Loam Lands towards the Tower of Madness, the moon’s mysterious Citadel. Along the way, you’ll be battling monsters that are never the same as your previous playthrough. Source of Madness uses procedural generation in its monster design, and they’re all animated using a neural network AI.
Currently, the Early Access version includes 5 biomes to explore; the Prologue area, the Loam Land, the Cave of Lost Souls, the Forest of Lies and The Moon. Players have two classes to choose from in the Pyromancer and Generalist. There are also two major boss fights, which act as key progression milestones in the story.
“There are plenty of roguelites that alter their level design every time you play, but Source of Madness takes things one step further by altering the monsters you encounter,” said Per Fornander, Co-Founder at Carry Castle. “These twisted monstrosities are created by an AI, ensuring that even we are finding new abominations to face off against. The billions of possible monstrous forms feels cosmically overwhelming, which fits the tone of Source of Madness’ Lovecraftian horror.”
The devs plan an aggressive update schedule, beginning on September 27 with Geomancer class, new monster variations and additional fixes.
Moon Studios dropped a new trailer during the Sony State of Play for their dark action-RPG No Rest for the Wicked, while also hinting at the long-awaited launch window for the full 1.0 release. The game, which has been in Early Access on Steam since April 2024, will be launching this October in full for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam, while versions for the Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 will arrive at a later date.
As a token of appreciation for supporters new and old, Moon Studios is offering an exclusive Early Access Founder’s Pack, a free limited edition bundle available for anyone who purchases the game on Steam prior to July 10, with rewards unlocking when 1.0 officially launches. PlayStation 5 users can receive the Early Access Founder’s Pack by pre-ordering the game once available, any time before launch day.
The Founder’s Pack includes:
- A New Secret Hideout: Spirit Cavern – The legacy of Moon Studios now lives inside No Rest for the Wicked, exclusively for Founders. A hand-crafted home that bridges both worlds.
- Sayer’s Vow: An all new Sword in the stone reserved just for the founders that only early adopters can extract in the game world.
- A Custom Founders Tag ensures players are clearly identified as early adopters.
- As a Founder member, players will get access to an exclusive Public Beta Test Realm reserved just for them, even after the 1.0 game launch.
As for the full 1.0 release, it will be a massive expansion of the core experience, introducing a staggering 60+ hours of new content, a new horde mode, powerful new weapons, bosses and enemies, new areas and a completely reimagined class system.
In No Rest for the Wicked, players take on the role of a “Cerim,” a member of a holy order imbued with mysterious powers, tasked with destroying the Pestilence, an ancient plague that has begun to consume the island Isola Sacra, itself already the site of great political upheaval and death.