Shape of Dream

In my estimation, Shape of Dreams responds to virtually every checkbox wishlist for the contemporary roguelite fan. The intricate spell and upgrade system is deep, easy to understand, and consistent, feeding into every run’s arc of difficulty, never feeling unfair or overtuned. The sound design and special effects are outlandish but readable and levels load quickly on a good rig, with the pace further helped along by the complete absence of needless forced cutscenes or overlong animations. Even just the core RNG systems on their own seem to have been polished to a shining gleam.

Shape of Dreams is a sensational Roguelike with a ridiculous amount of depth, and whether you play it alone or with the squad you'll have a blast.

Shape of Dreams does many things very well. It counters the roguelike problem of early game frustration by giving players lots of powerful and impressive tools right from the start. The flow of combat and the variety of builds have a lot of depth. The bite-sized battles are perfectly paced, though probably more satisfying for a group than a solo player. Shape of Dreams definitely has that compulsive, “just one more run” element at its core, and it’s a great scaffold for more content down the line.