Murals: A Roguelike That Puts Player Fun First with Custom Difficulty

Ever felt like roguelikes are just too punishing for their own good? You're not alone. Dlala Studios, the team behind Disney Illusion Island, is here to change that with their upcoming game, Murals. It's a stylish roguelike that takes inspiration from dark fairy tales, but it's not trying to copy the Hades formula. Instead, it's blending fast-paced action with a welcoming approach to difficulty.

In a recent chat with GameSpot, Dlala CEO Aj Grand-Scrutton revealed that Murals will feature a customizable difficulty system. "There are difficulty selectors, and you can kind of tweak some of the individual settings," he said. You can adjust enemy damage, enemy health, and even player health. The goal? To make the game as accessible as possible, just like they did with Disney Illusion Island.

"We don't care about player deaths," Grand-Scrutton explained. "Our goal isn't to kill the player; it's to make sure they have fun. We try to make it as customizable as we can so everyone can get through. Even if you're a button-masher, that's a legitimate tactic in our rules." So if you're not into brutal, punishing runs, you can tweak things to your liking. But if you're a glutton for punishment, you can crank it up too.

The combat itself is inspired by the fast, frantic action of Hades, but also draws from modern Doom and Diablo. Design director Grant Allen mentioned that an indie gem called Blazing Beaks also influenced the design. "It was more like looking at our game as more like a child's science kit," Allen said, emphasizing experimentation and fun over frustration.

Murals will plunge you into hand-painted fairy tales that have gone horribly wrong. Sleeping Beauty is an insomniac, Rapunzel's hair is trying to kill her, and you play as an amnesiac hero who must defeat these distorted legends and take down the enigmatic Creator. It's a wild twist on classic stories, and it's coming to PC in 2027.

So, will you be picking this up? Or are you a purist who thinks roguelikes should be brutally hard? Let us know in the comments!