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Having experienced in excess of 200 recent games this year, I'm formally wrapping things up on 2025. My year-end list is live, and I feel content with the concluding selections, accepting that a host of excellent games probably slipped through the cracks. Currently, my only job is to but sit back, take a short break, and perhaps take a refreshing hike in the— well, shoot, discovered one more brilliant title. And just like that, goodbye to my peaceful respite!

A Premature Front-Runner Appears

During my off-hours play, typically earmarked for a selection of unusual games, I've discovered what could be my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that reimagines a classic labyrinth explorer into a chance-driven game of significant risk danger and payoff. Consider this an early adopter's heads-up: If you relish being aware of a game before it hits the mainstream, test out Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your indie credit card.

A Calculated Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelike that's different from everything I've previously experienced. The setup is that you need to explore a dungeon, descending floor after floor to find the sun, which has disappeared from this mythical realm. Mechanically, that makes for some familiar roguelike structure. Pick a hero with their own parameters and powers, fight through each level of monsters, acquire some passive buffs (represented as teeth), and vanquish a few area guardians. Simple enough!

The Unique Central System

The method by which you truly navigate a dungeon room, is unique. Whenever you start another stage, you see a four-by-four matrix of boxes. All spaces features a monster, a loot box, a trap, or a life-giving berry. To make a move, you just select on one of the four rows, but the exact space you land in is a matter of probability.

You could encounter a row with a pair of enemies, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You begin with a one-in-four probability of selecting a specific tile in a row.

Subsequently, your chances are recalculated. The question becomes: Do you press your luck, or do you opt on a different row first and aim for less risky choices early? That's the risk-reward dynamic on display in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing once you get a feel for it.

Influencing Chance

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated through a run by gathering teeth that change what things you're more attracted to. For example, you might get a perk that will lower your chances of landing on a trap, but will concurrently lower the odds of finding a reward too.

• Developing a strategy is about manipulating math to the utmost to have a higher chance at getting your desired outcome.
• In one run, I focused my attribute improvements toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth I could that would boost my chances of being drawn to monsters aligned with that strength.
• In another run, I built my character around treasure chests and coupled it with a perk that would debuff nearby foes every time I opened a chest.

The strategic possibilities are not endless, but there's enough to work with to let you manipulate the odds to your preference.

A Persistent Risk

Naturally, at its heart, it's a game of chance. There's always the risk that you have an 80% chance to select the desired tile but end up landing on an enemy that would deplete your final hit point. Every move is a gamble, so you feel ongoing pressure as you navigate a level and determine if to keep clicking or when to move on to the next floor instead of pushing your luck.

Items like enemy-killing bombs help cut down the chance, similar to some hero powers. An adventurer's signature move, activated once making four moves, allows players to select a vertical line rather than a horizontal line during that action. If you play this move wisely, you can reserve that option for a crucial point to sidestep a dangerous choice. It's a surprising degree of depth in the simple act of clicking.

The Road to 1.0

Sol Cesto is remaining in its preview phase, and it has another update to go before the complete edition is launched. Another playable adventurer and a additional end-level foe are scheduled to arrive before the conclusion of January. The 1.0 release may not be much later, but the game's developers haven't announced a concrete launch day yet.

A Parting Thought

No matter when its 1.0 launch occurs, you should consider put Sol Cesto in your sights. I've been thoroughly captivated with it, uncovering each of little secrets and storing my run rewards in each run to unlock a steady stream of meta progression rewards, such as fresh adventurers and items purchasable mid-attempt. To this day, I have not completed the dungeon, and I get the feeling I will remain pursuing that objective when 1.0 finally hits. Count me in for the complete journey.