Shroom and Gloom

Do you like deck building games? How about rogue-like games? First-person games?

Then boy – *slaps top of pc tower* – do we have the game for you.

Shroom and Gloom is a first-person, roguelike deck-building game by Team Lazerbeam. In this dungeon-crawling adventure, players navigate a mysterious, mushroom-filled world, battling enemies and building powerful decks. The game’s blend of strategy, card-based combat, and exploration creates a challenging experience where every decision matters.

We’ve explored the fungal dungeon numerous times and are excited by the promise shown in this prototype. Oh, did we mention this is a prototype?

Design

First and foremost, the graphics are impressive. When thinking of game prototypes, one might expect minimal, mismatched assets used as placeholders. However, Team Lazerbeam has ensured Shroom and Gloom already feels like a complete game, greatly enhancing the experience.

The hand-drawn art style, combined with its “cardboard cutout” parallax effect, creates a visually stunning atmosphere. As you descend into the depths, elements in your environment either obstruct or clear your path, adding to the game’s immersive quality.

Gameplay

When discussing a card-based roguelike, comparisons to games like Slay the Spire or Inscryption are inevitable. While these comparisons are valid, Shroom and Gloom takes familiar elements and expands on them, offering something fresh.

Perspective Shift

The decision to adopt a first-person perspective has a significant impact. Instead of simply showing a character at each encounter, you walk between rooms, experiencing the dungeon’s atmosphere firsthand. Although traversal is linear—you can only look left and right—it adds a layer of immersion that’s quite enjoyable.

Two Decks?!

A unique feature, building on the first-person perspective, is the inclusion of a second deck. In addition to your combat deck, there’s also an exploration deck for the spaces between encounters. Exploration cards allow you to enhance your combat deck, modify your starting hand, restore health, or activate shrines. Evolving and modifying these cards as the game progresses feels especially rewarding.

Exploration

As you explore the dungeon, you’ll encounter different rooms, each with its own events. The map helps track your location, and different room types offer various opportunities: trading keys or food for cards, removing unwanted cards through a frog shrine, or walking through a blood pond to restore health. Learning what the icons above locked doors mean is essential to optimizing your run.

While the inclusion of a map is helpful, many players find it difficult to interpret. We’d appreciate more clarity here. Additionally, allowing more free-roaming exploration could open up hidden routes or items, adding depth to the experience.

Audio

Audio can be hit or miss in early prototypes, but Shroom and Gloom excels here. The music enhances the atmosphere, complementing the game’s visuals, while sound effects are well-mixed, creating an immersive environment. The sound adds tension and unease without being overtly terrifying.

Verdict

As an early prototype, Shroom and Gloom shows great potential. We’re excited to see how it evolves and hope for a full release in the future. In the meantime, the developers encourage players to join their Discord server to provide feedback and report bugs.