Ring of Pain is a roguelike dungeon crawler card game that will be released this fall: publisher Humble Games has released a playable demo on Steam right now.

Each dungeon in Ring of Pain is randomly dealt from a deck of cards and placed in full view, so you know what awaits you and can plan an appropriate strategy. The equipment you collect along the way is essential to your survival, but your inventory is limited, as each slot can only hold one item. By identifying synergies, you can dramatically increase your chances of surviving to the end. (I don't think this will help you decide whether to trust the aura of a strange, faceless universe.)

Everything looks and sounds so strange. It's "like a turn-based 'Binding of Isaac' in a corner of your mind," as developers Simon Boxer and Twice Different once described it. Sometimes it's better to just throw out a key and say, "Figure it out for yourself," than to spend a lot of time trying to explain what's going on.

A demo is available from the Ring of Pain Steam page, which offers about 30 minutes of gameplay - enough to get a good sense of whether this strange journey is the one you want to go on.

Humble Games also announced a release date for Ring of Pain today: the full game will be available on October 15. For more information, visit ringofpain.com (although you should still play the demo).

Screenshots are below.