#199: Infra Arcana
Cosmic horror roguelike is unforgiving and yet compelling
This review was originally posted to Twitter on December 28, 2019.
Initial release: June 5th, 2011 (version 01.0)
Platform: PC
Developer: Martin Törnqvist
Note: this review was based on version 20.0. The current version is 22.1.0.
Roguelikes, as a broad genre, have the distinction of being incredibly niche, and yet the concepts most associated with them are now common features in mainstream games. But there’s still old-school roguelikes out there — and Martin Törnqvist’s Infra Arcana is one of them.
Infra Arcana has something to offer that’s different from the usual fantasy fare common to old-school roguelikes — a horror theme set in the interwar years with the Church of Starry Wisdom taking up residence under an old church, and a mysterious artifact you want to steal.
While roguelikes over the last 40 years have run the gamut in terms of accessibility from the punishingly old-school Nethack to Dungeons of Dredmore, right away it’s obvious that Infra Arcana leans towards the Nethack end of the scale. Like many old-school RLs, it’s free, as the genre is far too niche to turn any serious profit for most, especially after paying the fee to sell it on Steam. While newer RLs do sell — see Caves of Qud for a notable success story — it’s a rather small market that’s mostly made up of the most venerable titles.
The second clue as to what Infra Arcana is going for is the aesthetic. While recent versions have come with a tileset that gives it an ASCII-style look while still remaining immediately readable (i.e. snakes are snakes, not the letter S), the aesthetic still evokes long nights snuggling up with DOS in the early 80s. Third, of course, is the punishing difficulty, which is of a degree or two greater than average. Permadeath is in. Corpse runs are out. The dungeon re-randomizes with every new character. Even a cultist with a shotgun can totally wreck you on the first or second floors.
Like many roguelikes, winning is down to a mix of luck, cunning, and knowing how the game works. It’s thirty floors of cultists, zombies, rabid animals and nightmares from beyond the stars — and you’re lucky if you get past the third floor without much practice. (6 is my best.)
The interface is confusing at times; without much of a manual or a wiki it’s not always clear how to do certain things, such as unload a weapon you’re already carrying (you have to drop it then unload it from the ground.) This, too, is typical to roguelikes.
There are some modern touches, though. The aforementioned tileset is very welcome, though you can switch back to ASCII if you’re weird. The use of music and ambient cues, as well as sound effects, give what’s otherwise a fairly detached game a little immersion. The manual isn’t comprehensive, but it’s usually enough to get you familiar with the controls. The game will also provide you with toggleable tutorial pop-ups when you encounter new things, though the game doesn’t remember that you’ve already seen them when on a new character.
I tend to like the idea of roguelikes more than their execution, and Infra Arcana is no different. And yet I find it compelling, largely because of the horror theme (the Blood influence is obvious in the cultist language.) Even though I’m writing this review, I’m going to keep playing.
You may never finish this game. Hell, I definitely won’t finish this game. But if you’re looking for a free roguelike that gives you some important modern QOL features where it matters but is unforgiving in all the right ways, and you’re bored of the 9328509 fantasy RLs out there, this is the game for you.
Download it for free here.
