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After playing well over 200 recent games this year, I'm formally turning the page on 2025. My year-end list is live, and I am at peace with the concluding selections, accepting that plenty of fantastic releases probably slipped through the cracks. At this point, it's job is to other than unwind, take a short break, and perhaps take a nice walk in the— ah crap, found another amazing experience. There go my intentions!

A Surprising Front-Runner Appears

During my casual gaming time, usually reserved for a selection of unusual games, I've discovered what might become my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is a distinctive procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that deconstructs a conventional dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of major consequence peril and prize. Consider this a preview for the in-the-know: If you take pride discovering a game before it hits the mainstream, test out Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your wallet for unique titles.

A Calculated Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelike that's different from everything I'm familiar with. The concept is that you are tasked with descending into a dungeon, progressing deeper and deeper on a quest for the sun, which has gone missing from this mythical realm. When you play, this results in some recognizable genre framework. Pick a hero who has stats and abilities, defeat enemies on every stage of enemies, acquire some stat improvements (represented as teeth), and vanquish a few area guardians. Simple enough!

The Unique Central System

The way you truly navigate a area, though. Whenever you begin a fresh level, the game presents a 4x4 grid of boxes. Each square holds a monster, a loot box, a trap, or a life-giving berry. To proceed, you just select on one of the four rows, but the exact space you select is determined by luck.

You may face a row with a pair of enemies, a strawberry, and a treasure chest in it. You begin with a one-in-four probability of hitting a specific tile in a row.

Then, you'll chances are recalculated. So do you go for it, or do you opt on a safer line first and try to make safer moves early? This is the risk-reward dynamic on display in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing after you develop its rhythm.

Shaping the Odds

The meta-layer is that your odds can be manipulated through a run by gathering teeth that alter which objects you're more likely to land on. For example, you could acquire a perk that will decrease your odds of landing on a trap, but will also decrease the odds of getting a treasure chest too.

• Crafting a loadout is about manipulating math to the utmost to have a higher chance at landing where you want.
• During one attempt, I put all my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth I could that would boost my chances of landing on monsters with that damage type.
• During a separate session, I built my character around reward boxes and paired that with a perk that would weaken adjacent enemies every time I claimed a reward.

The customization choices are limited, but they are sufficient to work with to allow you to tweak numbers to your preference.

A Persistent Gamble

Of course, at its heart, it's a game of chance. There's always the possibility that you have a likely outcome to land on the desired tile but ultimately choose a foe that would eliminate your final hit point. Each click is a gamble, so there's a constant tension as you navigate a level and determine if to press onward or when to move on to the next floor as opposed to pushing your luck.

Consumables including destructive ordnance help cut down the chance, as do some special skills. A particular character's signature move, charged after selecting four tiles, allows players to click on a vertical line instead of a row for that move. If you play this move wisely, you can save that move for the right moment to circumvent a perilous selection. There's a shocking degree of depth in the simple act of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is currently in its preview phase, and it has at least one more update to go before the full version is launched. A new character and a additional end-level foe are planned for release before the conclusion of January. The full launch probably isn't long after, but the game's developers haven't set a specific release window yet.

A Parting Thought

Regardless of when its 1.0 launch occurs, you might want to put Sol Cesto on your radar. For the past week, I've been thoroughly captivated with it, uncovering each of hidden nuances and saving my accumulated currency per attempt to access a constant flow of persistent upgrades, featuring fresh adventurers and items I can buy mid-attempt. I still haven't reached the bottom, and I have a sense I will remain attempting that goal when 1.0 finally hits. Sign me up for the complete journey.