After seven years in the works, solo-developed roguelike Patch Quest has released its final version, a massive roguelike where your explorer uses their powerful lasso to capture and tame any of the many monsters that inhabit a huge labyrinth. It's pretty much what would happen if you combined Pokemon with The Binding of Isaac, a simply to play yet wildly diverse set of attacks and movement mechanics ranging from gliding, leaping, and surfing to tunneling and spider-man-esque webslinging.
It definitely retains that Isaac DNA, however, becoming ever more of a bullet hell about dodging enemy attacks as you get deeper into the game. The roguelike quilted terrain of Patchlantis also rearranges itself every night, so if you're defeated and sent back to base camp you'll have to explore a new pattern of mazelike corridors.
For all that it descends from the git-gud roguelike school of things, it's not all that brutally hard. More of that modern tough game school—you get used to it over time, and familiarity with the 50-some monsters to tame makes it much easier.
Capturing monsters with your magic lasso lets you tame them, which lets you keep them and level them up as pets. There's also a collection element beyond the monsters, with new exploration gadgets that let you traverse the map in new ways alongside 200-some plants and minerals to collect (for science!). You can also unlock shortcuts through the rearranging maze over time.
But perhaps the best, funniest thing is this sentence, which I will take directly from the game description and refuse to elaborate on: "Gather ammo fruits and blend them into powerful ammo smoothies."
Patch Quest has survived as a niche game in development, but is really taking off now that it released. It's currently sitting at a majestic 97% positive 746 reviews on the Patch Quest Steam page, where it's $15 or 25% off ($11.24) until March 16. You can also check out the publisher's official website.
