When The Road Darkens Review: A Raiding Roguelike Game

When The Road Darkens is a very curious indie game designed to bring the feel of MMO raids into a tighter, co-op experience. I say “curious” because I’m not typically an MMO or dungeon-crawling fan, but this game introduced me to a unique, niche genre that I might actually explore further. In this review, I will explain what exactly the “raiding roguelike” genre is and how this indie game captures its essence.

Core Concept: Non-MMO Raiding Game

For those of you who play World of Warcraft or the Final Fantasy franchise, the term “raid” is very familiar. However, if you’re not a huge MMO raider like me, you might not know what it is and you might miss why When The Road Darkens is so unique in its own way. TLDR, a raid is a group of players fighting a super SUPER boss in a PvE battle setting. Remember in Sword Art Online when Kirito and the other 39 players battled the Kobold Lord on the first floor of Aincrad? That’s a raid.

The reason I’m not a fan is that raids require intense group or party coordination, and huge MMOs like EverQuest II sometimes need around 20 players. Imagine failing not because you’re bad at the game, but because other players can’t coordinate. And also, most MMO raids require you to grind for hours to be well-equipped with the optimum level or the best gear. To make matters worse, some raids can last for hours, which gets frustrating when you finally fail. For example, Final Fantasy XI once hosted a raid that took 18 hours.

That’s where When The Road Darkens steps in, an indie game designed to eliminate all of these issues. You can just launch the game and jump straight into a raid. No grinding, no optimizing or maintaining character stats, none of that. You can freely raid with up to three players, and if you’re a soloist like Kirito, you’re free to do that too. This really opens up the joy of raiding to a much wider gaming community. For a simpler roguelike, perhaps games like Pebble Knights offer more casual gameplay.

Gameplay Mechanics

This non-MMO raiding game has been in early access since August 14, 2025. Hence, I evaluated it based on the content available at that time.

Team Composition and Roles

Traditional roles like tank, support, and DPS are still present in When the Road Darkens, but don’t expect the typical high-fantasy MMO setup. The art style is geometric with hints of dark-fantasy elements reminiscent of Elden Ring, but more on that later. Instead of choosing from race-based builds, players select one of three Ability Templates. I tried all three, and each offers distinct mechanics that meaningfully shape raid strategy. One template focuses on shield casting, while another features (hear me out) a fungus-like ability that boosts damage!

Boss Mechanics

Boss fights are designed to be intuitive, with clear visual and audio cues. There’s also a bullet-hell element that requires precise jumping and dodging, which fans of the genre will appreciate. My main criticism is that the game feels punishing for solo players, even on the lowest difficulty. However, during our interview with Oyusi, the producer emphasized their preference for co-op play, and that design choice is evident in the game.

“I’ve always preferred co-op games over single-player, so I knew I wanted to create something fun, challenging, and best enjoyed with friends.”

Progression

After completing a raid, you can select gear pieces to enhance your abilities, and sometimes a merchant appears to offer upgrades. In the main lobby, you can also unlock Sapli for permanent base-stat boosts or Vilika for powerful one-time-use gear. So the game provides plenty of progression options, though the RPG-style skill mapping may feel overwhelming to newcomers. That’s truly unfortunate, as the game has the potential to reach a broader audience. Still, the system works well for what the game is aiming to achieve.

Presentation

As I mentioned before, the art style is very geometric, like Patapon meets sci-fi in 3D. The environment is rich with dark fantasy elements such as ruins and a massive mother tree. It feels steeped in lore, but I couldn’t find any concrete story details either in-game or in its descriptions. I hope the full version expands on this, though given the project’s scale it’s understandable if that doesn’t happen.

That said, the gameplay doesn’t seem to rely on narrative to feel complete, and it works even without a plot.

I’m generally not a fan of dramatic background music added purely for immersion, but this game might benefit from a stronger musical component. For instance, the soundtrack could be designed to disrupt the player’s coordination or elevate tension during chaotic moments. This is another area I’d like to see explored in future updates.

Final Verdict: Above Average

When The Road Darkens succeeds in carving out a unique space in the gaming landscape as a “raiding roguelike.” It takes the thrill of MMO raids and packages it into a more accessible, fast-paced co-op experience. While its geometric art style and dark-fantasy aesthetics give it a distinctive visual identity, the game’s true strength lies in its gameplay.

That said, solo players may find the difficulty punishing, and newcomers could be overwhelmed by the skill-mapping options. The soundtrack and narrative elements feel underdeveloped, but these are areas where the indie team could expand in future updates.

Overall, this indie game is a refreshing experiment in bringing MMO raid excitement to a broader audience, and even someone like me (normally not a raider) can appreciate the fun and strategic depth it offers. For players looking for a cooperative challenge that doesn’t demand hours of grinding or a massive group, this game is well worth exploring.

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