Shroom and Gloom Early Access Review – This fungus packs a punch

Shroom and Gloom is one of those deckbuilders which just wants to beat you up. The meta-progression is minimal, with unlocks being the only real thing. You’re not going to get stronger by upping your starting health or damage, you’re going to learn about the ins and outs of the combat and exploration systems, and you’re going to like it. It’s also the first roguelike I’ve played that has you working with two decks.

You have your combat deck, of course, which has you attacking and healing, along with buffing and debuffing. There’s very little blocking here, which immediately marks it out as very different from most games in this space. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t make me a little bit giddy. It’s so nice to have a meaningfully different way to actually stay alive. You get your food by cooking your enemies too, which is wonderfully dark – they’re all mushrooms, it should be noted.

Your other deck is your exploration deck. In-between fights you walk forwards through the mushroom-infested areas to upgrade your weapons, or dig for new cards, or feed frogs and rats to get unique buffs. You can also rest there, but you need to eliminate the darkness to do that safely. It’s a really interesting little tweak on things, and just by having two decks and healing instead of block, Shroom and Gloom feels mechanically refreshing, which is wonderful.

However, it’s not like that’s all that’s going on here. There’s also the art style and the general vibe. Most of the world is monochrome, with black line art on a single colour gradient, looking more like the pages of an ancient TTRPG than a modern video game. The only added colours being fed into this are there to make you feel a little bit uncomfortable. It tends to be mostly in-fight stuff like indicating intentions or status effects, but areas change colour too. It’s stunning, honestly. It’s one of the best-looking games I’ve played this year, and it’s doing all of that with so little effort.

There’s then the general antipathy it has for you. Dying means you meet this monstrous overlord thing that appears as eyes and teeth in the dark. It mocks you for your failure, then insists you go back in so that you can become sweeter for it. You’re the prey, every success only brings you closer to your own demise, and every death is a brief release. Even the loading screen taunts you by telling you that maybe one day you’ll never see it again. The worst thing is you’re going to want to keep going anyway, because it’s simply that good.

I do tend to lean towards roguelikes with a little more meta-progression, but Shroom and Gloom is something special already. It’s brutal, it’s moreish, and it’s a stellar new entry into the world of roguelike deckbuilders. It does all of this, and leaves this big of an impression, despite only being in Early Access. If you’re not ready to delve in this early, then this is still most assuredly one you want to watch out for, and I’m confident it’ll be an exceptional game when it fully launches.

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