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Between Mewgenics and Slay the Spire 2, there's already stiff competition in roguelikes this year. Nonetheless, the beguiling Sol Cesto is teasing full release in April with the bold claim that it's the "best roguelike in 2026," and I truly admire the confidence.
The animated trailer for the upcoming release is striking. It starts with the sun shining over a clear, green field, before the light disappears, and our intrepid adventurer descends into a cave to begin their journey.
Soon they're slicing through enemies, dealing with slightly creepy traders, putting odd teeth in their mouth for new abilities, and continuing onward through the ever-expanding maze. A serpentine creature stalks and eventually kills them, in a particularly chilling end, before we get some actual gameplay footage.
Sol Cesto is a relatively quickfire, grid-based dungeon crawler from developers Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, and Chariospirale. Rooms are broken up into four-by-four tiles, and you pick a row for your character to move across. There could be monsters, treasure, or something more unpredictable to deal with, and then, should you survive, you do the same again.
Special teeth can modify the odds of particular encounters, as well as the general complexion of the game. There are curses to navigate as well, just to keep you guessing. There are three environments, and eight characters are planned for the full release, according to the Steam page.
It's a stylish approach, bringing Loop Hero to mind in how it only allows for a certain amount of control over what actually happens. Originally going into early access in May 2025, there's been a steady stream of updates since.
Sol Cesto 1.0 arrives on April 10, giving it some breathing room from Slay the Spire 2, which launches today. Whether or not it takes the crown as top roguelike of the year so far, it certainly looks like a strong addition to the current offerings, and its early access release has already netted it a 94% "Very Positive" overall rating on Steam.
