If you are a gamer and like to play rogue-lite games, you are most probably always on the lookout for new games.
I’ve discovered a very interesting and exciting game to play on my PC, and since I’ve downloaded it, I've spent many hours in front of my PC! I’m sure you will also enjoy Slasher’s Keep.
Like most other rogue-lite games, Slasher’s Keep is a first-person rogue-lite. To learn more about the game, including how to unlock all the characters, read on!
- About Slasher's Keep
- Interactives in the Game
- Combat
- Wands and Leveling Up
- Tips for Gameplay
About Slasher's Keep
When I play this game, my aim is quite simple: I have to fight my way through a dungeon called Slasher's Keep. As the floors become more and more difficult the further I progress, I lose 25 percent of my gold, stats, and levels when I die.
All the equipment I’m carrying are also lost. I must start from the beginning of the Keep again because my level progress is reset to zero.
In the beginning, I was demotivated by these large penalties. But I realized later that I shouldn’t be demotivated, the resets are part of becoming truly unstoppable.
I’ve learned how to turn the penalties into continuous growth with good strategies and risk management.
The Layout of the Keep
I understood the game better when I looked at the layout of the dungeon. The Basic room generally contains some enemies, but it doesn't seal the door when I enter it. The Challenge room also contains enemies, but it seals itself shut when I’ve entered. The doors open when I’ve killed all the opponents.
The Ladder room has a ladder leading to the next level. If it is locked, I need a silver key to open it. The Secret rooms are available when I press a red button on the map. I can enter secret areas via this room.
In the Spike Roof room, I can get killed. In this room, the spiky roof descends on me! Other rooms include the Shrine room, the Smithy, and a Shop with a shop owner that cannot be robbed. Some of the rooms are not available and accessible at the beginning of the game.
Interactives in the Game
I’ve discovered that I can interact with many items in the dungeon. Food is one of these and I can find more food on the first levels than later levels. Eating food generates a percentage of my health. Drinking restores my wands’ charge.
Pots are everywhere in this game and every time I see one I have to break it open. They can contain a potion, money, or other usable things, but can also be empty. When I find a potion crate I have to smash it with my weapon to get what is inside.
Other interactives include an explosive barrel, spilled oil, treasure chests, and orbs.
There are four kinds of one-time usable orbs. The red orb restores all HP, the silver orb grants me a long period of invulnerability, and a purple orb that gives me a lot of EXP. I can restore my wands completely with an orb with crystals in it.
Play the Game
The gameplay starts in the cell which is situated on the first floor of the dungeon. I walked to the door and in front of me, there was a wooden chest. When I opened it the first time, it contained a melee weapon with terrible stats. There was also an armor piece in the chest.
To equip and manage my loot, I pressed Tab. My loot was in the right window and by clicking and dragging I put the loot into my character inventory. I assigned some of the items to my quick bar at the bottom of the screen. I did this by hovering over the item and pressing the number key I wanted to assign it to.
After I had a weapon equipped, I exited my cell room. I was ready to start combat! Since I’ve started with the game and exited my cell, I’ve learned a lot about the game.
Different Characters in the Game
As Slasher's Keep is a first-person game I can choose to be different characters by unlocking them throughout the game. There are four characters that I can unlock.
To unlock the Demon Origin, I have to be past the third floor where I’ll find a large altar for offerings. After killing me by offering health until death, the Demon Origin will unlock. To get the new Origin character I have to relaunch the game, and the unlocked Origin will appear, ready to select.
I can only unlock Sasquatch and Undead Origins at the last boss fight. Inside the final boss room, one boss will be on a platform surrounded by a purple shield, and the other boss, Ava, is on the ground floor wielding dual swords.
On her death, Ava drops a talisman that gives the Sasquatch when collected. When the other boss also dies, a Jade Monkey is dropped and when picked up, it unlocks the Undead Origin.
Unlocking Jellyman
The final Origin, Jellyman, is unlocked when I find a few ingredients.
The ingredients include the Energized Slime Sample and the Energized Acid Sample. I have to mix it and drink it to unlock Jellyman.
Combat
I’ve learned that I have to fight my enemies one-on-one, especially in the beginning. There are two basic main ways I can fight. The first method is to fight up close. This is quite simple as I only parry their swings by pointing my weapon in the direction of their attack.
When I don’t parry, I just hold RMB and swing at the enemy. Simple enough. But my favorite way to combat is the kiting way.
By pressing and holding left-click, I can charge up my attack. When I press shift, my character sprints. They can sprit endlessly because they don’t have a stamina limit.
I often start an attack by sprinting to the enemies. I then smash them in the face and sprint away quickly. I keep on repeating this to get huge bonus damage. This tactic works with a slow and heavy weapon because I get more than enough time to charge up every hit.
Some Tactics
If I press "F" I can swing my inventory sack at the enemy. This action keeps them back and interrupts their attack. In the game, there are many spike pillars and walls, and drop-offs. I always try to lure the enemy close to one of these. It is easy to parry their attacks.
I sometimes push the enemy slightly by walking into them. This pushes them into the spikes or a trap for an instant kill. I find this very powerful in the late stage of the game where enemies become more annoying.
Wands and Leveling Up
I never use the magic wand as the main weapon. The ammunition they consume is not in proportion to their killing power: they consume too much ammo, so I try to use the wands very wisely. I might use my wand to lure enemies out of a room if I’m worried that I can be swarmed.
I can then fight them one-on-one. Sometimes I use my wand to kill fragile annoying enemies. I’m always very careful not to use my last shot with a wand, as it will break!
Below my quick bar on the screen, I can see my EP meter readings. With every enemy I slay and every secret I discover I gain EXP. The EXP scales with my level, so I ensure that I slay every fiend I come across. Once the XP meter has filled up, I level up.
With every level up, I gain 4 stat points. These points I can spend by pressing "Tab" and assign them to the 3 main stats. With every second level up, I gain a skill point. I often use the skill points to permanently lock in a skill. By pressing “B” I open my skills.
Get Skills to Invest Points
Sometimes skills can be linked to weapons, armor, or equipment. I do this sometimes as I can lose my equipment on death. I will also lose all non-permanent skills on death so I have to lock in the skills I don't want to lose each time.
I also try to lock in rare skills like "Deflect" or "Golden tongue." I’ve quickly learned that locking in a skill is not always better than investing it in an already locked skill. I now also invest in skill levels.
Tips for Gameplay
Most tips I can give new players are all related to the usable items in the game. I’ve learned that if I use them efficiently they are my key to success. There are many health potions available. I try to find it everywhere, from pots to shops. By consuming it I recover my HP.
The higher my level, the better potions I get. Purple crystals also scale with my level. The higher my level, the higher the possibility of a really good ammunition drop for my wands. Purple crystals restore wands. A Crudely drawn map has many times let me discover locations.
Bombs and other throwable items are always effective tools to destroy the enemy. The damage the weapons can do also scales with the floor I’m on. Enhancement scrolls provide permanent skills and stats on the items I’ve used.
I use crafting components to create custom weapons. If I want to craft, I gather components with powerful effects. I sometimes use the skill "Scavenger” that allows me to destroy corpses for a chance of a component. To disassemble melee weapons I use the skill "Master Disassembler.” Lock and level these two kills for benefits later.
How to Get the Game
Slasher's Keep is currently available on Steam for PC only. The minimum system requirements include Windows 7+ 32bit, a 2GB RAM, Geforce GTX 460 or equivalent graphics card, Version 9.0c of DirectX, and 2,500 MB available storage space.
It is not available for free and currently has a cost of $99.
Conclusion
I’ve found Slasher’s Keep to be very enticing and enjoy playing it very much. Unfortunately, it is not available for mobiles, but you will enjoy playing it on the PC.
I hope all these tips will be helpful in getting you to level up throughout Slasher's Keep.
