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After playing more than 200 recent games this year, It's time to wrapping things up on 2025. My best-of compilation is out in the world, and I am at peace with the ultimate rankings, accepting that a host of stellar titles probably slipped by the wayside. At this point, it's nothing for me to do other than unwind, disconnect briefly, and maybe enjoy a pleasant stroll in the— well, shoot, discovered one more great game. And just like that, goodbye to my intentions!

A Premature Contender Emerges

With my casual gaming time, typically earmarked for a few oddball curiosities, I've encountered what might become my initial top game of 2026. Sol Cesto is a distinctive roguelike for Windows PC that reimagines a conventional dungeon crawler into a chance-driven game of major consequence risk and reward. Consider this a preview for the in-the-know: If you relish being aware of a game before it hits the mainstream, test out Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your gaming budget.

A Tactical Dungeon-Crawling Innovation

Sol Cesto is a thought-provoking procedural game that's unlike anything I'm familiar with. The setup is that you are tasked with descending into a dungeon, descending floor after floor on a quest for the sun, which has gone missing from this mythical realm. Mechanically, this results in some standard crawl progression. Pick a hero possessing unique stats and abilities, clear floor after floor of enemies, acquire some passive buffs (in the form of teeth), and overcome a few biome bosses. Simple enough!

The Distinctive Core Mechanic

The method by which you actually clear a chamber, however. Whenever you enter a new floor, the game presents a 4x4 grid of boxes. Every tile holds a monster, a treasure chest, a trap, or a healing strawberry. To make a move, you choose on one of the four rows, but the exact space you end up on is a matter of probability.

You could encounter a row with multiple foes, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You start with a 25% chance of selecting a particular space in a row.

Subsequently, your chances are recalculated. So do you go for it, or do you opt on a alternative option first and try to make safer moves early? That's the risk-reward dynamic on display in Sol Cesto, and it's engrossing when you acquire its rhythm.

Shaping the Odds

The roguelike twist is that your percentages can be shaped through a run by gathering teeth that alter which objects you're drawn toward. To illustrate, you might get a perk that will reduce the probability of hitting a trap, but will also decrease the odds of getting a reward too.

• Developing a strategy is about tweaking the numbers as best you can to have a higher chance at getting your desired outcome.
• During one attempt, I focused my stat upgrades toward melee prowess and selected all the teeth I could that would increase my odds of attracting me toward monsters of that variety.
• During a separate session, I built my character around treasure chests and combined that with a perk that would weaken adjacent enemies each time I secured loot.

The build options are somewhat constrained, but it provides ample to work with to allow you to tweak the odds to your preference.

A Constant Gamble

Unsurprisingly, it's still a game of chance. You constantly face the chance that you have a high probability to land on the preferred space but end up landing on an enemy that would take out your last bit of health. Every move is a gamble, so a persistent nervousness exists as you work through a stage and determine if to press onward or when to move on to the following level rather than testing fate.

Tools such as destructive ordnance assist in minimizing the chance, just like some hero powers. A particular character's unique ability, powered up by making four moves, enables you to click on a vertical line instead of a row during that action. Should you use this move wisely, you can reserve that option for a crucial point to sidestep a dangerous choice. There's a shocking degree of depth in the simple act of clicking.

The Road to 1.0

Sol Cesto is still in its preview phase, and it has another update to go until the full version is unleashed. Another playable adventurer and a new boss are scheduled to arrive sometime in January. The full launch likely won't be far behind, but the game's developers haven't announced a concrete launch day yet.

A Final Thought

Regardless of when its 1.0 launch occurs, you should consider put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. For the past week, I've been positively obsessed with it, uncovering each of hidden nuances and saving my accumulated currency every session to access a constant flow of meta progression rewards, such as fresh adventurers and items I can buy while playing. I still haven't reached the bottom, and I have a sense I'll still be working on that task when the full version launches. Count me in for the long haul.