I bought Siralim recently for a couple dollars and I started playing it this evening. I expected a standard rogue with a couple interesting features but this game is actually very unique.

The best way I can describe it is: it's a JRPG (very similar to Pokemon Red/Blue from the Gameboy) where you summon creatures/pets/monsters to help you fight, and you can assist them with spells. Each creature has its own stats and equipment. Exploration happens in the normal JRPG style, and then combat is turn-based in a JRPG battle interface (pictured above).

The rogue or random-generated parts of the game are: the dungeons and things like items, enemy stats, etc. The game doesn't have default perma-death and even your pets/creatures cannot die, they just get knocked out like in Pokemon. You can enable perma-death if you want a hardcore experience. Lots of other options/gameplay tweaks available too.

The game also has a deep crafting system, lots of RPG elements, perks, spells, items, consumables, etc. Lots of fun stuff to do and explore. Lots of quests and stuff. Since you play as a king (or queen?) you have a castle as your base. You can hire NPCs to live there and help (as merchants or other things) and you can also build different things there, like a stables to store your creatures, or various portals, shops and potion brewery and other useful stuff.

Most importantly, as this sets Siralim apart from most games in this genre, is the simplicity of the controls. You only have two buttons (aside from the 4 directional keys). Most of the in-game actions are completed through context menus. I plugged in my controller and I was able to play instantly, perfectly and comfortably on my TV, lounging on my couch. Glorious!

So far I've found this game to be really addictive, relaxing and fun. There aren't huge penalties for death or failure, so it's satisfying to just keeping exploring these strange lands and finding new creatures to add to your party. The game has hundreds and hundreds of different very weird and wonderful creatures, each with a different appearance and skills/attacks/perks/stats. The only negative I can think of is the appearance: the game is very simple and often the pixel art or font choices are jarring to the eyes, the game looks/plays a bit like Cthulhu Saves the World. Ultimately this game is just Pokemon, except with a bunch of modern additions, and set in a grim fantasy setting. Really brilliant idea for a game, and exceptionally well-executed.

(Note: I haven't actually beaten Siralim and I've only played for a handful of hours, so this is more of a 'first impressions' than a review. I'll update this post if my feelings change).