I barely play video games anymore, at most I might buy something, get hooked for a few weeks or a month, and then never touch it again. But I have faithfully returned to Exanima, especially after a new update, for almost 5 years now. This game, a dungeon-crawler prequel to the developer's main project, Sui Generis, is a physics-based low-fantasy action RPG with rewarding combat that is truly satisfying once you get the hang of it. It offers two modes, Story and Arena. The Story mode is a gritty dungeon-dive, where you fight for survival and search for gear and treasure as you descend deeper into the labyrinthine Underworld. You can unlock more starting characters as you progress (at the time of review, there are only three) which changes your available skills and equipment. In Arena mode, you create a character (or hire characters) to participate in arena combat, where a successful match wins you experience and money so you can level up your characters and buy better equipment and fighters. Movement and combat in this title is actually unique; it's not just an advertising tag. You can trip over furniture, use physics to leg-sweep opponents and get your warhammer stuck in a reanimated skeleton's ribcage. Both Story and Arena modes boast a wide variety of melee weapons, armors, and even clothes, but Story mode also has magic, known as Thaumaturgy. Of the five planned disciplines, only one is currently available; Mind Thaumaturgy, which can charm or scare opponents at lower levels, and raise the dead as allies at higher ones. Magic and new Story levels were added in April of 2020 for Version 0.8, and the devs (a small team who are regularly around in the game's Discord server, answering questions, sharing progress and taking bug reports) are working on a new Arena update. V1.0 will add Force Thaumaturgy, ranged weapons, and the rest of the Story content. If you're tired of basic "Soulslike" combat and want something new with serious atmosphere, Exanima is for you.
