I was addicted to this game for about two weeks straight, and I plan to go back to it after a break. In short, it's a well-designed, clever deck-builder game that has a quite satisfying gameplay loop that, well, you know, is "easy to learn but hard to master." And the game truly earns its name.
Here's the deal. You play the game in circles--many smaller ones (or dungeons) inside of one large one. Each of the smaller circles has a random mix of enemies, loot, traps, and other things that you navigate in turns. Once you complete a circle or find its exit, you go on to the next circle or dungeon. There are 16 main dungeons or circles that you must complete to get to a series of boss fights (at the end of the larger circle). And even when you get there, you will have the option of two paths: light or dark. Kill the final bosses and you win the game.
However, winning the game is not nearly that easy. Expect to die early and often. I would guess 99.5% of my runs ended in failure, even though I got really close to the end on several occasions. The thing that makes the game so brilliant and addictive is that none of the RNG or the frequent deaths felt cheap or too unfair. It just felt like the luck of the draw, or that I should have turned left when I turned right. Try, try again. Each run can last anywhere from less than 10 seconds to over 20 minutes, though most will be somewhere in between. And each will help unlock a vast range of items, spells, creatures, and other stuff, which, of course, lures you into doing more runs. It's just a really well-thought-out, intensely fun game, with creepy music & atmosphere, simple but effective graphics, unique bosses, and endless replayability.
In recent months, I have had a thing for deck-builder games, and this is the best one that I've played thus far. I would also recommend Monster Train, Forced Showdown, and Trials of Fire. Still haven't played Inscryption or Slay the Spire, but they're supposed to be good as well.
4.25/5