Siralim 2 Hatches Out Of Early Access

Siralim 2 [official site] is a mash-up of Pokemon and Disgaea, seen through the lens of a Western RPG. The game has now left Early Access and though a few hours with it have taught me that it is absolutely not the kind of game I'll enjoy long-term, it's certainly going to be attractive to a certain kind of RPG fan. It's a game designed around grind, with infinite levelling possibilities, randomised realms to explore, and lots of monsters to collect. There are hundreds of pages of breeding combinations, loads of party builds to experiment with, and equipment that can be levelled by fighting within it.

Essentially, Siralim 2 is a game for anyone who doesn't mind repetitive turn-based combat, of the menu-based Final Fantasy kind, and takes pleasure in finding combinations of spells and abilities that allow for heavy floods of experience points and loot gathering. It's all about watching numbers rise, whether you're winning favour with the gods or carving your way through dungeon realms and hoping for a useful drop among the hundreds of frivolous bits and pieces that spill out of enemies at every turn.

It's a standalone game, an extension of the first more than a sequel, and if you're excited by the idea of massive numbers clashing in randomised realms, here are some facts and figures to get you all hot and bothered:

Summon over 500 unique creatures to fight for you. Each creature has its own unique abilities.

Breed your creatures to make them lay eggs. The offspring inherits attributes from its parents!

Use your creatures to fight your way through randomly generated dungeons and complete randomized quests.

Equip your creatures with spells. Spells can be found with randomly generated properties that change the way they behave in battle.

Craft and customize equipment for your creatures with the help of over 600 different crafting materials.

Upgrade your castle to unlock new rooms, NPCs, quests, and more!

Tons of side content - gamble with the dwarves, fight in the battle arena, study in the library, cook a meal, entertain the riddle dwarves, and much more.

An endless adventure - there are no level caps, no inventory space limits, and no true end to the game. Difficulty scales as high as you want.

It's a game that inhabits a niche that I'm not particularly interested in exploring, but well worth a look if you find the concept intriguing.