Waits And Measures: Ending

Like Desktop Dungeons or DROD, Ending is a roguelike puzzle game. Presented with a character, an '@' character, and a dungeon, the player must reach the exit, avoiding or destroying traps along the way. It's a precise game. Every symbol has a function, a pattern of movement designed to perplex and punish. A single mistake is often fatal and thinking ahead is essential, creating a map in the mind tracing the position of every object during the next five or six turns. Traps shatter, as do their victims, and the sound of clattering pebble-bones rattles from the speakers. The door at the end of a level creaks its congratulations. Sterling work and entirely free on Windows, OSX and Ubuntu. Perhaps you'll chooose to buy the 69p app to show support?

Ending was at Rezzed and I'm annoyed that I didn't find it, play it and shake Aaron Steed's hand because he also made Red Rogue, which is the bloodiest roguething in existence. Ending is exquisitely designed, the precision of its engineering made even more impressive by the inclusion of a 'gauntlet' mode. The main levels are carefully designed, poised to strike, but the 'gauntlet' allows randomisation to enter the dungeon, trusting in the traps to create manageable perils.

It works. In fact, it works so well that I just spent an hour playing. Oops.