Cursemark

You play a cursed mage-knight exploring the Unknown Lands, a dark fantasy world of hostile creatures, hidden paths, and mysteries. Each attempt sends you through its areas in search of ways forward and clues to uncover.

Fight with melee attacks, spells, wards, and ultimate abilities. Socket runes into your abilities to alter their effects, and combine them with talismans and other finds to shape a build during each run.

The world has a fixed layout, so learning its routes and choosing which areas to explore are part of the strategy. Clearing areas raises the danger of later encounters; shrines and forges provide persistent upgrades, while discoveries can open shortcuts for future runs.

Players who enjoy Cursemark often praise the freedom to combine runes and talismans into different builds, along with the rewards for exploring its fixed map, finding secrets, and planning routes. Reviewers also frequently like its dark pixel-art atmosphere and the run-to-run progression. Opinions on the challenge and combat are divided: some find the difficulty engaging, while others describe enemy pressure and limited avoidance options as frustrating. Several reviews also note that the Early Access content is limited or still developing.