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Having experienced in excess of 200 fresh titles this year, I am officially closing the book on 2025. My best-of compilation is out in the world, and I'm satisfied with the ultimate rankings, even knowing a host of fantastic releases likely fell by the wayside. Currently, my only plan is to other than unwind, unplug a little, and maybe enjoy a pleasant stroll in the— oh no, found another amazing experience. And just like that, goodbye to my intentions!

A Premature Front-Runner Appears

In my more casual gaming time, often set aside for a few oddball curiosities, I've encountered what could be my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that breaks down a traditional dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of high stakes risk and reward. Consider this a hipster's insider tip: If you take pride being aware of a game before it hits the mainstream, give Sol Cesto a try so you can punch a hole in your indie credit card.

A Strategic Roguelike Twist

Sol Cesto is a strategy-focused dungeon crawler that's unlike anything I'm familiar with. The concept is that you are tasked with descending into a dungeon, going down level by level in search of the sun, which has disappeared from this mythical realm. Mechanically, this results in some familiar roguelike structure. Select a character who has parameters and powers, fight through each level of enemies, collect some stat improvements (represented as teeth), and vanquish a few area guardians. Easy to grasp!

The Unique Central System

The method by which you effectively complete a area, however. Whenever you begin a fresh level, you're shown a 4x4 grid of boxes. Every tile either contains a monster, a reward cache, a trap, or a healing strawberry. To explore a room, you simply click on one of the horizontal lines, but the specific tile you end up on is a matter of probability.

You could encounter a row with a pair of enemies, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You begin with a one-in-four probability of hitting a particular space in a row.

Then, you'll odds shift. The question becomes: Do you take the risk, or do you click on a alternative option first and try to make less risky choices early? Herein lies the tension between chance and safety at play in Sol Cesto, and it's captivating after you develop an understanding of it.

Influencing Chance

The procedural hook is that your percentages can be shaped through a run by picking up teeth that change what things you're more likely to land on. As an instance, you may obtain a perk that will reduce the probability of landing on a trap, but will concurrently lower the odds of landing on a reward too.

• Crafting a loadout is about influencing the statistics optimally to have a better shot at selecting the optimal square.
• In one run, I focused my power boosts toward melee prowess and picked as many teeth I could that would improve my probability of attracting me toward monsters of that variety.
• During a separate session, I developed my adventurer around treasure chests and paired that with a perk that would debuff nearby foes each time I secured loot.

The strategic possibilities are somewhat constrained, but it provides ample to experiment with to allow you to tweak probabilities according to your strategy.

A Constant Risk

Of course, it remains a game of chance. There remains the chance that you have a likely outcome to hit the square you want but end up landing on an enemy that would take out your last bit of health. All selections is a gamble, so a persistent nervousness exists as you work through a stage and choose whether to press onward or to proceed to the subsequent stage instead of pushing your luck.

Items like enemy-killing bombs aid in reducing the chance, as do some character abilities. One hero's unique ability, powered up by clearing four squares, allows players to choose a vertical line instead of a horizontal line during that action. Should you use this strategically, you can hold that ability for a crucial point to avoid a risky decision. You'll find an astonishing degree of depth in the basic action of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is currently in its preview phase, and it has at least one more update to go until the complete edition is unleashed. A new character and a fresh guardian are scheduled to arrive sometime in January. The 1.0 release likely won't be much later, but the studio haven't committed to a final date yet.

A Final Recommendation

No matter when it's fully released, you should consider put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. I have been positively obsessed with it, finding all of small details and banking my earned gold in each run to access a constant flow of meta progression rewards, featuring fresh adventurers and items available for acquisition during a run. To this day, I have not found the deepest level, and I get the feeling I'll still be pursuing that objective when the full version launches. Count me in for the long haul.