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Carry Castle · 2022 · Windows

Steam: 68 % positive of 1,419 reviews, as of Oct 28

Source of Madness is a side-scrolling dark action roguelite set in a twisted Lovecraftian inspired world powered by procedural generation and AI machine learning. Take on the role of a new Acolyte as they embark on a nightmarish odyssey.

24 games that play like Source of Madness and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: Dead Cells, Noita and Gloom.

Player tags

  • Rogue-lite
  • Lovecraftian
  • Action
  • Metroidvania
  • Dark
  • Souls-like
  • Dark Fantasy
  • Magic
Map region: Action Roguelites
Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Mixed opinion: players like the Lovecraftian atmosphere and build variety, but many find the clunky combat and floaty controls frustrating and the AI-generated art divisive.

Many players enjoy the cosmic horror atmosphere, the eerie soundtrack and the pixel-style visuals, and they like experimenting with the magic ring builds and spell combinations. Some describe the roguelite loop as satisfying once the progression clicks, and cheap sale prices make it easier to recommend. Many complaints focus on the combat: enemies are assembled from limbs that flop around with ragdoll physics, aiming feels unreliable and the movement is floaty and imprecise. Several players find the gameplay repetitive, with similar enemies and tactics across levels. Many reviewers also object to the generated art and some find the interface cluttered and hard to read. Some reviewers defend the early diffusion-model cutscenes as an old-style experiment, while others reject them. The review pattern is mixed, with recommendations and criticism roughly balanced.

Praised

  • Lovecraftian atmosphere

    Players praise the eerie visuals, unsettling monsters and haunting soundtrack that capture cosmic dread.

    Many players
  • Build variety with rings

    Players enjoy combining magic rings, spells and items into different builds and experimenting with combos.

    Many players
  • Roguelite loop rewards persistence

    Players say runs become addictive as progression unlocks better gear and the skill tree grows.

    Some players
  • Good value on sale

    Reviewers say the game is worth it at a discount, given its length and the replay value.

    Some players

Criticised

  • Clunky, floaty combat

    Players say attacks feel imprecise, aiming is unreliable and movement is slow or floaty, making fights chaotic.

    Many players
  • Ragdoll enemies and erratic movement

    Enemies flop, flail and ragdoll unpredictably, which many find chaotic, awkward to read and hard to fight.

    Many players
  • Generated art and visual clutter

    Players dislike the AI-generated art, cluttered backgrounds and unclear enemy shapes that make the screen hard to read.

    Many players
  • Repetitive gameplay

    Players say enemies, attack patterns and tactics repeat across levels, so the game gets stale.

    Some players
Who it suits
Suits players who enjoy Lovecraftian horror, weird art and experimenting with builds, especially if they can buy it on sale.
Who should skip it
Should skip it if they want tight, precise combat or dislike generated art and chaotic, ragdoll-driven enemies.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with under 20 hours are split and often stop after the clunky start, while those with 20 to 200 hours more often praise the builds and atmosphere despite the same complaints.

Summarised by AI from 74 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like Source of Madness

Close to it by gameplay and by look, so it appears in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like Source of Madness

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. The Consuming Shadow93 % positive of 330Shared: Rogue-lite · Lovecraftian · Dark
  2. Soulstone Survivors91 % positive of 25,878Shared: Rogue-lite · Dark Fantasy · Action RPG
  3. Sundered®: Eldritch Edition80 % positive of 4,104Shared: Lovecraftian · Metroidvania · Action Roguelike
  4. GRIME85 % positive of 4,695Shared: Metroidvania · Dark · Souls-like
  5. Loot River69 % positive of 355Shared: Rogue-lite · Lovecraftian · Souls-like
  6. Neon Abyss86 % positive of 19,729Shared: Rogue-lite · Action Roguelike · Action-Adventure
  7. Lunacid89 % positive of 10,497Shared: Metroidvania · Souls-like · Dark Fantasy
  8. Vagante89 % positive of 4,128Shared: Rogue-lite · Metroidvania · Action Roguelike
  9. One Way Heroics94 % positive of 3,523Shared: Rogue-lite · Fantasy · Procedural Generation
  10. Cryptical Path86 % positive of 130Shared: Rogue-lite · Dark · Fantasy
  11. Dungeons of Blood and Dream92 % positive of 1,198Shared: Dark · Dark Fantasy · Fantasy
  12. Path of Achra98 % positive of 3,204Shared: Dark Fantasy · Procedural Generation · 2D

By look

Looks like Source of Madness

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. Moonscars82 % positive of 1,246
  2. Dragon Is Dead75 % positive of 666
  3. Last Epoch76 % positive of 107,142
  4. WarriOrb76 % positive of 126
  5. Dark Devotion73 % positive of 1,937
  6. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power63 % positive of 7,303
  7. Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition85 % positive of 6,234
  8. Elypse71 % positive of 313
  9. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse74 % positive of 7,567
  10. Valfaris85 % positive of 1,809
  11. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Prophecy78 % positive of 2,895
  12. Perennial Order93 % positive of 703

At a glance

What games like Source of Madness have in common

  • The tags they share most often with Source of Madness: Rogue-lite (19 of 24), Action Roguelike (9) and Dark Fantasy (8).
  • They came out between 2013 and 2025, 9 of them after Source of Madness (2022).
  • Best rated by Steam players: Path of Achra (98 % positive of 3,204).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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