With so many Roguelikes releasing every single month, it’s easy to forget about the origins of this genre. Few of the games we refer to as Roguelikes nowadays are even vaguely similar to Rogue and other progenitors to the genre like Nethack. Sure the randomness and permadeath we know and love made its roots in these games, but we so rarely see the depth of systems and enemies that only move when you do that I associate with these Roguelike Daddies. Well Million Depth has an interesting connection to those that started it all, and also happens to be pretty darn spectacular.
From the drop Million Depth is a seriously intriguing game, as it introduces protagonist Moma. The typical anime girl is not living the typical anime life, and is entirely alone on a spaceship flying above the flaming husk of Earth. Once upon a time Moma spent her time on the ship with a crew of others, but they all got sick and died leaving her with nothing. It’s a rather dark starting point, but one that got it hooks into me immediately and set me off reading all the ship logs I could find.
There is one shining light in Moma’s miserable life though, a friend living underground back on Earth who she sends messages to from the ship’s computer. This friend is the one she confides in when everyone gets sick, and who helped distract her with the beautiful otherworldly sights of the underground. When his messages go dark, Moma agonises over what to do next. There’s only one option though, fly back to Earth and get diving.
The Earth is a very different place in Million Depth to the planet we know and love. The surface is entirely engulfed by flames, and underground isn’t much better. There’s a large hole that runs through the entirety of Earth, and your goal is to make your way a million layers deep to the core of the planet. Along the way you’ll meet humans with robot parts who worship a murderous god, beautiful upside down forests made up of the roots of trees, and of course a whole lot of unfriendly monsters.
It’s in battling the aggressive squirrels and hedgehogs of this world where you’ll first encounter the combat of Million Depth, which is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Much like the Roguelikes of the past, the enemies you face only ever move when you do (for a clever sci-fi reason). Combat all takes place from a side scrolling perspective, with Moma herself only able to damage foes by walking into them which leaves her rather vulnerable. She’s not alone on her mission though, she also has a levitating hammer.
For the most part this weapon is what you’ll use to take down baddies, by sliding it into them with the right stick. When you do this though enemies and their projectiles will start heading your way, and you’ll need to carefully move and do your pathetic little hop to dodge them. The only way to move your weapon around without allowing the enemies to do the same is by bouncing it between foes, using its momentum to pinball around and deal a flurry of offense all at once. It takes a lot of practice to really master this unique battle system, and I’ve only scratched the surface of it here.
At the start of your journey to the centre of the Earth your weapon is pretty puny, and you’ll need to do some crafting to upgrade it. This is another particularly novel part of Million Depth, because the crafting is all done by placing the blocks you find together. Identical blocks placed in a two by two grid will grant extra defence to your weapon, whereas adding jagged edges or spikes to it will boost its attack. There’s a whole lot of depth to this system with certain block placements transforming your weapon entirely, and I enjoyed experimenting with my blocky partner at any given opportunity.
Playing with weapon Lego isn’t the only way to get stronger on your underground journey, there are also various relics you’ll find that boost your power in various ways. Some of these reduce damage in certain situations, others allow you to move your weapon around faster, and some provide boosts to powerful special attacks you can use if you dodge bullets well. My favourite ability on a run swapped my dash with a teleport, which was amazing for avoiding damage from tougher foes.
While it feels like the expected way to play Million Depth is its Roguelike mode, the game has multiple difficulty options to suit your playstyle. The default difficulty allows you to retry three battles before a run fails for a bit of a buffer, but there’s also a story mode which allows infinite retries and makes enemies easier. For the most part I enjoyed the challenge of the Roguelike modes of the game, but I really appreciated the option to switch between these whenever I fancied focusing on the story.
There is so much I can’t spoil regarding Million Depth, because its narrative takes some absolutely wild twists and turns. Completing a run of the game is only the beginning of this intriguing story, and there are multiple secrets to uncover for those willing to keep exploring. It’s almost comparable to this year’s The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, and I don’t say that lightly.
Million Depth is a game that really took me by surprise, and kept me from playing a whole lot of other games I could have been focusing on. It does have a few issues though, mainly regarding systems not being well explained like shop negotiation or weapon crafting. It’s also a game that absolutely gets better the more you play it, which means those early runs are ever so slightly weaker than what’s yet to come.
Million Depth is not your average Roguelike, especially because you don’t have to play it as a Roguelike. With a story that really goes to some dark and unexpected places, combat that evolves the genre in a clever way, and a whole lot of ways to get stronger, Million Depth is everything you could ask for in a Roguelike and more. Just when you thought you were safe playing other genres, Million Depth has arrived to suck you back in with one more run.
