Between games like Hades and Diablo, the dungeon-crawler space has plenty of fan-favorite titles, but Glowmade is bringing something fresh and vibrantly exciting to the genre with its upcoming game Rogue Fortune. Developed by Glowmade and unveiled as part of Gamescom 2026’s Xbox Showcase, the game is set for a 2027 launch on on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, and the Nintendo Switch 2. In addition to the expected hack-and-slash action and exploration with a roguelite mechanic to keep the experience surprising across every playthrough, the game also introduces a puzzle-solving mechanic.Rogue Fortune has players delve into dungeons to recover as much loot as they can, with a variety of character classes available for them to choose from, each with their own unique mechanics. But the most intriguing element within the game has players regularly organize relics with geometric components that they’ve obtained as they proceed on their gold-grabbing quest. These puzzle configurations have different effects and perks depending on how they’re organized as players harness their arcane potential. It was this mechanic that got Glowmade particularly excited in the project while distinguishing it from the other dungeon-crawlers that are already out.“We just love these games and wanted to make one that’s super cool. We don’t just want to make the same game again because that’s been done and done really, really well,” explains Glowmade studio head and co-founder Jonny Hopper in an exclusive interview with Den of Geek. “Mike Green, who is our design director, he’s been doodling with this tetromino-shaped puzzle mechanic in his head for a while now. He’s always wanted to use it. There are a couple of examples, but there isn’t really anything that does this well or this particular kind of inventory management puzzle in a dungeon crawler like this. That’s a fun challenge and a gap.”These puzzle pieces are assembled at locations found throughout the various levels of the dungeons, giving players a chance to reconfigure their build before diving back into the hack-and-slash action. This isn’t just done by sticking as many relic pieces together as players can but by organizing and interfacing them together to get the most out of their potential. This adds another major strategic element to the game and one that the creative team at Glowmade can’t wait to see how players use to their advantage once the game launches.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});“The thing that I’m really looking forward to seeing is when people start to ‘break’ the game,” Hopper shares. “They feel like they’ve made a build that’s so OP that it shouldn’t be allowed. We probably know that it can happen and we haven’t tried to stop it because it’s fun and rewarding. You become like a real force of destruction throughout the level. That’s a really exciting thing to see.”More than just providing an underlying narrative premise, the gold-grabbing element to Rogue Fortune is also a major part of its gameplay and the strategy on how to proceed. Players constantly are picking up gold as they progress through dungeons but every major action and setback also costs them gold, taking away from the loot they’ve accumulated so far on a given playthrough. Upon completing a level, players can leave the dungeon with the treasure that they’ve gathered or run the risk of delving deeper to gain even more loot or even spend some of their gold to upgrade their character. This adds another strategic element to the game informing how players proceed.“The game becomes different because you’re not blitzing about dodging everything,” observes Hopper. “You’ve got to think about how you approach it differently. There is that strategic element that I think is really interesting. Just because you can complete the game on the default character class does not necessarily mean that you’re going to breeze through.”While so many dungeon-crawlers feel perpetually shrouded in darkness, Rogue Fortune provides players with much more vibrant environments to explore. The classic medieval fantasy tropes are still there, but there is a brighter art design with colorful magic and warmer levels than many fans of the genre may be accustomed to. For Glowmade, this fit right in with the studio’s sensibilities as they were designing and building the game.“If you saw King of Meat, you know that it was different but also recognizably similar in terms of the art style. Adam Sibbick is our art director and he’s able to put these wonderful things in his head onto paper,” Hopper adds. “To use the skills of the people that we’ve got, we let them build that house style and marry that with the tone of the game. Just because it’s a dungeon, why does it have to be dark? It’s magical, arcane, and mysterious, so how does that manifest itself? With orbs of light, lava, and loads of weird stuff that we haven’t shown yet. All of that stuff is just cool and a slightly different take on it.”Set for a multiplatform release in 2027, Rogue Fortune is ready to bring a unique twist on the dungeon-crawler genre, one that favors strategy on multiple fronts and promises that no two playthroughs will be alike. Bringing fresh and vibrant fun, the upcoming indie game retains what makes the genre so appealing while subtly redefining what its gameplay can be.Rogue Fortune is developed by Glowmade and will be released in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.The post Rogue Fortune Puts a Puzzle-Fueled Twist on Dungeon-Crawlers appeared first on Den of Geek.