Part of what we aim to do here at Indie-Gems is to show what upcoming indie games are coming out and have us excited. With that in mind, Insurmountable from Byte Rockers Games definitely has our attention. Insurmountable aims to bring the stress and anxiety of climbing mountains to your PC all in roguelike form.
climb to the top
In Insurmountable you start at the base of a procedurally generated mountain. You are tasked with climbing to the summit to appeal to the Old Powers and learn what your people must do to gain their favor again. Upon accepting your task and choosing some starting supplies you embark to climb the mountain.
The mountain is created with hex pillars that consist of stone, ice, and snow-covered tiles, all of which pose various consumption levels and add to your strategy to where you climb. Throughout there are medallions over certain tiles and these medallions will give you potential treasures, rest areas, and shrines. These locations will also test you and reward you with XP towards levels that will give you choices of extra Energy, thermal resistance, etc.
Insurmountable doesn’t present you with any enemies as you climb. instead, your “enemy” is mother nature itself. You are tasked to watch your mental levels, temperature levels, energy levels, oxygen levels, and health. Terrain, weather, day and night cycles, and various other scenarios impact these levels. These things make you plan how and where to climb. Is that treasure worth getting or should you make it to the rest area instead?
While still early in development, this game shows a lot of promise and an interesting twist on the roguelike genre. I know I can’t wait to see how the game grows and how the challenge grows as well. With no enemies and you being solo on this mountain, there is a lot needed to make this world feel more alive and nonlinear. I will be watching this one closely and hope to see a gem come out when this game releases.
Insurmountable is set to release in March of 2021. Currently, there is a demo available on Steam. Follow their team on twitter for news.
