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Following my time with well over 200 fresh titles this year, I'm formally turning the page on 2025. My best-of compilation is out in the world, and I feel content with the final results, accepting that plenty of fantastic releases likely fell through the cracks. Currently, my only plan is to except relax, take a short break, and perhaps take a nice walk in the— ah crap, discovered one more brilliant title. So much for my intentions!

A Premature Front-Runner Appears

During my laid-back sessions, typically earmarked for a selection of unusual games, I've come across what could be my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is an unusual procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that breaks down a classic dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of major consequence peril and prize. View this a preview for the in-the-know: If you relish in knowing about a game before it's cool, test out Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your gaming budget.

A Tactical Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a strategy-focused dungeon crawler that's unlike anything I'm familiar with. The premise is that you need to explore a dungeon, going down level by level to find the sun, which has vanished from the fantasy world. In practice, this results in some recognizable genre framework. Pick a hero who has attributes and skills, fight through each level of foes, acquire some passive buffs (which are teeth), and defeat a few area guardians. Easy to grasp!

The Unique Central System

The method by which you effectively complete a dungeon room, is unique. Each instance you enter a new floor, you're shown a sixteen-square board of boxes. Each square holds a monster, a reward cache, a trap, or a health-restoring fruit. To explore a room, you choose on one of the four rows, but the specific tile you end up on is determined by luck.

You could encounter a row with two monsters, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You begin with a one-in-four probability of landing on any given square in a row.

After that, the odds shift. The question becomes: Do you go for it, or do you click on a alternative option first and aim for more cautious selections early? That's the push-your-luck gameplay on display in Sol Cesto, and it's absorbing once you get an understanding of it.

Influencing Chance

The procedural hook is that your odds can be manipulated through a run by gathering teeth that alter which objects you're drawn toward. For example, you could acquire a perk that will decrease your odds of hitting a trap, but will similarly reduce the odds of landing on a reward too.

• Crafting a loadout is about manipulating math as best you can to have a better shot at selecting the optimal square.
• In one run, I put all my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and chose every teeth possible that would boost my chances of landing on monsters with that damage type.
• In another run, I developed my adventurer around loot caches and paired that with a perk that would reduce the power of surrounding monsters each time I claimed a reward.

The strategic possibilities are somewhat constrained, but they are sufficient to experiment with to allow you to tweak the odds to your preference.

A Constant Gamble

Naturally, it's still a game of chance. There's always the chance that you have a likely outcome to land on the square you want but ultimately choose a monster that would take out your last bit of health. Each click is a gamble, so a persistent nervousness exists as you navigate a level and determine if to keep clicking or when to move on to the following level as opposed to testing fate.

Consumables including destructive ordnance assist in minimizing the chance, similar to some character abilities. One hero's signature move, activated once clearing four squares, allows players to select a vertical line instead of a row on a turn. By employing this strategically, you can reserve that option for the right moment to circumvent a perilous selection. There's a shocking degree of depth in the basic action of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is still in development, and it has a final update to go until the final game is released. A new character and a additional end-level foe are expected to drop before the conclusion of January. The full launch may not be much later, but the studio haven't set a concrete launch day yet.

A Concluding Thought

No matter when it's fully released, you might want to put Sol Cesto on your wishlist. I've been positively obsessed with it, uncovering each of hidden nuances and storing my run rewards every session to access a constant flow of meta progression rewards, including additional heroes and items purchasable mid-attempt. As of now, I am yet to reached the bottom, and I have a sense I'll still be attempting that goal when 1.0 finally hits. I'm committed for the long haul.