INTO EVIL from Mind’s Eye Games combines Dark Souls brutality with Hotline Miami’s top-down chaos in a hardcore roguelike that challenges you to descend The Inverted Tower. The Early Access version launched November 7, 2025 on Steam, throwing players into a randomly generated megadungeon filled with horrifying creatures that want nothing more than to end your run before you reach the depths.
What Makes INTO EVIL Different From Other Roguelikes
The premise grabs you immediately. Servants of The Inverted Tower venture out each night, dragging terrified victims from their homes down into the tower’s abyssal depths, never to return. You play as someone brave or foolish enough to descend voluntarily, tasked with slaying whatever evil lurks below. The tower structure inverts the typical dungeon concept, meaning you are literally descending deeper into the earth rather than climbing upward, which creates an oppressive sense of being buried alive as you progress.
What separates INTO EVIL from the crowded roguelike field is how it handles items and abilities. Instead of simple stat increases that most ARPGs rely on, every piece of equipment fundamentally changes how you play. A hat might grant night vision, transforming dark corridors from death traps into strategic advantages. A sword could replace its standard parry function with the ability to create a minimap, forcing you to choose between defensive capabilities and navigation assistance. A shield might be plantable into the ground as a temporary barrier, letting you create chokepoints or cover your escape when overwhelmed.
This approach to itemization means each run feels mechanically distinct rather than just numerically stronger. You are not just grinding for higher damage numbers. You are discovering weird item combinations that enable entirely new strategies. The game rewards experimentation and adaptation rather than memorizing a single optimal build path.
Combat That Demands Your Full Attention
The combat system takes clear inspiration from both Hotline Miami and Dark Souls, creating a hybrid that feels fresh despite borrowing heavily from established formulas. The top-down perspective gives you better situational awareness than third-person Souls games, but the brutal difficulty and stamina-based combat retain that signature punishing edge. Every swing costs resources, every dodge has recovery frames, and every enemy hit can chunk your health bar in ways that demand respect.
Enemies are not mindless fodder. The developers describe them as wild, pushing you to utilize every resource and ability available. While specific enemy details remain spoiler territory, early player reports suggest the bestiary includes creatures with attack patterns complex enough to require study and adaptation. Learning enemy behavior is crucial because the random generation means you cannot simply memorize room layouts and spawn locations like you would in a traditional action game.
The game supports solo play, but it also features cooperative multiplayer for up to four players. Fighting through The Inverted Tower with friends transforms the experience from a tense solo challenge into chaotic coordination where friendly fire is presumably a concern and reviving downed teammates becomes a strategic risk-reward calculation. Whether the difficulty scales appropriately for different player counts remains to be seen as the Early Access period progresses.
Early Access Roadmap and Dual Wielding
Mind’s Eye Games has been transparent about their Early Access plans, with the next major feature being dual wielding. This addition will significantly expand build variety by letting players equip weapons in both hands, creating combinations like sword and shield, dual daggers, or even weapon and spell casting tool. The dual wielding system promises to interact with the existing item modification mechanics, potentially creating exponentially more gameplay possibilities.
Beyond dual wielding, the developers have hinted at additional content updates throughout the Early Access period. More enemy types, deeper dungeon floors, additional item categories, and potentially new character abilities are all on the table. The advantage of launching in Early Access is that player feedback can shape development priorities, ensuring the most requested features get attention first.
A quick hotfix patch dropped on November 8, just one day after launch, addressing reported issues like players being unable to claim Soul Essence by long-pressing E on keyboard and mouse. This rapid response suggests the development team is actively monitoring player experiences and committed to smoothing rough edges quickly.
The Pixel Art Aesthetic Serves the Horror
INTO EVIL uses pixel art, but not the cheerful retro style you might expect. The visuals lean heavily into dark fantasy horror, with oppressive color palettes dominated by blacks, deep purples, and sickly greens. The Inverted Tower feels genuinely unsettling despite the limited resolution, proving that atmosphere depends more on art direction than polygon counts.
The pixel art style also enables the randomly generated megadungeon to function smoothly. Procedural generation often struggles when trying to maintain visual consistency across thousands of room variations. Pixel art’s modular nature makes it easier to create tile sets that snap together coherently while still producing unique layouts every run. This technical decision allows for genuine replayability without sacrificing environmental cohesion.
Sound design plays a crucial role in building tension. From what early players report, audio cues warn you about nearby threats, environmental hazards telegraph themselves through distinct noises, and the ambient soundscape reinforces the sense that you are delving somewhere fundamentally wrong. Good headphones are recommended, not just for competitive advantage but for the full horrifying experience.
Who Is Mind’s Eye Games
Mind’s Eye Games operates as a small independent studio focused on creating simple, unique, and action-packed experiences. INTO EVIL represents their most ambitious project to date, combining multiple complex systems like procedural generation, multiplayer netcode, and intricate item interactions into a single cohesive package. The fact they are launching in Early Access rather than attempting a full release demonstrates pragmatic awareness of their scope and resources.
The studio maintains an active presence on social media and appears engaged with the growing community around INTO EVIL. Developer transparency about upcoming features, known issues, and design philosophy helps build trust with early adopters who are essentially beta testing the game while it evolves. This collaborative approach between developers and players often produces better final products than isolated development cycles.
Competing in the Crowded Roguelike Space
INTO EVIL launches into a market saturated with roguelikes. Hades set the bar for narrative roguelikes, Dead Cells perfected action platformer roguelikes, Vampire Survivors pioneered auto-battler roguelikes, and dozens of other titles compete for attention. What does INTO EVIL offer that justifies your time and money when so many alternatives exist?
The answer lies in its specific combination of elements. There are Soulslike roguelikes, but most are either side-scrolling platformers or 3D third-person games. There are top-down action roguelikes, but few emphasize stamina management and deliberate combat pacing. There are roguelikes with creative item systems, but fewer that make every single piece of equipment fundamentally alter your playstyle. INTO EVIL occupies a niche carved from the overlap of these design philosophies.
Whether that niche is large enough to sustain long-term player interest depends on execution. Roguelikes live or die based on how satisfying the core loop feels and how much variety the randomization genuinely provides. If runs feel samey after ten hours, players will bounce to competitors. If the difficulty curve is poorly tuned, frustration replaces challenge. Early Access exists to iron out these concerns before the full launch determines commercial success or failure.
Is Early Access Worth Jumping Into
The question of whether to buy Early Access games always involves risk assessment. You are paying for an unfinished product with the promise that it will improve over time. Some developers abandon projects, others pivot in directions players hate, and technical issues can persist for months. INTO EVIL currently sits at a 25 percent discount during its Early Access launch week, reducing financial risk slightly.
Early player reception appears cautiously positive. The core combat feels responsive, the item variety creates interesting decisions, and the difficulty hits that sweet spot between challenging and unfair for most players. Complaints center on typical Early Access issues like occasional bugs, limited content compared to what is promised, and balance problems that need tuning. None of these problems are deal-breakers for players who understand what Early Access means.
If you love Soulslike combat, enjoy roguelikes with meaningful item interactions, and want to influence development through feedback, jumping in now makes sense. If you prefer waiting for polished complete experiences, wishlisting the game and checking back in six months is the smarter move. There is no wrong choice, just different preferences about how you engage with games in development.
FAQs About INTO EVIL
When did INTO EVIL release in Early Access?
INTO EVIL launched in Early Access on Steam on November 7, 2025. The game is currently available with a 25 percent discount during its launch week, though this discount may expire soon.
Can you play INTO EVIL with friends?
Yes, INTO EVIL supports cooperative multiplayer for up to four players. You can fight through The Inverted Tower solo or bring friends to tackle the randomly generated megadungeon together, though difficulty presumably scales based on player count.
What platforms is INTO EVIL available on?
Currently, INTO EVIL is only available on PC via Steam. The developers have not announced plans for console versions, though this could change depending on the success of the Early Access period and community demand.
How long will INTO EVIL stay in Early Access?
Mind’s Eye Games has not specified an exact timeline for leaving Early Access. Typical Early Access periods last between 6 to 18 months depending on development progress, player feedback, and how much content the developers want to add before the full launch.
What is the next major feature being added to INTO EVIL?
The next major feature is dual wielding, which will allow players to equip weapons or items in both hands. This system will significantly expand build variety and interact with the existing item modification mechanics to create more gameplay possibilities.
Is INTO EVIL similar to Hades or Dead Cells?
INTO EVIL shares the roguelike structure with those games but plays differently. It combines top-down perspective like Hotline Miami with stamina-based Soulslike combat rather than the fast-paced action of Dead Cells or the isometric hack-and-slash of Hades. The emphasis is on deliberate, challenging combat in a horror-themed megadungeon.
Does INTO EVIL have a story or just gameplay?
The game has a basic narrative premise involving The Inverted Tower, servants who drag victims into its depths, and your mission to descend and stop the evil below. How much narrative depth exists beyond this setup is unclear in the current Early Access build.
How difficult is INTO EVIL?
INTO EVIL is described as a hardcore action roguelike with Soulslike difficulty. Expect to die frequently as you learn enemy patterns, discover item synergies, and master the stamina-based combat system. The game is designed for players who enjoy challenging experiences that require patience and adaptation.
Conclusion
INTO EVIL represents an ambitious attempt to merge Soulslike difficulty with roguelike replayability in a top-down perspective that creates unique tactical considerations. The emphasis on items that fundamentally change gameplay rather than just boosting numbers shows thoughtful design philosophy that respects player intelligence. Mind’s Eye Games has delivered a promising Early Access foundation with responsive combat, interesting enemy design, and enough content to justify the asking price for players who understand they are buying into an evolving product. Whether it achieves long-term success depends on how well the developers execute their roadmap and respond to community feedback. For now, if you crave a challenging roguelike that makes you think tactically while dodging horrifying creatures in a randomly generated hell dungeon, INTO EVIL is worth descending into. Just remember, once you start the descent, getting back out is never guaranteed.