Aris Arcanum (2025) key art
Key art © indie.io / the developer, from the game's Steam page
Game2025Published by indie.io

Aris Arcanum

Action

Developer Broken Cane

The grand library of Aris now befell into madness — its scholars, corrupted, bear wounds of Ink; a dark, sludge carrying a mind-altering disease. A unique magic-bound roguelite awaits, where a desperate scholar bends the Ink's occult power to spellcraft his path to redemption. From the Steam store page

23 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Sep 18, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

75
LovedLoved

15 positive · 5 negative
95% range 53–89%

Source+−=
Steam reviews1550
Bluesky *000

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.

Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
19 of 26 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What people are saying

Mostly positive, with praise for art and setting but criticism of jank and repetition.

Many players praise the game's gorgeous art style, unique cosmic horror library setting, and excellent music. The combat and spell crafting are often described as fun and fresh, though some note jank or a slower pace. [2][4][8][1]

However, a minority of players find the gameplay unsatisfying or boring after a few hours, citing clunky stamina and movement, lack of variety, and unfinished feel. Some also report bugs or that the game becomes repetitive. [18][19][16][17]

Praised art style · music · setting · combat · spell crafting
Criticised jank · repetition · clunky movement · lack of variety · unfinished feel

Summary drafted by an AI model from the 20 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method

Reactions

23 of 23 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …8274Steam reviews · Nov 4, 2025 · 9 h played

    This game is perfect the first 2 hours that you play it. It looks good, plays well, and seems to promise a lot of unlocks and replayability in the future. If this was an early access game, I'd recommend it. Sadly, it's not. And the more you play, the more you realize that your anticipation for things to come is just your optimism. And the things you get the first 2 hours is it. It's unfinished otherwise. There's only 1 biome and you get about 15 levels until the boss fight. Pretty short. First…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7781Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 1 h played

    Good stuff! Gets janky sometimes but great world and the combat and spell crafting has its moments. Would recommend.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2864Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 2 h played

    Absolutely gorgeous art style and the cosmic horror library setting is so unique! Hidden gem!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1107Steam reviews · Aug 11, 2026 · 2 h played

    I feel bad doing this, its a small team with an interesting idea, the art is great, i like the idea of spellcrafting as roguelike and i am a sucker for a good ragdoll. The problem is the jank. Oh my god, the jank. Im okay with jank, jank can be charming and fun in its own way, this is not that kind of jank. I saved up currency for an upgrade that gave me a second life, only to discover that the super slow motion that engages when you die doesnt seem to turn off for the second life, leaving…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8468Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025

    For the first game by the Broken Cane team, it’s very impressive. The art style is superb, but certain elements still leave a bit to be desired. I hope they keep working on it.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0970Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025

    Excellent vibes, gorgeous characters and fun weird and fresh combat: all I need to love a game.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0446Steam reviews · Nov 1, 2025 · 2 h played

    Beautiful atmosphere and a tight game loop, loving it so far!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4192Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 1 h played

    Big fan of weird stories and characters so this gets a yes from me. Gustav is my favorite- what a king. The combat system got me a bit of getting used to ,but it was well worth it, love ragdolling enemies. Plus points for that receptionist thing.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3931Steam reviews · Oct 28, 2025 · 2 h played

    A fun game with an addictive loop. It has a slower more stamina focused combat than Hades. The graphics look great and the setting is interesting. The story is intriguing and the music great. All round great game

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1887Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 3 h played

    Started this game and couldn't let go until I finished it. I enjoyed it very much. I really liked the various spells and how you can stack different upgrades and runes together to make a powerful and kind of unique build in each try. The art, environments, character design, story, and music are also very unique. There are some minor bugs here and there but nothing that will degrade the experience. Kudos to Broken Cane team for creating this beautiful experience with such a small team.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2404Steam reviews · Nov 9, 2025 · 2 h played

    A cool and compact take on roguelites with heavier-feeling combat in a beautiful grim world with zany characters, and the possibility for some broken-in-a-fun-way spell builds.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4033Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 3 h played

    one of the best indie games i played recently, the retrolike music really got me going, and the boss fight was super fun

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7329Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 1 h played

    Love the art style and the music. The victory/idle music after you defeat enemies is superb. Character wise I wish they had more to tell in terms of story progression. The gameplay is attention-grabbing and fun but the ink shard can get a bit dull after the first few rebirths. Overall it's a lovely game worth your time. P.S. That one moaning basic enemy with the weird sword can go ♥♥♥♥ himself.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2694Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 1 h played

    Lovely art and I really like the interactions of spell upgrades!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6005Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025

    Great music, weird vibes. Interesting build variety so far. Promising Hades-like.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Indie Cup @indiecup.netBluesky · Nov 29, 2023

    Nominated for the MOST ANTICIPATED GAME AWARD at Indie Cup Ukraine’23: • Hollow Home • Glory to the Heroes • Aris Arcanum • Oberty • The Cable Guy • Tactical Squad: SWAT Stories • Headquarters: World War II • Hoglands Congratulations to all teams!

    unlabelledView post →
  • Indie Cup @indiecup.netBluesky · Nov 29, 2023

    Nominated for the MOST PROMISING GAME AWARD at Indie Cup Ukraine’23: • Hollow Home • Glory to the Heroes • Aris Arcanum • Dark Carrot • UMDS • Sparkhunt • Strange House • Fishing Stories • Freedom Tower Congratulations to all teams!

    unlabelledView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9947Steam reviews · Oct 29, 2025 · 1 h played

    Great game with a unique combat style, has a unique art style with an interesting story. Great game overall would recommend:

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8972Steam reviews · Jul 12, 2026

    the art style and thematic is insanely pretty, however the gameplay needs more flush out, the stamina and movement is clunky sometimes, and the game get boring after an hour or two.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9265Steam reviews · Jul 3, 2026 · 1 h played

    This might be the worst game I have ever played. The combat system literally puts you to sleep.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1798Steam reviews · Sep 18, 2026 · 14 h played

    Aris Arcanum takes the familiar action roguelite formula and gives it a distinctive identity through occult magic, cosmic horror, and a setting built around the dangerous pursuit of knowledge. Developed by Broken Cane and published by indie.io, it follows Clyde, a gifted magician connected to the mysterious discipline of Atramancy. His journey takes him through the once-grand library of Aris, where forbidden experimentation has transformed a center of learning into a hostile maze filled with…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4701Steam reviews · Sep 11, 2026 · 2 h played

    I like the art style and the quirky characters but ultimately the gameplay feels unsatisfying. The idea of crafting your own arsenal of spells sounds great (just look at Noita) but there doesn't seem to be much variety in effects and runs are too short to give opportunity for diversity. I feel like the best strategy is to avoid most of the upgrades as the base pew-pew is fine. Also, dodges share the same mana pool as the attacks, which in theory is a good opportunity for skill expression, but…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • mosnon @mosnon0922.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 29, 2025

    [New Post] indieio Unleashes Dual Terrors: A Deep Dive into 'Bonefield' and 'Aris Arcanum' at Steam Scream Fest #indieio #Bonefield #ArisArcanum #SteamScreamFest https://mos-game-en.blogspot.com/2025/10/indieio-unleashes-dual-terrors-deep.html

    unlabelledView post →

Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.

You Might Also Like

similar titles