Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2015
SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition
Developer Black Shell Media
SanctuaryRPG is an adventure game developed by Black Shell Games and released on April 29, 2014 for Microsoft Windows. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
176 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Lemmy) · newest Sep 28, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
84
LovedLoved
147 positive · 28 negative
95% range 78–89%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 147 | 28 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,447 of 1,587 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 176 · most liked firstI really enjoyed it until I starting getting better. At that point, battles were rarely interesting, overly long, and just a painful slog. I couldn't see the finish line, had no idea how far I had to go, so I made the decision to stop playing. I'm writing this as feedback for the designer, because this was entertaining until the above scenario became true.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 16.6h (finished the game) Intro SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition is a roguelike turn-based game with ASCII art. It offers several customizations on your build from your class, modifiers, and upgrades. Pros: - Different builds to play the game with - 3+ difficulties Cons: - Repetitive gameplay - Cheap deaths Specs Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Should you buy this game? I'm not enjoying how repetitive and grindy it is. In-Depth Review Visuals The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i was not able to get past the first input screen on my deck. Why is this verified?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ASCII game, you ask? Many modern age games are noteworthy accomplishments of graphic design. (And, as the technology evolves, tomorrow's development will make today's games simply look primitive and stupid.) This leaves us with the questions of what makes a "good game" great? What are the most essential features? How can you evaluate whether a game is worth your time? Answer: Opinions will certainly vary on this. Fundamentally, I think the quality of the game is simply how much you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sanctuary RPG is an ASCII rpg game, where you play solely with a keyboard. You need to progress through enemies, bosses, and different parts of town all by pressing buttons which correspond to certain actions. You kill monsters and upgrade your gear as in every other rpg. The enemies' movements as well as your own are -for the most part- described on the screen however, instead of shown because of the ASCII graphics. All this might sound incredibly dull, however I have to say I was hooked on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews, so you can be updated whenever I post a new review. Overall Rating - Seriously Flawed ★★☆☆☆ First Impressions SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition (SB) was one of the earlier games released for Humble Bundle monthly. It was quite unlike any other RPG I had played, and so when I first tried it, its unique style caught me off guard, so I decided to leave it be. Fast forward several…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played On Steam Deck Sanctuary RPG: Black Edition had me excited for some good ol’ retro RPG goodness, but instead, I found myself stuck in a crafting simulator disguised as an adventure. The game wants you to dive into intense battles, but here’s the catch: the real way to win is by tapping through endless menus and crafting gear like you're running a medieval Etsy shop. And let me tell you, the crafting? Tedious doesn’t even begin to cover it. After a while, it felt like the only monster I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was kind of interested in doing this for Unicode a while back, which has the potential to provide for a lot more possible characters and thus a lot more-accurate renditions. If you don't care about real-time operation, I suspect that you can do this with off-the-shelf software by just writing a small amount of code to generate an image for each character --- a shell script driving ImageMagick could do it --- and then feeding it into…
unlabelledView post →This is a real hidden gem of a game. Top notch quality and one of the best examples of how beautiful things can be without AAA graphics. Great replayability. Engaging. Simple and deep all in one. Soild 9/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is hilarious and a wonderful way to spend your afternoon, unless you can't handle complex carbohydrates, then come get this hot potato of an rpg in your diet today. charming throughout in every way.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Scale of randomness becomes too absurd at some point. Going from enemies that do 500 damage on a crit to enemies that do over 8000 on a regular hit to one-shot you completely ruins any feeling of progression or balance when it's put in a permadeath game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok, so this game is addictive. Very addictive. Not easy either. You will die. A lot. That said, it's a pretty basic game, in every aspect. It has some interesting humor attached. Definitely worth $8. EDIT: Ok, so I'm seeing a lot of the top negative reviews talking about perma-death and not getting anything... And about HP not being relevant.... As for the perma death issue: You unlock races to create your character from as you beat chapters/sections of the game. You can find upgrade…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried to like this game, I'm a big fan of RPGs including retro ones. Sadly the game loop is quickly getting boring and repetitive. The game is not without merits, it's clearly a labor of love but I'd rather think of it as a mobile game to kill time than of a real PC RPG.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not playable on Steam Deck. I don't understand how this is verified. There's no way I can find to get past the main menu. Default config doesn't include the Enter key, and the game doesn't recognize R2 as enter with the soft keyboard up. Do not buy this and expect to play it on Steam Deck.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →W W W S D 1 2 3 W Nice game 👍
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my good friend synertia probably loves this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like: - 1v1 turn based combat - complex mechanics / hardcore difficulty - ascii graphics - absurd pen&paper like story-telling Then look no further! --- Pros: - Runs on any toaster - Requires only a keyboard; controls are easy enough for a monkey - The music is friggin awesome Cons: - Has some serious (although rare) bugs that ruin your mood proportionally to your game experience - No Steam Overlay PS: if you want to play this on the native controller support (including Steam…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's amazing how a game using text and ASCII characters can be so good. But this game is. And the music is EXCELLENT. It all gets a thumbs up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Go ahead and buy whenever it's on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So a friend bought me another game as a gift and this came for free with it. The other game (an FPS) is generally much more my speed but I was totally caught off guard by SanctuaryRPG and I have played it easily ten times as much as the game intentionally purchased. Never having played a text-based game like this I don't have anything else in the genre to base it off of, but for me it feels very much like if Dark Souls and Pokemon had a child: equal parts punishing and trying to be the very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been playing this on and off for years and I still know there is a crazy amount of stuff to experiment with and uncover. The art and sound design are very cool as well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not what you think it is. It's not some deep roguelike with the quirky text interface. It's a pure skinner box in a form of a repetitive game where all the game mechanics are just a flavour to keep you engaged over doing the same tasks over and over. It has the same addictive taste of games like Loop Hero, where you get swallowed over the game but you are aware of the fact the game isn't funny. However, when on discount the game price is extremely low (i've paid it less than 1…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Juvenile, unfunny "humour". Gameplay manages to be at the same time complicated and boring. If you like repeatedly typing 1, 2, 3, 4 on your keyboard, and if you think the mere mention of potatoes is hilarious, then play this game. Otherwise, don't. I asked for a refund, even though I paid less than €1 for it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Actually pretty addicting game with cool catchy ost
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I show my age through the games I enjoy Help me I need help I like this game too much and need more like it PLEASE I HAVE NO MONEY BUY ME MORE OF THES-
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →really cool and underrated game, I've never seen ANYTHING like this before
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Over four years ago, I played Sanctuary RPG and wrote a 686 word review describing why you should get this game. I come back to write a 129 word review to say you should buy this game. The game is a balancing act of gearing up your character and making sure they continue to not die while navigating through text options as quick as you can (good thing). The only limitation for how fast you play the game is the human limit.. so it encourages hyper-quick decision making and pattern recognition…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Typical rogue-like RPG. detailed gaming system with battle simulation using codes and narrative descriptions. Musics are sweet-sounding. Well the only glitch is the inappropriate settings of the item's affixes. Legendary items are much weaker than any other item levels with only +exp increasing, which does not make any sense. I hope developer update and make it improved, it ought to be excellent as the one in Diablo 2. Thornguard + immune + smiter = I am done.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game feels like it got abandoned halfway through early access. The underlying ideas are solid, but the execution is almost uniformly poor across the board. About 80% of the game time is just spent grinding levels/equipment in one way or another (there are quite a few ways to do so). The plot certainly creates intrigue and curiosity in multiple ways but fails provide anything on any of those avenues. A lot of the combat abilities are useless; there are so many abilities that the game has to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a cheap price it's ok for the hours you can get out of the loop if you like turn based combat and grinding. I was disappointed by the ending, and the story in general seems to try to hint at a plot and resolution that just isn't there, leaving you feeling like you're missing something. The combat loop is engaging - you are kept paying attention by situational prompts to react to such as repositioning to avoid an enemy charge, foucsing to double combo count, or grappling to deal more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a little hard to describe the gameplay loop of this game, but it's a combo-heavy RPG with a lot of moving parts that seem more complex than they really are. Combat is mostly just observing moment to moment which mechanic you need to refresh or push (combo counter, barriers, mantras, mana expunge, adrenal smash, snares, guarding, poison, etc) and outside of combat you're mostly just grabbing all the free stuff that refreshes day to day. Fun and not too hard once you understand how things…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonderful game. Clever combat system where you chain attacks together to make combos, balanced with repositioning and charging an attack meter. Great depth of gameplay in other areas too. Easy to play for short or long periods. Very hard to master.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm sure this game was funny in 2014, but now the humor is bland and boring. Randomized outcomes for silly events is actually quite boring, there's no actual humor. The game encourages you not to go into autopilot not by being engaging, but by trying to get you to watch for green letters on the screen, though most fights can be autopiloted through. It says it is verified on the steam deck, and I suspect that it was cheated onto the steam deck, it doesn't work on the steam deck. Finally,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is soooo goooood! But why?! Why it costs only 1$ in sale and there are so less players? Give it a try! This game is a true gem. You feel the love they had, when they made the game. And it looks also so awesome. If there is a coffee link or something to support the developers of this game please let me know <3 Trust me. Buy it. Give it a try. Its perfect.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A bird blinded me, pecking me to death. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SanctuaryRPG is a neat idea, but it falls down some in the execution. (NOTE: I accidentally left this up in the background for a few days so my playtime is inflated. I still put some good time into it, but nothing like 140 hours.) In the first place, it's far too linear for a permadeath roguelike. I die the first time, "okay fine, I've learned some things," go back. Cruise through the game for a while then hit a sudden difficulty spike and die. "Well, ♥♥♥♥. I guess I should grind more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SOME DAY LOVE WILL FIND YOU BREAK THOSE CHAINS THAT BIND YOU doo do-do-do-do doo do-do-do-do-do-doo do-do-do-do-do-do do-doo
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honestly this is great, it had good writing, even the music is awesome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very fun and silly game! STORY: Funny and exciting! DIFFICULTY: All up to you!! GRAPHICS: A blast to the past and works very well! PRICE: Very fair! Loads of content to experience! FORCED SAVE AND EXIT: Does not have it! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favourite part of this game is the BAR! Love it!! POTATO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is an all-time classic. When it comes to ASCII RPG's, it doesn't get better than this one. Great art, tons of stuff to do, writing that balances humor and the more serious moments very well, a super deep combat and class system, and one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Always worth picking up if it peaks your interest. And there's also a demo to try in-case you're unsure if this kind of game is for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game bought in a bundle or at 75%+ discount, or received at a public giveaway An ASCII roguelike game for those, who want to brag, that they've played an ASCII roguelike game, but don't have what it takes to play ADOM or NetHack. Not much of a gameplay, not much of a story, just repetitive and grindy smashing of the Q+ENTER key in one more fight with a single predictable enemy, that you know, that you will easily win, if you understand game's mechanics, don't choose too hard opponents and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, cheap, funny writing(the developer has this thing for potatoes), runs on anything, great soundtrack It's like a roguelike "choose your own adventure" book, though a "non-roguelike" option is available Lots of character customization options with classes, backgrounds, equipment, full RPG stat system, though I feel like the dynamics of combat do not change that much based on said options, still a very fun experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →none can stand back once a vicious hawk throws a potato at them
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've barely scratched the surface on this game, but damn I'm in love. Definitely not for everyone, but if you really love RPGs and you really love Roguelikes, then you should try this out for yourself. It has some dumb humor, but I'm into that kind of thing. The ASCII art style is incredible. Fully recommend this game, especially at the price point. Also, the soundtrack slaps.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ potato jokes are too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid and too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ common to tolerate
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL,DR: 8 dollars much money, wait until daily, but i also have over 100 hours on a purely ASCII game, which is saying a lot One of my most played games in existence. I bought this game for 99 cents. If you believe in the general enjoyment hour-dollar ratio, then I've certainly gotten my money's worth. Positives: - Unique classes - Customization of runs are endless - Abundant with potatoes and typical teenage humor - Sacrifice altar to sacrifice your abundant potatoes - Story is kind of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty difficult, and can be confusing. ASCII art has a certain style to it, and trying to fit a lot of information on the screen can make you strain your eyes. Story is great and the game mechanics are awesome. The penalty for playing on a difficulty less than classic mode is pretty heavy. Kind of wish that if you die, you don't have to restart the entire campaign. 9/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is very easy and relaxing, There are few downsides: - All bosses are quite weak, compared to the final boss. At specific stage final boss is fully resistant and you are constantly bleeding, the only way to win is to invest into items with VIT (give health) and do manual crafting and maximise your damage mitigation and passive health regen. - Low replayability, despite high diversity of races, items and so no it is hard to find different options to play through the game or find different…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun retro style rpg game Cool art style and good humor along with being easy to play
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun, easy to learn, and hard to master. I went through about a half-dozen characters and ~40 hours of my life in order to complete a full run of the story. Having said that, I can see people having more difficulty if they start on a higher difficulty (I played Classic) or have less experience with ARPGs/JRPGs. The ASCII artwork and the musical scores throughout the game really make it welcoming. It reminds me a bit of majula in dark souls 2. Storywise and writing, the game doesn't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It did not grip me. I will admit that it has its charm and it is impressive how much can be achieved with ASCII, but it is a little too clunky for me to be enjoyable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat is intensely uninteresting, the attempts at humour are pitiable, the item system is mindless, and the plot is basically non-existent. It's about as interesting as an idle clicker. I can't be bothered to continue.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It works great on steamdeck with the community template. The music is really nice (I'm going to buy the soundtrack, I think it's worth it). And the game can be challenging on lunatic mode. I like it a lot!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was pretty into this for a a little bit and tried to get back into it but it suddenly doesn't work. It just glitches, shows its running on my task bar but wont be brought up when clicking on it. As that makes it unplayable, I cant recommend the game. You could always try it yourself and get a refund if your under an hour of play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was not expecting to have so much fun like I am, lmao Nostalgic, funny, and amazing!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonderful little game. Writing this review to encourage anyone to play it who loves RPG's. For some reason tho, Steam isn't showing the hours I spent on this game. Developer is great too. Check it out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh, too quirky.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've tried to get into this game a couple times but always end up uninstalling it in the end. Granted I haven't gone through the game at length, but at no point throughout my several brief playthroughs was I ever engaged and wanted to continue playing after a half hour or so of playtime. And this is coming from someone who loves roguelikes. When I first installed TBoI, I was in high school and stayed up past midnight on my first runs because I was so enraptured. I won't and cannot deny the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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