Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2022
Source of Madness
Developer Carry Castle
Source of Madness is a side-scrolling dark action roguelite set in a twisted Lovecraftian inspired world powered by procedural generation and AI machine learning. Take on the role of a new Acolyte as they embark on a nightmarish odyssey. From the Steam store page
195 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 3, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
63
Fresh
117 positive · 70 negative
95% range 55–69%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 117 | 70 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
8 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
1,086 of 1,586 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 195 · most liked firstAI slop in place of visuals. Holding LTrigger in place of gameplay. Grind in place of progression. What a waste.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought this game a while back for $2 and haven't touched it since. Booted it up yesterday only to be met with AI generated level and enemy designs and awful gameplay with clunky player and enemy movement and items that actually downgrade what you already have. AI SLOP. DO NOT BUY!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ignore the "AI SLOP!!" drooling brainlets. The developer described their process of designing and drawing the art for this game, which yes, they then used an early form of AI to apply different styles and textures OVER THEIR OWN HANDMADE ART. None of these sloppy reviewers have an IQ higher than their own age and it shows. Less than 2 bucks is a steal for what has been the funnest first hour to a roguelite that I've enjoyed in years. It's a fun, tight-controlling side-scrolling roguelite…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's AI Generated trash and I have no interest to supporting Developers unwilling to even put the effort into one of the biggest parts of a Game, it's artstyle and presentation. On top of that. while i like the idea of Rings being Weapons and Spells, the Gameplay itself is grossly clunky and really will just have Enemies attempting to trap you in corners for them to really do any sort of damage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is literally advertised as using AI. The main attraction is basically the interesting use of AI to make eldritch-esque enemies (albeit it's not free of some shenanigans). Reviews saying otherwise shouldn't have bought the game in the first place, much less make a negative review. That's like giving a negative review to a visual novel game for having an anime art style.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would just like to point out that this game is older than ChatGPT and the entire "AI slop" thing. If you laughed at Deepdream and compared it to Lovecraftian horror, well, apparently the devs thought they could work with that. Unfortunately it's (personal opinion) not a great game, but I'd say that it has a place as an artistic experiment of its, albeit short-lived, time. Labeling it AI slop to protect real art is an ironic tragedy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has some really cool ideas, such as the randomly generated enemies that are always different. But the game consists of entirely AI created "art" which drags the game through the dirt for me personally. The description for this game talks a lot about how the AI is "AI machine learning" but if you scroll to the bottom of the description it states the entire game is AI. Support real artists who have passion to learn their craft instead of ♥♥♥♥♥♥ short cuts.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Praise be to Yog-Sothoth for this source of Madness he has bestowed upon us. I strongly disagree with the recent negative reviews dismissing this game as AI slop so I wrote this little review. I personally found the infinite variety of Eldritch abominations this game generates endlessly fascinating and strangely arousing. I thought the atmosphere, art style and soundtrack all very appropriate for the themes and non of it come across as poorly done AI generated content at all. Game play…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is literally advertised as using AI. The main attraction is basically the interesting use of AI to make eldritch-esque enemies (albeit it's not free of some shenanigans). Reviews saying otherwise shouldn't have bought the game in the first place, much less make a negative review. That's like giving a negative review to a visual novel game for having an anime art style.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall, this feels like a gimmick game—one that neither considers its place in the current market nor puts any real effort into refining its core gameplay. You might call the art style “thematic” or “unique,” but it doesn’t make for a game worth playing, nor does it succeed as a piece of visual storytelling. The gameplay is essentially a mess of ragdoll-like figures flailing around in bizarre motions, approaching a cloaked humanoid who delivers attacks with zero sense of impact. Most textures…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After finally playing it for myself, I fully understand all of the criticism surrounding this game. I wanted to tell myself that there was something halfway decent here, but the overall experience is heavily bogged down by the developers' over-reliance on AI and machine learning. To someone who's just looking for a cheap, quick thrill, this could pass as something to fill the gap, but when you start really paying attention to the things around you, it becomes nigh impossible to not pay any mind…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imagine Bloodborne mixed with Symphony of the Night, then drenched in thick Lovecraftian horror that’s Source of Madness. It’s a roguelite with RPG elements, wrapped in beautiful pixel art and backed by a haunting soundtrack that absolutely nails the cosmic horror vibe. The monsters are genuinely unsettling, constantly shifting into new grotesque shapes that keep every run feeling strange and unpredictable. But for all the style and ambition, the game struggles with consistency. Character…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Week ??: Digital: -The Game of Life -Overboss -Ultros -tuna hake's underwater -Pac Man Chomp Champ -Castlevania SotN & Rondo of Blood -Source of Madness -Shovel Knight Dig -Cookie Clicker Console -Fantasy Life i -Duck Detective The Ghost of Glamping Physical:
unlabelledView post →Foreword: Not AI slop (at least not in the modern sense) This is an older creative use of early generative AI before the slop craze of more recent years, using some generated patterned cutouts to play into the game's narrative themes of eldritch horror, just as early diffusion models produced manmade horrors that were absolutely maddening and eye-straining to look at. What the game has always needed was more polish, especially for its control inputs. Was definitely an interesting art…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some how missed the "Ai assisted art style" bit when checking out the game. For sure noticed it while playing. Pointless addition to any game would rather have a few assets used well made by a skilled hand.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's, not very good. The procedural generation loses its charm fast, and the gameplay gets stale quickly as well. Not really worth it unless you're really into the old and twisted Ai-generated art style, before AI generate content started to piss on everything.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unique and cool The game was NOT made using pure A.I, so stop believing these people who say it is. The dev has already addressed this. It's actual drawn art using this early form of a.i generation as kind of like an overlay or something. Go view the forums Now as for the game? Super cool. Every single monster encounter is this strange unpredictable event essentially. You never know how they are going to attack you or what they are going to look like. I've come across some truly weird…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Of course it's experimental and weird, but that's probably what caught your attention, as it did mine. I moved on from it though because people were saying it's AI slop. But then it's on 85% discount and I was like surely there is something worth it at that price, so looked again and found this info from the dev, which says it all really; "Soooo okay, this is NOT AI slop, this was made way before AI art became a big thing. There are a few cutscenes that were made with an old Diffusion model…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Impressions in the first five minutes: - Huh, this seems to use the old deep dream AI program for its mindbending aesthetic. That's a little clever. - Why does everything move through rag-doll physics? Seems like it would be very easy to break the game. - Oh, the arcane ring lets you rocket jump. - And, two arcane rings means I can now fight while flying and these ragdoll enemies are at my mercy. -------------- Okay, After playing some more, I can confirm this game is trash. Combat is just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a lovecraftian treat! Good: Atmosphere is spot on, 10/10 Sounds: 9.5/10 * Overall it is amazing, the music, the whispers, the monster bleats * Can be borderline ear-rapey though (eg skill unlock sound) Levels: 9/10 * Biomes are of great variety * Boss levels all feel distinct (huge w there) * There are some rooms that looks the same Cutscenes: 9/10 * Great use of AI here! Could use a revisit with the newer ones Bad: Gameplay: It's alright, too bad you can kite/snipe everything,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not very good or fun at all. It's clunky, floaty, janky, uninspired and just blah. I feel like it's more of an amateur passion project. A lot of basic principles of basic game design are ignored. Graphics are super muddy, cluttered, colorless and uninspiring. The enemies are random collections of parts that literally just ragdoll around. Sometimes enemies fling themself and crash into you and you suffer no HP loss, other times an enemy barely brushes you from below and you're sent 700…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't listen to the reviewers crying about AI! This is one of the most underrated games of 2022! And by far one of my top 10 favorites of all time. While I have only 27 hours on Steam, I have nearly 100 more on PS5 and Switch. First of all, to address the AI so many want to cry about all of the sudden, it is used to make some of the most amazing monsters I have ever seen in a game. Also every major boss is not AI generated. Which is good because sometimes it can take you a try or two or three…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game bad, dont play GRRRRR
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is.... MESSY Like that one other reviewer said. This is just prime MESS. I like the idea of this game (Dead Cells, but you're a pure caster). If Codex Lost had been a side-scrolling roguelite, it would probably look like this.... only with COHERENT ENEMIES. To give you a picture, you've all messed around with the corpses in the original Dark Souls, right? Ragdolling them around. Watching them flop back and forth, trying to see if you can flip them off ledges and into wells and sh*t.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After returning to this game after a very long while, I remembered just how funky it was. It is certainly one of the most interesting and satisfying roguelikes I have ever played. The build diversity is great, the story and visuals are one of a kind. Does it have jank? Yes, but this jank feels at home and does not disturb from the experience. It is not a very long game, but I certainly recommend spicing up your library if you are looking for a new and interesting roguelike.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can see some of the points raised in the negative reviews, the game is quite often confusing mostly due to the AI-generated enemies. Yes - I'm reviewing positively a game that has heavily used AI: I think these developers are quite unlucky though as they used it "before it was not cool". It's quite funny that I like how it was used early on - they were crafty with it, and managed to generate some cool lovecraftian monsters - whereas now you just see it used for regurgigated, realistic (but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[offline-only player so playtime is inaccurate] Pros: + SFX are (mostly) satisfyingly punchy+juicy + Madness/Lovecraft/cultist/etc. themes are always welcome + Spells being gear-based allows for experimentation Neutral: = Meta progression exists. It's not particularly interesting, but it's there = Works fine on Proton if you're a Linux user = Controller support is (mostly) adequate Cons: - Procedural monsters are ultimately just lobotomized blobs with limbs they can't properly control in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game… I mean I bought it for 0.5$ and the thing is it’s worth every penny..It’s not that hard but the thing is every time you die you’ll lose your coins but your blood tokens will remain and you can permanently upgrade some power ups … for the beginner I’ll suggest to upgrade the life vials and Dashes…. Enjoy…it’s gonna take a while to finish this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty cool and awesome price at 1.19$USD. Atmospheric & Natural Movement Flow.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AI-generated slop with ugly assets, clunky movement and unfun combat
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very interesting...few weird bugs like footstep sounds continuing briefly after stopping, some presumably "cutscenes" not playing when they should, and some other minor weirdness. But the core game is truly pretty good. The use of AI is well done imo, this definitely isn't AI slop, it's using it as an advantage instead of a crutch here, again imo. Especially at its sale price of $1.99, definitely recommend. I don't know that I'd recommend it at $19.99 though, probably a little rough for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am glad I only paid $2 for it. That is all I will say. I played for an hour and watched enemies flop around like fish out of water, There is no direction to the game it just feels like it was randomly stitched together. The dialogue is horrible like someone wrote the dialogue and then ran it through a translator 50 times to make it funny, but it just comes out as bad. The images are clearly AI gen which I guess is not so bad but it gets old fast. I see reviews raving about it being so great…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⊰═🕀═⊱≼The madness of beautiful monotony≽⊰═🕀═⊱ 🜂 Positive 🜄 ☉ A great atmosphere, as even critics of this game point out ... ☉ Great visuals ... ☉ Cool spells ... ☉ Interesting procedural generation with monsters ... 🜁 Negative 🜃 ☽ The gameplay is quite monotonous here, despite all the variety of classes and spells, it plays pretty much the same ... ☽ A slightly insufficient number of levels ... ⊰💧⊱═𒍟═⊰🩸⊱ 7/12 ⊰🩸⊱═𒍟═⊰💧⊱
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Weird game, not the best game, but fun enough. Good if you like Lovecraft.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →People keep saying this is AI slop, and simply put, it's not. Furthermore, it's decently put together. I felt I needed to review this game because it was engaging enough to give me 25 hours of fun before finishing the game, all while being review bombed by people who go into the game with prejudice based on some artistic choices. The developer chose to use some early diffusion models to make some cutaway "beyond comprehension" looking scenes, however, there is clearly art in the game that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Strange, Beautiful, and a Somewhat Broken I’m someone who loves Lovecraftian horror, aesthetics, and stories that revolve around cosmic dread; that was the main reason I was drawn to this title. If there’s “AI slop” there can also be “AI kino” and in my opinion, this game falls into the latter category. Still, I completely understand why people who see “AI” involved might be turned off. After finishing it 100%, here are my thoughts on the positives and negatives. Positives Combat: The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 recommend it. Definetely a game that deserves so much more love and attention
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got this back in 2022, didnt realize there was such heavy ai usage or they started using ai much more. Every negative review is well earned, would refund if I could.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the pioneers of using Ai to make games! Where you get to look at nonsensical weirdscape cutscene things at random and fight monsters that just sorta flop at you Absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ trash
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunate AI slop
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Actually a good game. I've had fun with it, got it on 94% sale - a bargin at £1.01. Not sure of the supposed difficulty of it, as I've managed to complete Act 2 so far. That was a long run, but not impossible (Despite it being <5% players achieved). Quite random, but there's lots of unlocks and classes. I've only really played Pyromancer, but there are 6 classes to unlock.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honest review its decent, it is ai yes, lots of the art was made by hand and ai was used to cover it for other ♥♥♥♥, it does get repetitive after a while, a bit tedious but its an okay experience, do i recommend buying it at full price? hell no, if its on sale and you just wanna mess around for like an hour once a week or when bored go for it, its not exactly a game you play long term, be it for the story (which there isnt much of) but its nice to feel strong ig. just don't buy it to expect…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While this game has potential with it's unique art-style, it feels somewhat like the devs gave all ideas into an AI and let it generate the game for them. - Movement is slow and feels squishy. - Weapons feel ok, but don't seem to be balanced (at least not in the beginning) - NPCs are easily overseen in the world - Enemies feel random, as if noone put any thought into them, just threw some fleshy looking bits together - You get thrown into the world without much explanation and don't really…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its Ai garbage grab bag. Support real artists and never buy anything made with AI. I would refund it if I could.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got this game for free without realizing it was AI generated, seeing as it looks like they got an actual artist to do the promotional picture. Let's just say it plays like AI made it too. Combat is not engaging and there's very little skill involved with it. Sucks because the concept could have been flushed out so much better with real artists and a better focus on writing the story progression. Ironically, the enemies themselves need a major upgrade to THEIR ai. I'd understand if SOME of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Lovecraftian atmosphere is excellent — the game really captures a sense of creeping madness. My main issue is that the gameplay feels more monotonous than unique: many enemies feel identical and follow the same attack patterns, so I end up using the same tactics on every level. That gets boring after a while. Also, It would be nice to have some sort of map and ability to switch equipment presets in a quick way
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really didn't expect this game to look and play like this. Basically, you fight big monsters with ragdoll physics that clumsily crawl or fall towards you while hopelessly trying to attack you. And actually I don't dislike it. It makes them look even more grotesque and disgusting. But in terms of gameplay, that's pretty chaotic. In fact the most viable strategy is to constantly walk away while shooting, and hope you don't somehow get hit. There are some concrete issues with the gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun game but it's got A LOT of bug and issues. The flask replenishment per biome perk that is important for a melee run doesn't work. So your only option is the leech life ring if you get it. If the game presents a playstyle that is an active detriment right away that's an issue. When buying anything from the shop if you try and equip it as you buy it... poof it didn't happen and your gold is taken. I have started to make videos and think this game has merit but I don't like a game I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the art design of this game, kind of a paper-doll like look to it. The movement is clunky, and the enemies are very repetitive and move very awkwardly. The cut-scenes are clearly AI-Generated art. The gameplay itself is fine, but it doesn't really do anything that other rogue-like platformers don't do much better. I got it on sale for $2, so I'd say it's worth the hour I spent playing it. I can't recommend it though, and I won't be playing any more of it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6/10 Good, not great. It's a rogue-lite, procedurally generated game without much variation. I think some monsters and bosses are random, but a lot aren't. Also a lot of levels variation isn't really relevant, its just variation without much actual effect. Compare with Sundered that makes the bite sized chunks…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →what type of lobby is that? i spend 15 minutes trying to find where the level ist, why do you even need half of those rooms
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Está bueno para pasar un par de horas, cada run que haces puedes cambiar de build y el gameplay es ligeramente diferente. El uso de la IA está bastante bien implementado para recrear escenarios con temática lovecraftiana, es el ejemplo de que no todo es malo con la IA generativa. Si tuviera que encontrar puntos malos del juego es que a la larga, por más distinto que te armes el juego se vuelve repetitivo: avanzar y presionar los botones del mouse hasta pasarte todos los niveles, pero…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AI slop dont get this
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →thought the visuals and gameplay looked neat , came back to the game to play it found out its AI garbage
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →dont support ai
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty good game, got it for a dollar, felt like im robbing the devs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a strangely dark environment with satisfying game play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super fun grind! Get it on sale! Hold onto the Holy Robes and idle in a safe spot if you run out of potions :P
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting game. Unfortunately, it uses AI Generatet content. Yes it is from the early days but I will not support games with ANY AI generated content.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having just completed all 3 acts of the game, I'd say I enjoyed it quite a bit- enough to want more content added in the future as a DLC. The music and the art is very immersive to the story and the gameplay, and does justice to the sort of emotionally-fueled hack-and-slash I was looking for when I bought it. There are a handful of cutscenes (each a few seconds long) that are old-style diffusion made to give a dream-like image of the current realm your character is going to be in, which I also…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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