With backing from Slay the Spire and Among Us devs, this Steam Next Fest roguelike inspired by an unlikely classic immediately stands out – even if I am a little confused

Browser game classic Castle Wars might have been lost to the mists of time, or perhaps just the sunsetting of Flash a few years ago. And while it might very well be out there somewhere, there's now an easy way to replicate its magic thanks to Steam Next Fest - and it has the backing of two of the biggest names in the indie scene.

Castle V Castle puts a simplified, monochrome Spy vs Spy aesthetic on top of the 1v1 gameplay of Castle Wars. The goal is simple - from your castle, you'll attempt to reduce your opponents' fortress to rubble before they can do the same to yours. To do that, you'll need to manage your resources; stocks of bricks are generally used to build your own castle higher; your armory of weapons is mostly used to either directly attack your opponents' base, or to steal their resources away from them; magic can be used to summon more of all three resources, or deal some major bursts of damage.

The demo's turn-based 1v1 setup means that there's a near-constant stream of activity, and you'll often have several different strategies unfurling in front of you at once as you strive to keep your foundations sturdy. Right now, however, there's a lack of tutorialization which did take me a couple of runs to get over. Thankfully, the simple, card-based gameplay means that the learning curve might start steep, but it quickly tapers off. Gradually, you'll learn how to maximize your resources to take advantage of your opponents' weaknesses, and it wasn't long before I was able to reach the end of the demo. Happily, there's a daily challenge system that means that even if you do complete what's available from the main game, you should be able to get plenty more out of Castle V Castle before the end of Next Fest.

In the time I spent with it, I found I had something of a love/hate relationship with Castle V Castle. It's clearly a smarter, prettier update on an idea that's a classic for a reason, but a few design choices threw me off - not least the chance that your 'reward' for winning a match is actually a curse that reduces your stats rather than increasing them. I'll confess, there were times where that particular decision nearly caused me to bounce off this and find another demo instead, but I was prepared to stick with Castle V Castle for one very important reason.

As well as being published by the Among Us devs' publishing wing, Outersloth, Castle V Castle is part-funded by Casey Yano, developer of Slay the Spire (and Slay the Spire 2). There have been plenty of roguelike deckbuilders in the years since MegaCrit made its way onto the scene, but I'm not aware of many (if any) that have this kind of financial backing from the team who helped make what I still consider to be the peak of the genre. That's a serious vote of confidence in Castle V Castle, and why it's certainly one to watch as Steam Next Fest rumbles on.

Check out our list of the best roguelikes.