Hungry Horrors is a tasty roguelike deckbuilder that will keep you coming back for seconds

I've gone through something of a transition lately. Not a big or particularly meaningful one, in the grand scheme of things, but it is a change that's remarkably useful given what I'm trying to do here at TNT: I've suddenly figured out how to play both deckbuilders and roguelikes. 

Hungry Horrors by Clumsy Bear Studio is both of those things, and given how much I enjoyed being terrible at it back when I first played the demo, my newfound skills came at just the right time for a replay. As much as I enjoyed it back then, it is so much more enjoyable now that I know what the hell I'm doing. 

Rather than just throwing food at the enemy, I appear to have developed a strategy, and I'm hungry for more. 

Wake up, princess

In Hungry Horrors, you are an entitled princess who wakes up in a dungeon with no memory of how you got there. You’re thrown into a culinary-focused world of battling enemies by throwing meals at them, all while the princess complains about having to do the cooking. Or anything for herself, really. As you delve into the dungeon and all of its different biomes, you start to gradually uncover the story of how you ended up in such a predicament. 

The princess meets a bunch of familiar people from history and myth as she travels through the dungeon. Merlin, who has the endearing yet eye-roll-worthy magical gift of hindsight, helps to uncover what made the monsters so peckish, while Morgan Le Fay appears at least once to belittle you and make you feel worthless. And those two are nothing when compared to a certain feline game guide. 

Lady Catherine is grumpy, sarcastic, and yet somehow remarkably patient as she guides the princess through the initial stages of the dungeon. She explains the systems in a way that makes you feel like you're the problem, but also lets you pet her. Honestly, as a cat owner, I can only say that this is a 100% accurate portrayal of how any cat would act in such a situation. 

Feed me, Seymour!

Hungry Horrors has replaced damage with fullness, and it is such a charming little twist. Instead of hurting the enemy, you're actually just trying to make sure they get a good meal. You're essentially just a lunch lady in a bad situation and a very lovely costume. 

Each meal card will fill an enemy up a certain amount, and when the monster gets full, they're defeated. When they disappear to wherever it is well-fed beasties go, you're free to move ahead, collect your rewards, and move onto the next chamber to do it all over again. 

Not all chambers have monsters in them. Some are filled with treasures, while others hold a campfire where you can cook meals using found ingredients and seasonings to add more meal cards to your deck. You might even stumble across a bed that lets you recuperate some stamina.

That last part's important; if you die and end up back at the start, you have to face the indifference and ire of Lady Catherine before starting a new run. 

Craving combos

While you're flinging entire cooked meals at the variety of monsters you face within the dungeon, you'll need to pay attention to two things: their favored foods and what they're craving. And let me tell you, these beasts go through cravings like a pregnant woman with far too much choice.

Each card has three symbols: A flavor type (salty, sweet, sour, etc), one that shows what the monster will crave next if they eat it, and how the monster feels about the food. These symbols are your ticket to filling the monsters up more quickly, and getting it right is incredibly thrilling. 

Every food thrown as part of a craving chain stacks, meaning fullness is increased by that food on each subsequent turn as long as the chain is active. If a monster loves a meal, that meal will be added to the chain three times. Combine that with the craving mechanic, and you're onto something good. 

The frying pan of destiny

Hungry Horrors is more than just a deckbuilder; it's also a roguelike, which I can finally understand since I figured out what the hell I'm doing and actually got far enough into the game to unlock that feature. 

As you progress through each biome and feed up the monsters like a grandma at Thanksgiving, you'll collect Taliesin Scrolls. When your run comes to an end, you can use those scrolls to unlock permanent upgrades at the Book of Taliesin, making future runs easier. You know, standard roguelike stuff that feels like a revelation for my slow-learning brain. 

But upgrading doesn't mean you can start a new run and immediately dive into the more difficult biomes, which is another newly learned lesson on my part. Doing so will mean you enter without the temporary perks and upgrades you earn during your jaunt through easier biomes, like spices that boost your existing meals, and that's just not a great idea. 

Oh, and there are Cookware and Artefacts too, like the Leprechaun Pot and the Frying Pan. These can be found scattered throughout the biomes and equipped before each run to make them just a little bit easier. Again, fairly basic stuff, but I'm new to all of this so go easy on me.

Whether you're just figuring out either genre or a seasoned pro, Hungry Horrors executes both in such a delightful way that you can't help wanting to go back for seconds… or thirds. It's out now in early access on Steam, and there's also a demo that lets you play through the first two biomes.