heh I didn't know I was the first. In fact I can't be, I guess the other winners must have stared too far into the trapezohedron and went mad.
If you want some critical feedback (ie I don't mention the overwhelming good things about the game but just ways, as a player, I think it could be improved)...
[spoiler]
The last few levels (last 10 or so?) starting from the "caves" level are too easy. I suspect they might just be placeholders but if not, they are too small and easy. The exit stairs are sometimes exactly where you start. There's very little in the cave levels, including monsters.
The hunting horrors levels after that are harder, but only in the sense that I had to learn not to engage them and instead sneak past them (I died first time because I tried attacking one, the second time because I tried to be clever and paralyse them and kill them for XP but stuck around too long and ran out of defenses...). Third time I just used potions of clairvoyance and potions of perfect stealth to avoid them and run straight to the stairs. Too easy.
Perhaps if there was something later and you needed to kill a few hunting horrors for XP it would have mattered.
The number of potions isn't a problem, I didn't find many I just stored them all knowing that Id need clairvoyance and stealth. I did find 7 scrolls of deep descent which is probably too much - but I saved them not realizing that once you get too deep they don't work.
I don't know if there's a boss or any monsters on the last floor, but if there is I missed it. I used clairvoyance and ran across the map to the only feature (the trapezohedron) and saw nothing else.
I think you have a lot of scope to make the game harder without making the existing monsters tougher or removing items. Like I said some of the "cave" levels seem quite empty and I can only imagine they are placeholders.
More special encounters like Keziah/brown jenkin and major lee would make things harder, especially in the later game. I am glad you didn't add cthulhu or any of the other gods like a lot of lovecraft games do as they are really too big (in multiple senses) to make sense in a dungeon. They don't acknowledge worship either so you can't even add them in the roguelike "god" sense. Maybe you could still add shrines to them though that have some effect? (like insanity)
A Shoggoth would be a very interesting enemy or perhaps a special encounter deeper in the dungeon. It would be hard to implement as I expect it would have to be a multi-tile creature (I think it was described as being the size of a subway train in mountains of madness), plus it is shapeless. I think something like that would be something you had to run from rather than something that can be killed (although I think lovecraft refers to energy weapons being used against them so tesla guns would probably work).
Also, and perhaps this is the biggest way it can be improved IMO, so don't know why I am mentioning it last - could the "dungeon" be stratified more and monsters distributed based on the environment rather than mixed? Ie just so it all makes more logical sense why things are arranged as they are.
For example it doesn't feel right that Deep Ones are wandering around dry corridors. Could they be placed near water logged rooms, or even have an "underground lake" level dedicated to them?
Also the top of the "dungeon" feels like it should be populated with a lot of acolytes and priests who are worshiping what is below plus defending from anyone who comes down from above. I guess the reanimated corpses are due to their hand, so it would be cool to have them directing them somehow.
Anyway just some thoughts, they might not work, I haven't made a roguelike before or played many so my opinion isn't authorative. The game is great as it is.
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