Jupiter Hell

Jupiter Hell is a roguelike video game developed by ChaosForge and published in 2021 by Hyperstrange. It is a spiritual successor to DRL and adapts first-person shooter gameplay to a tactical roguelike.

Jupiter Hell
Developer(s)	ChaosForge
Publisher(s)	Hyperstrange
Platform(s)	Linux macOS Windows Nintendo Switch
Release	WW: August 5, 2021
Genre(s)	Roguelike
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gameplay

Players control a marine, technician, or scout on a demon-infested science base on the moons of Jupiter. The labs are procedurally generated and tile-based, shown from a top-down perspective. Combat is turn-based and tactical. Multiple weapons are available, each of which has different strengths, such as stopping power, accuracy, and ammunition capacity. A queue controls whose turn it is. Shooting, reloading, and other actions push one's next action later in the queue depending on their cost. Fast players or enemies who perform low-cost actions may act multiple times before their opponents. Cover provides protection, but players are encouraged to move around.^[1] Characters can be customized through skill trees.^[2]

Development

ChaosForge previously developed DoomRL, which reimagined the first-person shooter Doom as a traditional ASCII-based roguelike. DoomRL was renamed to DRL after Zenimax, Doom's rights-holder, complained. Jupiter Hell is a spiritual successor to DRL, using a similar premise in an original setting with 3D graphics.^[3][4] Zenimax's cease and desist letter about DoomRL, which was sent during Jupiter Hell's Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2016, ignited widespread coverage on high-profile gaming websites, but ChaosForge said it did not translate into nearly as much interest as the existing community built up around DoomRL.^[5] Jupiter Hell entered early access in August 2019^[6] and was released on August 5, 2021.^[7]

Reception

Jupiter Hell received positive reviews on Metacritic.^[8] RPGFan made it an editor's choice and said "while being any good at it requires a time commitment, the rewards are exhilarating".^[2] NME called it "a must-have for strategy fans and curious Doom fans alike".^[9] Bloody Disgusting said the mash-up of genres "works well" and "provides a compelling game" whether played in short bursts or long-term.^[10]