[PREVIEW] Hell Maiden – Anime Roguelite Through the Circles of Hell

Hell Maiden is an action game that mixes horde-survival combat with deck-building and roguelite elements. The story follows a young woman who represents a new version of Dante from The Divine Comedy. She once reached Paradise, but for unknown reasons wakes up again in Hell with no memory of what happened. Guided by the poet Limbo, she must climb through the nine circles of Hell and fight her way back to the surface.

The main strength of Hell Maiden is the way it combines fast survival combat with a card-based upgrade system. Instead of following a fixed skill tree, you build your character by collecting cards that grant weapons, abilities, and power-ups. Each run can play out very differently depending on which cards appear. This makes the game feel different every time and gives you the freedom to try new combinations.

Deck-Building Twist That Demands Smart Synergy

The cards are designed to be stacked on top of each other. For example, you can use a card that gives you more damage, lower cooldown, or extra projectiles. If you place the same type of card again, those effects get stronger. Basically you need to build your own “deck” because not every weapon works well with every card or charm. That’s why combinations are important. This isn’t just about placing cards and leveling up; you really have to think about what you are putting together.

In general, the foundation of the game is strong, and the demo already shows that the concept works well. Since there is a good variety of enemies, small bosses, and main bosses, it will be essential to make sure the game doesn’t feel repetitive. The one thing I dislike is the long-range enemies.

This type of enemy can be tricky in this genre, especially when there are many things happening around you and a huge number of enemies are closing in. You will be using your dashes and dodges constantly. Be warned: the game can sometimes punish you by forcing a mini-boss to spawn in a closed-off area, so you must be ready for that kind of event.

Gorgeous Art Meets Uneven Challenge

The world of Hell is also brought to life with detailed hand-drawn art, tarot-like cards, and a mix of gothic and anime-inspired visuals. This is quite surprising. Who would expect a Renaissance work to be turned into a modern video game? Well, Astral Shift did just that, and for some reason, it fits perfectly with the entire theme they are creating. In the end, it’s a video game trying to offer something new and different.

I have one huge complaint about the game. For some reason, the enemies have too much health. Either I am building my character wrong, or enemies get too strong too early, especially the mini-bosses. It felt like it took forever to defeat them. Another issue is getting stuck on small, sometimes impossible-to-see objects like little walls, trees, or stones, while similar-looking things don’t stop you.

Most of my deaths happened because I suddenly stopped on something invisible, and this reveals a lot about the game’s difficulty. Sure, there are some tricky enemies that, for example, charge at you or are quicker, however, once you master the controls and find the right builds, the game is fairly easy to win. I definitely expected more of a challenge. Most of the health I lost was simply because I was being careless and not paying enough attention.

Survivors-Like With Huge Potential

Rescuing and befriending the Poets of Limbo, like Homer, Ovid, Horace, and Lucan unlocks new abilities, perks, ultimate attacks, and signature weapons. I believe this is a great idea. It expands the roster with unique, anime-styled characters that are crucial for the gameplay.

I honestly cannot wait for the full release. We will get multiple characters to play, several new areas to explore, and special cinematic animations when we use certain moves. But the best part is the freedom and high replay value it offers. I just hope the full game doesn’t have too much text and story. Story is important, but if the gameplay stays strong, this should be a must-get survivors-like roguelite game. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on as it moves toward full release.