Poker Hands Power Your Attacks in New Roguelike CRYMELIGHT

Collect five skill cards during a run, arrange them into poker-style hands, and watch the strength of your attacks scale with how good your hand is. That's the core hook of CRYMELIGHT, a new roguelike action game from FuRyu announced yesterday for PS5, Switch 2, and PC via Steam. It launches November 5.

In a genre drowning in similar-looking runs, this Poker System is the kind of mechanic that immediately separates CRYMELIGHT from the pack. The idea of holding onto certain skill cards, gambling on drawing what you need to complete a stronger hand, adds a layer of decision-making that most action roguelikes just don't have. Do you cash in a weak pair now or hold out for a full house? I love when a roguelike forces you to think about risk beyond just "do I open this chest or not," and this feels like it could deliver that.

The game follows a girl named Alice who wakes with no memories in Wonderland, a prison for dead souls, and must fight her way to the lowest layer of Purgatory to earn her "Rebirth." It's the third entry in FuRyu's CRY series, following 2019's CRYSTAR and 2023's CRYMACHINA. Beyond the poker mechanic, there's a "Wonder Dimension" system where killing enemies spreads a zone across the ground that buffs your abilities and speeds up combat, plus a Repentance System that converts the sins of defeated enemies into upgrade materials. FuRyu estimates 20 to 30 hours of playtime.

Pricing is refreshingly reasonable. The Standard Edition is $19.99, and the Deluxe Edition at $39.99 bundles in extra weapons, accessories, an 80-page digital artbook, and a special soundtrack. Digital pre-orders on PlayStation Store come with a 20 percent discount. To celebrate the announcement, the original CRYSTAR is currently on sale for $1.99 on Steam and $3.99 on PlayStation Store, which is practically free if you want to see where the series started. CRYMELIGHT will also be playable at Tokyo Game Dungeon 12 on May 5 and BitSummit PUNCH from May 22 to 24.