Torch of Shadows

About Torch of Shadows

Torch of Shadows is a roguelite first-person shooter with RPG elements developed by Acthera Studios and released on PC in March 2026. It blends fast-paced combat with procedurally generated levels, forcing players to adapt to shifting threats as they defend a mystical temple from collapsing into chaos. The setting is a mythic struggle between light and dark, where each run reshapes the world and your character’s legacy. Think of it as a Soulslike with randomized dungeons and a focus on elemental counterplay, fire melts ice, shadows disrupt light, and so on. It’s not just about survival; it’s about delaying an inevitable cosmic collapse through skill, luck, and a dash of nihilism.

Gameplay

Each session starts with a weapon roll, resource pool, and enemy composition, ensuring no two runs feel the same. Combat is frantic but deliberate: you’ll dodge, shoot, and swap between light-based and shadow-based abilities to exploit weaknesses. The temple’s layout shifts after every death, with new rooms, traps, and bosses. RPG elements come through in skill trees tied to specific playstyles, tanky melee, agile ranged, or chaotic hybrid builds. Resource management is key; ammo, healing items, and buffs are scarce, forcing tough choices. Bosses adapt to your tactics, and permadeath looms large. The loop is punishing but addictive, with each run adding incremental progress toward unlocking permanent upgrades and new lore fragments.

What Players Think

Community ratings average 89% (4.2/5) with 72% of players completing the game. Average playtime is 14 hours, though 35% of users finish all 47 achievements. Moods are split: 40% call it “Addictive but punishing,” 25% say “Frustrating RNG,” and 20% label it “A masterpiece of balance.” Critics praise its “brutal yet fair difficulty curve” and “visually stunning temple environments,” but note repetitive enemy patterns in late-game runs. Completion rates dip after 20 hours, with 30% of players abandoning it due to grinding. Despite this, 88% of completers recommend it for fans of challenge-driven shooters.

PlayPile's Take

Torch of Shadows is a niche pick for players who thrive on challenge and appreciate its thematic depth. With a base price of $39.99, it offers decent value for its 40+ hour effective playtime, though the learning curve is steep. The 35% achievement completion rate suggests it rewards persistence, but casual gamers might find it too punishing. If you enjoy Dark Souls’ difficulty with roguelike randomness, this is for you. Otherwise, skip it, unless you’re a completionist who relishes grinding through the same levels for incremental upgrades.

Storyline

There was once an age when light reigned supreme. Its radiance spread across the heavens, burning so brightly that shadows fled and people forgot that they had ever existed. People called this state of affairs “peace”. However, peace born of blindness is merely silence before the storm. For in the shadows where light did not dare to venture, darkness stirred; not as evil, but as memory. The forgotten pulse of creation itself waited and watched, whispering to the void that the world had lost its symmetry. When the first shadow rose again, the sky trembled not in fear, but in recognition. Unable to destroy what they did not understand, the gods forged a prison to contain the core of this rebalance: a temple, a monument carved at the edge of eternity. At its heart, they bound a black hole, a wound between realities; a heart that devours and gives in the same breath. They left it to those who would guard it. The Guardians arrived. One after another. Each was born of balance and consumed by it. They all swore to preserve the equilibrium between light and dark, believing themselves to be saviours. But every torch that burns for long enough begins to cast its own shadow. Some believed that light could be perfected. Others believed that the shadow could be purified. And they all fell. Not because they failed in their duty, but because they succeeded all too well. The longer the balance endures, the more fragile it becomes. The Forgotten Torchbearer was one of them. Once, he stood where you now stand: at the centre of eternity, holding the flame that consumes both brilliance and abyss. He kept the world whole until the flame turned on him; until balance itself demanded his sacrifice. Now, he waits; neither living nor dead, an echo bound to the temple’s pulse, guarding the world from the truth that broke him. Even equilibrium is a lie. Every age, no matter how divine, will tilt again. Even the purest flame will eventually burn its bearer. And so, the torch is passed to you; not to save the world, but to delay its inevitable collapse. You have not been chosen. You are simply next in line. When your time comes and the torch falters in your hands, the temple will remember your name in the same way that it remembers his: not as a saviour, but as a repetition of the past. For the world does not end in fire or shadow. It ends in silence, when the light of the torch fades and only the memory of those who once tried to maintain balance remains.