Brutal 95% rated dungeon crawler Mortal Sin finally hits 1.0 on Steam

I'm a sucker for a game with a unique style and interesting art direction. I don't care if it's an MMO I've never played before or a deckbuilding FPS life sim. If it looks good, I'm in. Mortal Sin drew my attention during its early access period because it did just that. It eschewed the modern triple-A trend of chasing hyper-realism in lieu of doing something interesting with its art. It just so happened that the dungeon crawling gameplay was more than a match for the stellar aesthetic. Now it has released v1.0, and more players than ever are jumping in to bash some demons.

Mortal Sin may not look like your average dungeon crawler, but behind its colorful visage are familiar mechanics. The gameplay loop involves visceral hand-to-hand combat at all times, where you chain combos in order to charge up deadly finishers which leave limbs strewn across the dungeon floors. And walls. And sometimes ceilings.

Like all the best roguelike games, each run is another descent into a surreal nightmare of procedurally-generated hell. There are a bunch of different classes to choose from, including the classic Berserker (who utilizes a greatsword) and the not-so-classic Pirate (who prefers a gun). What's most important, though, is that it nails that 'one more run' feeling of the genre.

Version 1.0 adds full Spanish and French translations of the game, as well as a new rare portal encounter with Calistra, a witch with her own lore, dialogue, and powerful items for sale. More importantly, there's a true final boss now. I won't spoil anything about them for those who want to go in uninitiated, but I'm excited to finally see an endgame.

If that wasn't enough, developer Nikola Todorovic has redone every player animation in the game in order to capture the "melee Doom" feeling they've been chasing. Weapons also have new attacks (you can throw your scythe like a boomerang now), pacing is smoother, combat flow has been improved, and the classes have been balanced.

This is in addition to numerous bug fixes, new QoL features, and visual and audio tweaks. I'm tired just thinking about it. Considering Mortal Sin was already rated as Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam before this patch, with a 95% approval rating from over 4,000 reviews, you wouldn't have thought such an overhaul was necessary. But the developer is clearly so passionate, that he's trying to make the perfect game. You don't get much closer than this.

The 1.0 launch has seen the game hit record player numbers, according to SteamDB. Mortal Sin is available on Steam now for $19.99 / £16.79. You can buy it here.

If this is the kind of thing that tickles your pickle, check out our picks of the best indie games for more gems. You'll also be interested in some of the best single-player games.

Want the best tips and tricks for surviving in Mortal Sin? I'm sure someone on our community Discord server can help you out. I'll be too busy doing one more run, but we've got plenty of staff and other readers on hand, too.