Ring of Pain is one of those games that sort of came out of nowhere, and just swept us off our feet. A Humble Games publishing, Ring of Pain wasn't exactly what you'd call 'heavily marketed', and though its October release date is smack-dab perfect for a horror-themed card crawler, it hasn't really gotten the spotlight we think it deserves.

As its name might suggest, Ring of Pain is all about circularity and ellipses. The basic premise is that you end up being trapped in a horrific, limbo-like existence with few things to call familiar. Instead, all that you've got are hideous monsters and two incomprehensible entities that seem to each be nudging you in their respective direction. It's all appropriately confusing and scary, really.

With this article, we'll go into some detail on what is Ring of Pain and if it's worth your time. Spoiler alert: it dang well is! If that's good enough for you, check out the rest of our Spooktober coverage while you're at it:

If you'd still enjoy reading a short primer on Ring of Pain, however, scroll on ahead. You won't be sorry!

What is Ring of Pain?

The bottom line is that - yes - Ring of Pain is yet another rogue-lite we'll be adding to our ever-growing collection. However, we need to add right away that RoP has a fair few things going for it. First is that it's really, really fun. The second is that it's really, really fast. Its mysteriousness certainly makes for yet another reason why it's as compelling as we think it is.

A single playthrough can turn into a lengthy ordeal where you positively need to weigh each and every decision before making it. It can also devolve in mere moments, and a rabid dog can tear you to pieces on your fourth or fifth turn. It all depends on how quickly you can adapt to the challenge.

The short of it, then, is simple. Ring of Pain is a turn-based horror-themed card-crawler where players attempt to go ever deeper in their quest for salvation. The nuance, of course, comes from the execution of its gameplay loop.

Ring of Pain Gameplay: Why should you care?

As we already established, Ring of Pain is a card crawler. What this means is that it plays much like Slay the Spire. For some, this is an instant recommendation. In other cases, this might not pan out.

For better or worse, Ring of Pain is a way faster game than Slay the Spire. You can easily end a run on your very first encounter if you're not careful. That's right: the going can easily get tough in RoP, and if you don't (literally) play your cards right, you're right back to where you began in the blink of an eye. Such randomization of difficulty is par the course in the rogue-lite territory. The reason it works as well as it does in RoP lies in the game's speed.

Soon enough, you'll be zipping through encounters like a madman. Unnecessary animations essentially don't exist in Ring of Pain, and they all mesh into one another in a very satisfying manner. The game is quick to load, quick to figure out, and quick to play. There's not much more you could wish for out of a rogue-lite card-crawler.

A very important aspect of this speed is that RoP informs you of the consequences of your actions every step of the way. You always see what the odds are for you to evade combat, how much health you will lose if you engage an enemy, and heaps more. It's all right there, in the HUD. Believe us: you'll appreciate all this info when the going gets tough.

Ring of Pain Demo: Download it Here!

If you wanted to give Ring of Pain a fair shake before spending money on it, you're welcome to do so. That's right: there's a proper Ring of Pain Demo for you to download. You'll find it on Humble Store's official website, and it's going to give you just the primer you need if you're on the fence about getting the game.

How much content is there?

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If you're wondering about Ring of Pain Content, don't fret. The game is very oriented on achievements and crazy unlockables, and it's going to take a long while until you've exhausted it completely. As per the official content listing, however, here's what you should expect:

With close to 200 unique items, some of which are total game-changers on their own, and with a 15-item inventory to combine builds in, Ring of Pain promises plenty of room for gameplay experimentation. Since the game is as light on its feet as it is, you'll be zipping in and out of builds in no time.

What does a typical Ring of Pain run look like?

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The good news is that, if you approach your first few encounters carefully, you'll end up with a solid start of the match just about every time. Ring of Pain throws a whole lot of loot your way with every encounter, but getting to it becomes a major issue later on.

In the first two rounds, you'll want to carefully pick off weak monsters, grab the loot and stat upgrades, and get a build going for the 5th and 6th encounter. That will usually be the make-or-break moment for your run. Since each and every item fiddles with your stats in this way or the other, as well as providing unique bonus effects, you'll need to think about what you're trying to accomplish.

Are you going for a tanky halberd-wielding warrior sort of character? Will you try your luck with a stealthy rogue and grab that poison knife instead? Rainbow slippers are a good one-size-fits-all sort of item, but chances are that you'll want them replaced with something more specialized rather early on.

Even so, Ring of Pain is a very difficult game, and chances are that it's going to take a long while until you finally get to the "end". And then, you'll realize you only really got through the first Biome so far...

Wrap-up!

What you're getting with Ring of Pain is a game you can play in quick dashes between assignments, or really whenever you've got a minute to spend on gaming. This alone makes it a great match for those who work from home or are otherwise preoccupied while spending time in front of a PC. Its strange narrative is also told in easily digestible snippets. We're yet to piece together what's really going on, but the story is just interesting enough to keep us going for more with each new run. It's no easy feat for a rogue-lite to pull this off.

You'll quickly get a grip of what's what, and though we can't promise you'll get very far ahead early on, you'll definitely have fun trying. As an added bonus: it's Spooktober! There's literally no better time to be playing a horror card-crawling rogue-lite. So don't miss out, and grab the game when you've got the chance.

Play Ring of Pain today - right here at 2Game!

Ring of Pain is one of those games that sort of came out of nowhere, and just swept us off our feet. A Humble Games publishing, Ring of Pain wasn’t exactly what you’d call ‘heavily marketed’, and though its October release date is smack-dab perfect for a horror-themed card crawler, it hasn’t really gotten the spotlight we think […]