Bargain with demons and boat with the dead in joyful RPG heist quest anthology Thousand Hells

The journey begins in the "Byzantine-flavored" Eternal City, where you accept a job from a dubious power-broker. You define your character through backgrounds, strengths, and faults—perhaps choosing to be Caroline, a seasoned sailor with a knack for making jokes about gods. Afterward, you recruit three other imperfect adventurers, spending Question points to determine how much you know about them initially.

Characters like Sethre (a diplomat and pickpocket), Hemze (a catfooted spymaster), and Nerinai form loose relationships that evolve based on the task at hand. You might keep secrets from colleagues or decide in advance that someone isn't returning from the Great Below.

The core gameplay revolves around resolving encounters using bags of tokens drawn from a pack of over 280 unique options. Each round, you pull up to four tokens from three bags: one for your lead character, one for the rest of the group, and a third containing tide-turning boons or knowledge gained through actions like befriending spirits.

Tokens reflect traits such as "Nerinai is knowledgeable" or "Chisu is greedy." You apply these to three possible actions corresponding to the scenario. For example, while navigating the rapids of Styx, you must decide whether to focus on rocks or the unruly dead crowding the stern.

Generic tokens grant resources, buffs, or remove debuffs. Actions like "Show Some Swagger" improve morale, while "Get The Measure" earns Insight points to visualize success odds. Unused tokens carry over to the next round, allowing for strategic planning, though some must be disposed of if they seem bound to fail.

Winning a certain number of rounds is necessary, but fumbling an encounter doesn't end the game immediately. You might incur injuries, mood penalties, or even lose a character, yet you can still achieve the story objective, such as crossing a river. The game does not allow reloading saves.

Encounter design demands strategy through underlying combos and timing. Some actions are best performed early to boost chances for later moves, like disarming traps before lunging for treasure. Others are easier when you're ahead or behind on victory points, while a few must be reserved for the finale.

Sometimes you receive tokens that don't fit any action perfectly, requiring you to guess how writers will play out the implications. While these "stabs in the dark" can be entertaining, there are moments when storycraft feels somewhat meaningless next to invisible point tallying.

As expected from a game about repeatedly going to hell, encounters can be macabre. You might face hags who shave away character traits with a nasty look or scenarios where a positive outcome results in a character being hung from a meathook. Other threats include plague crows, blade tsunamis, and mesmerizing demons.

Even the worst of all—a poetry contest—can be navigated by alternating between mockery and flattery. Despite grim elements, the writing remains brisk and buoyant. Characters squabble and reveal themselves when striking out, keeping the tale's momentum alive. Setbacks feel like Scheherazade turning every tumble into a cliffhanger.

A clean sweep feels like a loss because it bleaches away the reversals and pratfalls essential to any thrilling adventure. Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists is out now on Steam for Mac and PC. It's highly recommended if you enjoyed the art and writing of King of Dragon Pass but found village management tedious.

The game features writers including Holly Nielsen, who has previously contributed to Rock Paper Shotgun. This anthology offers a surreal tactical RPG journey into mythical underworlds that balances wit with supernatural calamities.