With the PC launch now official, I can finally talk about this Dark fantasy dungeon crawler called The Fortress.
Developed and published by Baryonyx Games alongside Stratos Gaming, the game is a modernised throwback that leans heavily into classic PC dungeon crawler design, both visually and mechanically.
At a glance, The Fortress immediately evokes older PC titles through its interface and art style. It opts for a darker, more restrained presentation, paired with turn-based mechanics and a strong focus on strategy rather than fast-paced action. The result is a dungeon crawler that feels intentionally unforgiving and designed around careful decision-making.
Protect the Fortress
You play as a nameless prisoner captured by a powerful Lich during his expansion wars. You are thrown into his fortress alongside other outcasts, left to rot in a place built on death and despair. With no past and no identity, your only goal is to survive long enough to escape.
Progression happens one room at a time as you move through the fortress, facing enemies and making choices that shape your run. Every decision matters, whether it happens in combat, through upgrades, or during interactions with other characters. The path forward is deliberately slow and methodical, reinforcing the game’s bleak tone.
Each run through The Fortress is procedurally generated, ensuring that no two attempts play out the same way. Paths shift, encounters change, and the fortress remains unpredictable, forcing players to adapt rather than rely on memorisation. This structure encourages repeated playthroughs while keeping tension high.
Options, Plans, Execution
Players can choose from nine different classes, each with their own abilities and strengths. Along the way, you can further customise your prisoner through upgrades, gear, and relics, allowing you to shape your playstyle over the course of a run. With hundreds of items available, builds can vary significantly from one attempt to the next.
Combat in The Fortress is turn-based and driven by dice rolls, blending strategy with risk. Planning is important, but outcomes are never fully guaranteed, which keeps encounters tense. Even well-prepared players can find themselves in trouble if luck turns against them, reinforcing the idea that survival is never certain.
The fortress is not only filled with monsters, but also with strange and unsettling characters. During your escape attempt, you may encounter vampire merchants, disgraced abbots, and other eerie figures who offer assistance. However, their help often comes at a cost, and not everyone can be trusted.
These interactions introduce another layer of choice. Forming alliances may provide short-term advantages, but betrayal is always a possibility. Deciding who to trust and when to walk away can have lasting consequences on your run.
Death is an expected part of the experience. When a prisoner falls, another takes their place, continuing the cycle and attempting to escape once again. Rather than ending progress entirely, failure feeds into the game’s structure, encouraging players to learn from past attempts and push a little further each time.
Lost in the Fortress
With its turn-based, dice-focused combat and emphasis on risk and strategy, The Fortress presents a challenging experience for players who enjoy methodical gameplay and unforgiving worlds.
Those looking for a grim, old-school dungeon crawler with plenty of replayability will find plenty to dig into within the walls of the Fortress.
The Fortress offers a dark fantasy dungeon crawler that leans heavily into classic design sensibilities while embracing modern systems like procedural generation and choice-driven progression.
Each run feels unique, with shifting layouts, unexpected encounters, and branching decisions that shape your story. Players must carefully weigh every action. From combat choices to alliances, survival is never guaranteed in this unforgiving, gothic world.
