Rather than simply use randomization to generate unique levels and loot to help spice up the gameplay, the freshly released roguelite Source of Madness has decided to push things to the absolute extreme. As such, not only are the locations procedurally generated and rendered in a bizarre yet intriguing AI-assisted art style, but the actual monsters are created completely at random and animated using a neural network!

Needless to say the end result is a complete and utter nightmare of a world, which luckily goes quite well with Source of Madness's Lovecraftian horror themes! Since words alone just can't do this concept justice, allow me to share with you one of the recent trailers. Have a gander, it sure is a sight to behold:

While the excessive randomization is certainly a great way to create a unique and exciting world to explore, the gameplay sadly suffers because of it. Instead of tightly designed enemies with intricate attack patterns you need to learn how to effectively dodge and punish, the eldritch abominations in Source of Madness mostly just flail around and get stuck on terrain.

So if you do decide to jump into Source of Madness, make sure you're doing so because you want to experience the stellar atmosphere and visuals, rather than because you're looking for an incredibly deep and engaging roguelite. It's still a good bit of fun, don't get me wrong, but it very quickly becomes apparent that the gameplay had to be sacrificed in order for the art style to thrive.

You can learn more about Source of Madness, as well as check out some of the player reviews, over at Steam. Have fun going insane!