As far as I remember, zaibatsu Was hanging around my edge steam Store page. This is one of those games that I kept thinking about buying but kept finding reasons not to. The retro, blocky art style was most popular. It's simple, almost disposable, the kind of thing you scroll through on your way to something shinier. But once the Steam Summer Sale started, there was finally no excuse. zaibatsu It's down to $2, so I'm definitely late to the party, but it's a great party.
Beneath its pixelated exterior, it wasn't the cute little dungeon crawler the screenshots promised. zaibatsu is a massive, punishing, and systems-obsessed roguelike that respects the oldest part of the RPG genre while still being playable in 2026. For $2, this might be the highest percentage of a game I've ever purchased. minecraft.
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What you really get from buying Barony for $2
In context, zaibatsu is an indie first-person roguelike RPG that small remote studio Turning Wheel LLC hasn't stopped working on since its release in 2015. In fact, it's surpassed the million-copy mark sold this year, and slow-moving success like this only happens when a game gains a cult following one quest at a time. And from what I can tell, 11 years of updates have turned what was roughly a 2015 release into something much weirder and deeper than its current price tag suggests.
According to developer Sheridan Rathbun, zaibatsu's list of inspirations is quite extensive, starting with titles such as: spelunky to system shock 2. My personal elevator pitch is dungeons and dragons A campaign filtered through the bones of early first-person RPGs — think dungeon-crawling DNA. TES: Arena or Daggerfall Ruthless logic combined in a modern package. villain and nethack (The latter is zaibatsuAccording to Rathbun, it is 's “biggest inspiration”. In many ways, it's a love letter to a design era that most studios have spent the last two decades sanding down the edges of.
The narrative setting wasn't particularly relevant to the time I played the game, but it's thematic enough to be commendable as a piece of pure pulp fantasy. An undead lich named Baron Herx has cursed the town of Hamlet, and you descend into his dungeons to finish him off. zaibatsu But I know what it is. That story is just a flimsy excuse to send you off to a dark and dangerous place. Most of the interesting things about this game come from the system rather than the script.
There is very little hand-holding in the Barony, and even fewer apologies.
The first thing I noticed while playing was zaibatsu The best part was that there was an eight-part tutorial that covered every element of the game, from complex spell casting to hunger to how to throw rocks. It seemed clunky at first, but looking back it was totally necessary. No matter which class you choose, you will die. zaibatsu—a lot—but the game refuses to make you feel bad about it, so you shouldn't either. Permadeath is the core of the entire experience, and the dungeons are procedurally generated, so every run is filled with new traps, monsters, and bad decisions waiting to be made. Identifying a cursed potion with your taste buds rather than a scroll could result in you starving, eating rotten food, being flattened by a rock, or losing everything.
The last part is where the old-fashioned trappings of all old-school RPGs remain. Because in much the same way zaibatsu's system does not flatten itself to make it more accessible. Items arrive unidentified, effects pile up in ways that can either ruin or shake up an afternoon, and Part 1 of the latest Tools of Destruction update rebuilt the entire magic system around three schools of magic and about 80 spells. Whether you are a human barbarian with sword and plate, a cursed and starving vampire, or a myconid hermit with a love of ducks—zaibatsu It assumes you are smart enough to figure it all out, which is both a compliment and a threat.
NOTE: The second part of the Tools of Destruction update will be released later this year with two new biomes, new secret levels, new music, and more.
Baroni's Cooperative and classes for masochists of all kinds
At its core, there are 13 human-based classes in the vanilla game, and when taking all three DLCs into account, there are 26 classes spanning multiple races, all ranging from reassuringly normal to extremely chaotic. If you want a softer landing, you can roll a standard Warrior, Mage, or Rogue, or you can choose a Sexton, Joker, or Arcanist and accept that you chose violence. Each reimagines how the game actually plays, the main engine behind its replayability.
Who is that character?
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
start
zaibatsu The game is unique in that, despite its intense system, it also supports four-player co-op, including online, split-screen, and cross-play. Shared space and friendly fire mean your party is just as likely to kill you as the monster. zaibatsuThe speed of actually seems to solve more than not. Still, this is a cooperative roguelike, so the most ridiculous instances are when your friends die on purpose.
Barony's three qualities, fully optional DLC
now, zaibatsu It's been over 10 years since it was released and is still in live development, so I paid for the DLC (three parts, to be exact), but it's reasonably priced and of good quality in its own right. Myths and Outcasts, Legends, and Pariahs each add four new monster races and signature classes, from vampires and succubi to goblins and insectoids, while the newest Deserters and Disciples each add five new monster races. It doubles the number of ways you can build and destroy your character, but is entirely optional for those worried about missing out on the “core” experience.
Whether you're a human sword-and-board barbarian, a cursed and starving vampire, or a duck-loving Myconid Hermit, the Barony assumes you're smart enough to figure it all out. This is both a compliment and a threat.
The scale adds meaningful complexity, but in this particular case it hurries to inflate the price beyond $2. Yes, the base game is 90% off. A more complete experience with add-ons goes up depending on the cost of a typical indie game, whether it sells or not. If you want a full monster racing buffet, the math is ridiculously in your favor, but again, it's not particularly necessary either way. In my case zaibatsu Turning Wheel LLC made its fair share of money, which feels surprisingly rare these days in this industry.
Barony is the Easiest $2 You Can Spend in the Steam Summer 2026 Sale
Ultimately, zaibatsu This price is a steal no matter who you are, but it has to be said that this may not be a comfortable recommendation for everyone. The difficulty curve in this co-op title is enormous, the interface looks dated, and a bad initial run can end you before you learn anything useful. zaibatsu This is a game that requires patience and careful improvement from the player. If you need a game to meet you halfway, this one will have you standing in the lobby.
But I think that's the point zaibatsu I'm making it. And when you lean into it and start speaking the language of the game, you can reap huge rewards. But if you already have it all, zaibatsu is the whole package. It's a feature-rich, decade-sophisticated RPG that demands patience and rewards that patience with the kind of novelty gameplay that some titles fake-charge $60 for. For the price of a cup of coffee at a gas station zaibatsu It's one of the most one-sided deals I've had in years.
zaibatsu You can currently get it for $2 during the Steam Summer Sale.
