The Book of Aaru

🧠 TL;DR

The Book of Aaru looks the part, and on paper, it offers a fresh take on the roguelite formula—no traditional loot, flashy visuals, time-slow mechanics, and build-defining weapon sets. But in practice, it’s held back by bugs, clunky UI, repetitive design, and some head-scratching mechanical decisions.

What you get is a game that feels like Early Access despite being a full release. There’s potential buried beneath the rubble, but right now, Aaru plays like a stylish prototype begging for a few more development passes.

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🎮 Gameplay & Mechanics

At its core, this is a dungeon-crawling roguelite where instead of looting gear or leveling up, you unlock entirely new playstyles through weapon sets (there are only three so far). These drastically change your abilities and combat approach.

• No traditional loot system. You don’t chase gear upgrades—you swap weapons that completely redefine how you fight.
• Resource collection and progression are handled through destructible objects and limited shrine interactions. XP Essence is earned from cages and enemies or you can find them inside one of the dimensional portals. These are used to upgrade your stats (attack, health, ability)
• Combat is punishing. Traps hit absurdly hard, enemy damage is unforgiving, and deaths feel more punishing than educational.
• Parrying is a trap (ironically).
  • Boasted as the best defensive tool, but the timing feels off—even for telegraphed attacks.
  • Many enemy attacks aren’t telegraphed at all.
  • Combat is often happening in the middle of trap zones, with multiple enemies pressuring you. Trying to read a parry opportunity in the chaos isn’t viable.
  • Dodging and kiting is safer—but slower and far less satisfying.
• Dimensional portals are are not explained and sometimes lethal.
  • Blue portals grant XP essence. Red portals grant glyphs and gear. Others buff or heal and, sometimes instant death—no cues, no warnings.
  • I died inside nearly every portal toward the end, and still don’t know why.
• No XP leveling system. Progression is entirely based on resources and unlocks. That’s fine—if the game gave you a reason to care. It doesn’t.

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📖 Story & Narrative

There’s very little story here. Some vague mystical theming, but no real narrative arc, no dialogue, no lore to explore, and nothing to emotionally invest in.

This is a gameplay-first roguelite, but even compared to others in the genre (like Hades or Dead Cells), the lack of world-building makes the experience feel empty.

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🎨 Graphics & Art Style

Easily the strongest part of the game.

• Beautiful visual design rooted in a sci-fi twist on Ancient Egyptian mythos.
• Clean, stylish UI elements and spell effects.
• Characters and environments look sharp—even if the dungeons themselves lack visual variety.

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🎵 Sound & Music

• Functional but forgettable. The soundtrack is ambient and atmospheric, but it fades into the background without much identity.
• Sound effects are decent, but lack punch, especially in combat-heavy scenarios where impact and feedback are critical.

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⚙️ Technical Performance

• Serious issues on multi-monitor setups.
  • In windowed or borderless mode: screen shakes and lags after switching windows and requires a restart of the game to fix (if your mid run you lose everything)
  • In fullscreen: no shake, but the game minimizes any time you click off, which is a nightmare for streamers or multi-taskers.
• Buggy run tracking: I defeated multiple bosses, but runs didn’t register as completed.
• Softlocks: You can get stuck behind closing walls. With no “unstuck” button, your only option is to die and lose your run.

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🔄 Replayability & Content

• Content is extremely limited.
  • Devs claim you can reach the final boss in 8–14 hours, depending on skill—and that feels about right.
  • With only a few weapon sets, basic glyphs, and shallow meta-upgrades, the game dries up fast.
• Dungeons are repetitive and uninspired.
  • No puzzles, no meaningful secrets, just basic left/right pathing and loop-backs to clear.
  • “Secrets” are highlighted breakables that reward parchment pieces. Collect three to form a blueprint—but you’re capped to one per run, and if you don’t finish, progress resets.
• Even after unlocking half the available upgrades, I still didn’t feel like I was progressing. That’s a bad sign.

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💰 Value for Money

• At $14.99, this doesn’t deliver the depth or polish of similarly priced roguelites.
• No early access label. No clear roadmap. Just a flashy shell with solid mechanics buried under jank.
• If you’re curious, wait for a deep sale. Otherwise, let it cook a bit longer.

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🎉 Fun Factor

• There is fun here—especially in the first few hours.
• Experimenting with weapon sets and using the time-slow mechanic feels cool.
• But the game quickly becomes a chore, thanks to unclear systems, overwhelming and punishing design, and a lack of payoff.
• When you’re not fighting for survival, you’re fighting the UI.

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✅ Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Play

✔️ Play This If You:

• Want a unique weapon-based twist on roguelites
• Enjoy fast-paced, punishing action
• Don’t mind some jank in exchange for style

❌ Skip This If You:

• Value progression, clarity, and polish
• Want more than 10–15 hours of content
• Expect mechanical consistency or reliable combat tools (like a functional parry)

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🧩 Final Thoughts

The Book of Aaru shows potential, but it’s a perfect example of a game released too early. The art direction is strong. The weapon system is bold. But nearly everything else—from dungeon design to progression logic—feels unfinished or broken.

If Amenti Studio puts in the work to expand the game, fix the bugs, and explain its systems better, this could become a cult hit. But right now? It’s a flashy roguelite with sharp edges, shallow depth, and too many frustrating missteps.

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🔥 Verdict: 🔧 Playable, But Needs Fixing / 🎯 Worth Waiting for a Sale

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