I always have a hard time starting a new roguelike. There are so many mechanics to understand that really don’t become apparent until you actually get in there and start messing around. And you will, inevitably and repeatedly, die. I read the whole set of instructions and played through the tutorial and still fell to the first enemy. But then you get better, and begin to understand how to stick and move, and how to utilize your surroundings. You get a grasp on which card is best to play at what time, and you dance around enemy attacks while they recharge. You no longer get cornered, and you blow up exploding barrels from a distance and drop stalactites on baddies’ heads. Bonkhope is not — at least at first — a pick-up-and-play game. It is a game that grows with you and improves as you begin to understand it. At first, I thought, “Not for me.” But after going back to it day after day (and definitely still not getting anywhere close to beating it), I am really starting to understand it and (dare I say!) enjoy it?
In Bonkhope, each level is a grid from a side view, kind of like a cutaway house. Enemies will spawn in at various intervals; defeat a certain number of them to get to the next stage. Every few levels is a boss fight, and after a few of those you win a run before getting to do it all over again (maybe with a new character). There’s gravity that kicks in between turns, and you’re able to see the direction enemies will move before they do it. You have a limited number of moves per turn, and figuring out the best way to balance all of these things is the only road to success.
You don’t have a lot of life, and it doesn’t restore that often, so much of the game is figuring out the best way to hit enemies while avoiding getting hit back. You know how much damage each of your rechargeable card-based attacks do and how much health each enemy has, so that’s another thing to balance along with your small movement allowance. You earn new cards or level up the ones you already have between stages, giving you more options, but each game with a particular character starts with the same set of attacks and a randomized level layout.
Even surviving one level will feel like an achievement, and each run feels different because of the new enemies that appear, the new card abilities you have and acquire, and how much health you’re able to save from one floor to the next. After spending hours with it, I still don’t really feel any GOOD at it… but I do feel like I’m finally starting to get it. On a platform like the Playdate where so many games are pick-up-and-play, this surpasses even Gloom Gate on this season’s list of games that really ask things of you, the player. And even when you are on a roll, a few mistakes and boom, back to the beginning to try it all over again. There aren’t any power-ups that transfer from one run to the next, but you can unlock other characters by collecting coins or defeating enough of a certain kind of bad guy.
Now that it’s starting to make sense, a run can last for an hour or more, easy, before seeing the end. But the hours you’ll have to invest into yourself and the game before that number so much more. It never feels like a waste of time, though, somehow, and this is from someone who just died on the final race of Star Wars Galactic Racer and hasn’t picked it up since, because I know I’m just going to have to do it all over again. But with Bonkhope, it feels like it might be worth it? There’s so much here for someone with the patience and mentality to try, try again.
(Released October 15, 2026, as part of Season Three.)