Critical PSA to Balatro or Mahjong or general Roguelike Deckbuilder Lovers for the amazing looking upcoming game ULTIMAHJONG!
ULTIMAHJONG is in the exact spirit of the likes of Balatro, Bingle Bingle & other casino/gambling-based roguelikes/deckbuilders that have been inundating the indie gaming scene recently and which I’ve personally been happily drowning in! In this case the base game is Mahjong & it’s straight up Riichi Mahjong based thankfully rather than the deluge of puzzle solitaire tile matching games that overwhelm Steam
Riichi Mahjong Roguelike. Race an ever-accelerating score counter. Take full advantage of upgrades and usable items to force hands you've on
Currently has playable demo on top of being Wishlistable. The dev predicts a release this year & I’m absolutely purchasing it on day one if for nothing else than to reward a halfway legitimate Mahjong game!
Speaking of the dev, they themselves ran through a few rounds of the early game to show it off:
Don’t know how many this post will reach but I’m happy to do my part to raise the population of Mahjong Enthusiasts out here on top of supporting innovative indie devs & their projects!
EDIT:
My luck finding out about these types of personally niche games seems to remain at an all time high because I’m obliged to update this post with a 2nd Roguelike Mahjong Deckbuilder on the horizon: AOTENJO
Similar to ULTIMAHJONG in intent but with its own distinct style & also has a free demo on Steam to try out.
One of AOTENJO’s major features is the inclusion of multiple regional mahjong variants to enrich the variety of the play experience!
Unlike in the case of ULTIMAHJONG, AOTENJO’s developer XO Cat’s YT channel (under the moniker NonToxicEel), lacks a similar in-depth breakdown of the game’s demo but does have a few videos attempting speedruns of the demo and are still a recommended watch to get the game flow & feel they’re aiming for:
Once again, I happily embrace the Mahjong renaissance we seem to be getting in our post-Mahjong Soul & Balatro indie gaming landscape!
AND UPDATE EDIT!!
Genuinely never expected this post to do so many numbers here on Tumblr but I’m truly glad to see it. Especially since AOTENJO has launched into Early Access as AOTENJO: Infinite Hands!
The Mahjong Roguelike. Aotenjo: Infinite Hands is an deckbuilder where you will use Mahjong styles all over the world to beat innate threats
It’s got a 12% discount from its $9.99 price for these first 2 weeks of its Early Access launch on Steam! Already bought it myself in a hurry & have money set aside for when ULTIMAHJONG decides to finally join us.
