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Game Info
Year
2025
Players
1-4
Playtime
45 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
One day while patrolling the marketplace, you witness a child miraculously healed by an old man. The man speaks gibberish about horde and lava-water, then darts into the alleys. Next thing you know, you're being accused of murder by a Suit.
Since Horde-infested alleys are just a fairy tale, and you are apparently being framed for a crime you didn’t commit by a corrupt mercenary, you take off after the man in search of the unknown.
In The Calling | A Roguelike Game, you are a Market Man, running through alleys and building your character, in hopes of finding a light in the darkness.
Build your initial character, choosing stats and abilities. Run the alleys, fend off horde, and avoid traps to gain XP. Purchase better stats and abilities to amp up your survival before the game sucks you into the alleys forever.
The Calling is a dungeon escape, rogue-like game that plays in 15 mins. per round. Stats and abilities carry over between rounds, but the permadeath mechanic can be frustratingly brutal.
That's ok...If you lose really quickly, learn from your mistakes, and run it back.
(This game is made for solo gamers at its core. There is an add-on expansion that shifts gameplay from a solo roguelike to a 2-4 player roguelite, where the respawns are welcomed and points by goal attainment are key.)
—description from the designer
Featured Videos
Rules Teach
How to Play The Calling
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video 2hkYV23OvQE
Meet Me At The Table Analysis at 1:04
video_pk 85464 · mention_pk 219092
Click to watch at 1:04 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I would love to show you some of this stuff, but you're supposed to open them as you play. So, I don't really want to spoil the experience for those that are interested in picking this game up.
- Well, Key Enigma, all of their puzzles, once you get to the answer, it does actually make sense.
- So, we're probably going to be playing this tonight.
- Have you had a chance to try out anything from Kenigma? And if so, which were some of your favorites? And are you excited for their upcoming Kickstarter of Slutty's Lost Tapes?
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video wtcRk3ZPZUs
Hungry Gamer Review at 0:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84745 · mention_pk 215831
Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique concept as a running and adventure game with RPG elements.
- Fast to play, especially the solo mode.
- Easy to learn.
- Satisfying leveling system with interesting abilities and feats.
- Clever risk/reward system where players might hope for bad events for more XP.
- Multiplayer is a nice bonus.
- Potential for future content and development.
Cons
- Only one map, which could be double-sided for variety.
- The game follows the same arc every time.
- 100% multiplayer solitaire with minimal player interaction.
- No clear way to denote which mini belongs to which color.
- No innate character powers to differentiate them.
- Components slide around easily, suggesting a need for a dual-layer board.
- Wish for more story elements.
Thematic elements
- Adventure and running from a corrupt government official
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players take actions such as running, moving into side alleys, and fighting enemies.
- Dice Rolling — Dice rolls are used for movement speed and potentially for events or combat.
- Leveling up — Players level up by spending experience points gained from various actions, increasing stats and gaining new abilities.
- Resource Management — Players manage experience points to spend on leveling up.
- Set Collection — Players chase down objectives called feats for points.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a game that is made to be played as a solo play.
- To me this is really a solo game. And the multiplayer is to me a bonus to this game because really this game shines shines as a solo game.
- The run run is just a clever clever thing.
- It's very, very clever the way that leveling system works.
- It's kind of cool how you're regularly kind of hoping for something bad to happen because you're going to get the most XP if you fight a horde.
- This is 100% multiplayer solitire.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video VN2t4umSRfk
Hungry Gamer Rules Teach at 0:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84683 · mention_pk 215403
Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- The solo game rules provide most of the core rules, making it easy to digest.
- The game offers character customization through stat allocation and ability unlocks.
- The 'suit' movement and increasing threat add tension.
- Multiplayer introduces simultaneous play and different scoring objectives.
Cons
- Some elements like specific ability descriptions and custom character creation are only mentioned as being in the rulebook.
- The prototype nature of the game is noted, implying potential for change.
Thematic elements
- A character racing to the end of a map while being pursued by a corrupt government official.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Adventure Running — Players move their character along a path on the game board.
- Character upgrading — Players can spend experience points to increase stats like speed and defense, and unlock new abilities.
- Dice Rolling — Dice are used for movement rolls, encounter resolutions, and the suit's movement.
- Resource Management — Players manage experience points (XP) to perform actions like upgrading stats, buying emergency kits, and learning new abilities.
- RoguLike — The game features a reboot mechanism where players return stronger after reaching the end of the map.
- Set Collection — In multiplayer, players collect 'feat' cards which represent goals to accomplish by the end of the game.
- Stat tracking — Player stats like speed, defense, hit points, XP, and emergency kits are tracked on a player board.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Ooh, that looks tasty.
- Welcome folks. Stay the Hungry Gamer is back with another how to play video and today we're learning how to play The Calling, a roglike game designed by G. Wesley Conn and published by Mere Pursuit.
- Now, what this game is is this is a one to four player adventure running game with some character upgrading and just a smattering of resource management.
- In other words, you have a speedrunner, and you have a fighter, and you have an HP tank, as it were.
- The goal is eventually to be a level 10 sky captain.
- So, there you have it, folks. That's how you play the calling.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3