TL;DR – Why You Should Play Conquest Dark
- ⚔️ Instant ARPG action with deep buildcrafting
- 🩸 Bleed mechanic adds tension and urgency
- 🧟 Tons of undead, bosses, and cosmic horrors
- 🛡️ Multi-class options and Legendary Armor unlock real complexity
- 🎮 Great on Steam Deck (unofficially)
- 💀 You will die. But you’ll want to try again.
What Is Conquest Dark?
Developed by solo dev Eldritch Sword Games and published by Mad Mushroom, Conquest Dark is a dark fantasy, horde-survivor action RPG. Think Vampire Survivors with the aesthetics and feel of Diablo. You move and dodge — attacks are automatic — but every moment counts. Positioning, build planning, and survival are everything.
Lore in the Shadows
Set 237 years after the arrival of the Black Planet, the world is shattered. The gods are dead, the undead roam, and the last human stronghold — Kharathia — clings to life. Through dangerous “Dark Rituals,” warriors, criminals, and god-worshippers alike summon monsters, gain power, and try to uncover the secrets of the apocalypse. Much of the story is pieced together through evocative details, mysterious boss names, and haunting locales — not exposition dumps.
Gameplay Loop: Live, Die, Upgrade, Retry
Pick a class, pick an origin, and jump into a Ritual. Every run starts with just your fists and a loincloth — but you’ll quickly evolve, unlocking new weapons, abilities, and powerful builds. Hunters focus on speed and range. Barbarians thrive on tankiness and melee. Oathkeepers, Thieves, and the arcane Acolytes of Kuu expand your options fast.
The real game is in the builds: stacking crit bonuses, weapon synergies, bleed reduction, health regen. And when things go south — and they will — you bleed. Literally. Lose a life, and you’ll start losing HP every second. Lose more, bleed faster. But even failure brings progress: new classes, upgrades, buffs from Factions, and more.
Modes, Depth & Flexibility
Beyond Rituals, you’ll test your skills in:
- The Pale Desolation: face off against bosses you’ve already defeated.
- The Arena of Ikar: an endless mode for build experimentation.
Progression flows through Altars, Factions, the Stygian Archive, and Obelisks that crank up the difficulty in exchange for greater rewards. It’s deep. But the best part? It doesn’t hold your hand. You learn by playing.
Game Info
- Developer: Eldritch Sword Games
- Publisher: Mad Mushroom
- Genre: Action RPG / Horde Survivor
- Platform: PC (Steam)
- Release (Early Access): April 30, 2025
- Price: $9.99
Conquest Dark is brutal, strange, and deeply satisfying. Don’t let the loincloth fool you — there’s power in this ritual. Looking for other indie games that are less loinclothy? Check out Shroom and Gloom, which is being published by Devolver Digital (Cult of the Lamb, Inscryption)
