Across the Obelisk – A Roguelite That Rewards Planning Over Luck

Across the Obelisk is a roguelite deck-building RPG published by Paradox Interactive in 2021, and one that has quietly grown into one of my favorite examples of the genre. At first glance it may look like yet another Slay the Spire descendant, but it quickly becomes clear that it is doing several things differently—and in many cases, better.

One of the most unusual features for a roguelite is that Across the Obelisk supports full co-op play. I haven’t explored this aspect extensively, but it is easy to imagine how appealing it is to share the planning, builds, and inevitable disasters with other players. It feels like a natural extension of the party-based design.

As with many Paradox titles, the game follows a long-term DLC strategy. New content is released gradually through paid expansions, often accompanied by free updates. While this model isn’t universally loved, Paradox has shown with games like Europa Universalis IV, Stellaris, and Cities: Skylines that it can sustain a game for many years. In this case, the base game already feels complete, and the DLCs mostly serve to expand replayability rather than gate essential content.

A standard run consists of three main acts followed by a fixed final act, although the latest DLC, Necropolis of the Damned, introduces an alternative ending. Each act is represented by a map filled with branching paths, events, and optional dungeons, often culminating in a miniboss before the act’s final boss. The first act is always the same, but later acts offer choices between different maps, adding strategic variety between runs.

At its core, the game revolves around assembling a party of four characters drawn from four archetypes: Warrior, Scout, Mage, and Healer. Each class has its own deck of cards used both for combat and for resolving events on the map, where card costs effectively function as a dice-like mechanic. The base game includes four starting characters, but many more can be unlocked through play. What makes characters truly distinct is their unique set of cards, which strongly shapes how each one can be built. Some DLCs even introduce dual-class characters, combining decks in ways that can become extremely powerful at higher difficulty levels.

Each character also has a talent tree that persists between runs. This is the main roguelite progression system: while your deck resets every run, talent points carry over, gradually opening up new builds and strategies. This persistence is complemented by a town upgrade system. At the start of each map, towns allow you to buy equipment, upgrade or remove cards, and otherwise fine-tune your decks. Over time, these towns themselves can be upgraded, enabling even more customization and min-maxing. The result is a game that feels far less dependent on luck than many other roguelites.

The game uses three main resources: gold, crystals, and supplies. Supplies are used exclusively to upgrade towns, while gold and crystals are spent on cards and equipment. Gold is more flexible—used for gear, pets, and services—while crystals are reserved for crafting and upgrading cards. At the end of each run, you earn gold and crystals that can be carried forward to future runs, allowing you to give yourself a head start. You can store the rewards from up to three completed runs and choose which ones to cash in when starting a new game.

After completing the game, you unlock Madness mode, which allows you to fine-tune the difficulty through a combination of madness levels and corruptors. These modifiers not only make the game harder but also increase the rewards, creating a satisfying risk-reward loop for experienced players.

All of these systems—multiple characters, persistent talents, town upgrades, map choices, and adjustable difficulty—combine to give Across the Obelisk remarkable replayability. It encourages experimentation and planning rather than brute forcing runs and hoping for good card draws.

Overall, Across the Obelisk is one of the strongest roguelite deck builders I’ve played in recent years. I spent a lot of time with Slay the Spire, but I think I ultimately enjoy this more. The deeper customization and reduced reliance on luck make each run feel more deliberate, more strategic, and ultimately more satisfying.