Pluto is a roguelike where you escape wizard jail by finger-blasting horrific monsters with your spell-slinging digits. It's grungy, chaotic, and heavily inspired by Slay the Spire, but it takes that foundation and turns it into something weird and wildly unique.

It all revolves around your fingers - your gnarled, claw-like fingers. Each one, except the tragically useless thumb, can cast spells by slamming cards directly onto your fingertips. Sort of like playing the piano, but with more explosions.

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It might look complicated, but it's actually surprisingly intuitive. Spells that share an element can merge together, which frees your fingers and lets you get really creative. Because now you can squeeze in another spell, which triggers another ability, and it just kind of spirals out of control from there.

But the best bit is that if you recreate a spell's elemental pattern using other spells, that spell will fire off automatically... and for free! So if you're like me and you like big, chunky, wiiiiiideeee spells, you can end up dumping your entire hand in one absurd chain reaction.

When all of that clicks and you start evaporating enemies just by waggling your horrible little wizard hands, it's the best feeling in the world. Within my first ten minutes I managed to stumble into a combo so broken it wiped out an entire group before they could act. And this is just the demo!

Pulling big combos off is incredibly satisfying

Monstrous Menagerie

But don't get overconfident, because Pluto will throw monsters worthy of all that power at you. Just look at these things. They're horrific, but so detailed and fleshed out that I just can't stop staring at them. They're actually kind of beautiful... but in all the worst ways.

It's not just the monsters either. The playable characters are also just... nasty-looking creeps. And honestly, it's why Pluto grabbed me in the first place. The game's visuals really make you feel like you're some insanely powerful, and probably just regular ol' insane wizard, trying to claw your way out from wizard jail. Why? Well, to visit your niece for her birthday, obviously! Not that I would allow any of these lunatics within a kilometer of a children's birthday party.

But what they lack in looks, personal hygiene and moral compass, they more than make up for with absurdly fun powers. The creepy uncle, or the Magus as the game calls him, is my absolute favorite as all he wants to do is give enemies the middle finger. Or two in this case, because if you cast a spell that spans both middle fingers, you will double it! And if you then sneak in a damage doubler, you'll permanently imprint a middle-finger shaped hole in the enemy's skull.

On the other hand, The Apprentice, the slightly less creepy uncle, goes for the opposite approach. He spams pathetic spells that slowly grow in power and eventually turn into a magical machinegun. It's wonderful stuff.

He definitely seems the trustworthy type

A Fun Challenge

But there is a very, very good reason the game gives you all of these insane abilities - Pluto does not joke around. Every single enemy, including the first ones, can absolutely clobber you because you're a decrepit old man wearing a bathrobe for armor.

So how do you keep yourself alive? Ironically enough, by not casting spells! Each free finger gives you armor, which is such a deliciously devious mechanic. You want to fling spells like a lunatic and do big combos, but you also need to leave fingers open so you don't redecorate the room with your spleen.

But it's not just damage you have to worry about. Many enemies have special abilities and debuffs you'll have to juggle. Some can even curse your fingers which disables their passive abilities and hurts you when you use them - after which the curse breaks. So do you keep the curse around, or do you suck it up and break it?

Yet no matter how tough things get, it never feels unfair. Just like in Slay the Spire, Pluto gives you all the information. You know exactly what they'll do and how, so it's up to you to make sure they don't rearrange your teeth. There's no pesky randomness to ruin your plans - it's all you!

This sort of thing makes the combat both challenging and unbelievably addictive. Because there is no better feeling than staring death directly in the eyes, figuring out the correct sequence of spells to get yourself out of its embrace, and then flipping it the middle finger as you start blasting!

Curses are a fun little challenge to overcome... even if they can end your run

All About the Bling

But in true roguelike fashion, you don't just murder monsters for the fun of it. You also do it for the sweet, sweet loot! After each fight you'll navigate a Slay the Spire style map towards new spells, passive upgrades, and most excitingly of all, new rings!

You know how in most RPGs you get one or two ring slots? That's always bugged me. Why leave all that power behind when you can just jam it on another finger! And I'm happy to say that Pluto has my back here because each finger, except the thumbs because they're lame, can carry a magical ring of untold power.

But like most things in Pluto, you don't just get power for free - you have to work for it! Both in the sense that you have to pay for the ring because even if you're an evil wizard, you're no mere thief, and also because each ring requires you to jump through a hoop to get its power.

The wild ring can make your spells multi-cast... but only if you charge it up by using an air element on that finger. So not only does the order of your spells matter, but which finger you stick your ring on is also going to dictate your strategy.

The further you go, the more of these effects you'll have, and the more exciting and chaotic the fights will become. And yet, since everything is physically present on your screen, it never feels overwhelming or annoying.

The rings are simple yet offer a ton of combo potential

A Glimpse Into the Future

And do you know what the best thing is? This is just the demo - a teensy-weensy slice of the full game. Once that's out, there will be more enemies, more spells to make them go 'boom', and even more tacky jewelry to accessorize with.

So would I recommend you try Pluto? Absolutely, both the demo and the full game. Yeah, it's probably going to get overshadowed by the juggernaut that is Slay the Spire 2, but Pluto is such a uniquely weird experience that it would be a damn shame to miss it. So support creative indie developers and give it a try - even if just the free demo. I had a ton of fun with it, and hopefully you will too!