我在手绘 2D Roguelike《Talaka》的自然之神面前不断出丑，其色彩缤纷且战斗激烈的 demo 现已推出

One of the most memorable demos I played at Gamescom Latam 2026 was that of Talaka, a watercoloured 2D action-roguelike that - like many games at the São Paulo-based show – leaned deeply into Brazilian culture and mythology. In this case, it's something of a side-scrolling Hades, with the permahorny Greek gods replaced by a playful pantheon of Orishas (vaguely human-shaped forces of nature) hailing from the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé religion. Though no fault of theirs, I kinda sucked at Talaka when I played it then, and the demo currently available during Steam Next Fest confirms I kinda suck at it now – though it's still colourful enough, and steeped in a folklore that games so rarely explore, that I'm going to keep an eye on it.

The Hades comparison isn't just me doing some divine typecasting: even with the different perspective, some light platforming, and the fact that Talaka herself is an isekai'd artist instead of a rogue demigod, the structure is the same. Pick a weapon, clear a room of lesser mythological minions, get chatted up by an upgrade-granting deity. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until death.

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Talaka (the game) still stands out, though, in part on the vibrancy of its entirely handpainted art. Emphasis on the paint: Talaka's (the person) melee swings and magic blasts are illustrated with thick, black brushstrokes in the weaponry's wake, and in place of any gore, fallen foes leave behind splotches of colour, daubing the backdrop with your victories. Developers Potato Kid have come up with some impressively distinct Orisha designs, too. If I had to pick a favourite, it might be Oshossi, Orisha of hunting and the wilderness, who pairs his draping golden cloths with a fine yet aggressively wide-brimmed feather hat.

It's always nice to play something steeped in a real-life culture that most games ignore - it's a learning experience, as much as anything else. And Talaka also seems careful not to stretch its myths so far that they become original fantasy. With the exception of the more mystical Orisha realm, which serves as a House of Hades/Crossroads-style hub, backdrops are based on real regions of Brazil, keeping things somewhat grounded even as you battle skeletal rattlesnakes and monsterfied versions of 19th century French mercenaries. The soundtrack, too, hops and kicks with the lively, percussive sounds of traditional Afro-Brazilian instruments.

I've had plenty of time to appreciate such presentational touches, as those skelesnakes and their fleshless mates have been sending me back to the start with the reliability of a Swiss ski lift. The demo doesn't give the impression that this is, title case, A Hard Game, and in fact lavishes you with free bonus damage for chaining kills without stopping to heal - a telltale sign that it wants you to muck in. I think I'm just crap at it, though? Possibly by being a bit too eager to play like the Doom Slayer, and not watching for sudden boss attacks. The vast majority of times I've been sent grovelling back to the Orisha den, it was by something with a named health bar.

Not to also blame my tools, but I've maybe had trouble getting a feel for Talaka's movement and combat; it doesn't have the free-flowing immediacy of a Hades or a Dead Cells, with the platforming in particular being on the floaty side. For all the paint-sloshing visual flair of thwacking a baddie, there's also a sense that more could be done to give those strikes a tangible, weighty impact.

It's nothing that can't be polished or adjusted, mind, and the same goes for some of the demo's more cosmetic blemishes – English script typos, mainly. Talaka doesn't have a formal release date tying it down, so there's time for the jumping and fighting to be brought up to the standard of the game's visual and atmospheric artistry. I'm keen to see where it goes.