I keep embarrassing myself in front of the nature gods in handpainted 2D roguelike Talaka, whose colourful, combative demo is out now

Among the most unforgettable demonstrations I dipped into Gamescom Latam 2026 was that of Talaka, a watercoloured 2D action-roguelike that-like numerous video games at the São Paulo-based program– leaned deeply into Brazilian culture and folklore. In this case, it’s something of a side-scrolling Hades, with the permahorny Greek gods changed by a spirited pantheon of Orishas (slightly human-shaped forces of nature) coming from the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé religious beliefs. No fault of theirs, I kinda drawn at Talaka when I played it then, and the demonstration presently offered throughout Steam Next Fest validates I kinda suck at it now– though it’s still vibrant enough, and soaked in a folklore that video games so seldom check out, that I’m going to watch on it.

The Hades contrast isn’t simply me doing some magnificent typecasting: even with the various point of view, some light platforming, and the reality that Talaka herself is an isekai ‘d artist rather of a rogue demigod, the structure is the exact same. Choose a weapon, clear a space of lower mythological minions, get talked up by an upgrade-granting divine being. Repeat actions 2 and 3 till death.

Talaka (the video game) still sticks out, however, in part on the vibrancy of its totally handpainted art. Focus on the paint: Talaka’s (the individual) melee swings and magic blasts are shown with thick, black brushstrokes in the weapons’s wake, and in location of any gore, fallen enemies leave splotches of colour, daubing the background with your triumphes. Developers Potato Kid have actually created some remarkably unique Orisha styles, too. If I needed to select a preferred, it may be Oshossi, Orisha of searching and the wilderness, who sets his draping golden fabrics with a great yet strongly wide-brimmed plume hat.

It’s constantly great to play something soaked in a real-life culture that the majority of video games neglect – it’s a discovering experience, as much as anything else. And Talaka likewise appears mindful not to extend its misconceptions up until now that they end up being initial dream. With the exception of the more magical Orisha world, which works as a House of Hades/Crossroads-style center, backgrounds are based upon genuine areas of Brazil, keeping things rather grounded even as you fight skeletal rattlesnakes and monsterfied variations of 19th century French mercenaries. The soundtrack, too, hops and kicks with the vibrant, percussive noises of standard Afro-Brazilian instruments.

I’ve had lots of time to value such presentational touches, as those skelesnakes and their fleshless mates have actually been sending me back to the start with the dependability of a Swiss ski lift. The demonstration does not offer the impression that this is, title case, A Hard Game, and in reality lavishes you with totally free bonus offer damage for chaining eliminates without stopping to recover – a dead giveaway that it desires you to filth in. I believe I’m simply crap at it? Potentially by being a bit too excited to play like the Doom Slayer, and not looking for abrupt employer attacks. The large bulk of times I’ve been sent out grovelling back to the Orisha den, it was by something with a called health bar.

Not to likewise blame my tools, however I’ve possibly had problem getting a feel for Talaka’s motion and fight; it does not have the free-flowing immediacy of a Hades or a Dead Cells, with the platforming in specific being on the floaty side. For all the paint-sloshing visual style of thwacking a baddie, there’s likewise a sense that more might be done to provide those strikes a concrete, weighty effect.

It’s absolutely nothing that can’t be polished or changed, mind, and the exact same chooses a few of the demonstration’s more cosmetic acnes– English script typos, generally. Talaka does not have an official release date connecting it down, so there’s time for the leaping and combating to be raised to the requirement of the video game’s visual and climatic artistry. I’m eager to see where it goes.