To call Halls of Torment a Vampire Survivors clone would be overly reductive, but it's probably the easiest way to start describing what it is. It's very similar in terms of its structure and flow, but introduces some interesting wrinkles that give it a pretty unique feel.

For starters, its aesthetic is a pitch-perfect recreation of the 90s pre-rendered style, looking like an early Diablo game and giving it a charming feel throughout.

You choose a character before delving into the titular halls for 30-minute runs, in which enemies swarm you from all sides as you gobble up XP and steadily increase your power.

There's a large variety of buffs, magical abilities, and armour pieces to discover — the latter of which you can send up to the surface, allowing you to equip it on subsequent attempts.

Some of the buffs and synergies can feel less obvious, or like it's harder to really feel the benefits at times, but you'll of course eventually learn what you like and what works.

There are layers of meta-progression too, with stats you can permanently upgrade by spending gold, and you can complete hundreds of simple missions which reward you with yet more items.

Each stage has unique events and hazards; you can find friendly characters to recruit as well as many boss enemies to take down.

Much like Vampire Survivors, it's extremely compelling; time will slip away without you realising it. The gradual sense of progress is well judged, and there's just enough to keep track of, between unlocking characters and stages and totting up persistent upgrades, to hold your attention.

Halls of Torment is another great execution of this idea — surviving hordes of enemies and growing all-powerful while you're at it. The novel visuals, myriad ways to progress, and sheer variety of options as you delve deeper and deeper all combines for a highly addictive roguelite that'll swallow your spare time.

If you're a fan of Vampire Survivors and have exhausted every last bit of it, this game is well worth exploring for more of that same flavour.