Praise for Sil mikedebo

Anyone looking for a sick roguelike should play Sil -- really stripped-down Angband fork that is totally different than anything I've played in forever. ... there is a huge depth in gameplay related to skilltrees and a whole bunch of other stuff. It's simply gorgeous. oiseauxxx

It's the best variant I've ever played, and is becoming one of my favorite roguelikes.



Do not be fooled that this is an Angband variant - the developers have gone to great lengths to make this game intuitive, balanced and non-repetitive, having cut out huge chunks of the original game, reworked user interaction, and consolidated redundant/pointless gameplay elements. The design philosophy is much like Crawl's, where everything has a purpose and nothing is wasted. SMTRodent

It's a lot of fun ... I don't know how, but the makers have managed to make the fights feel more epic and legendary. Brian Jeffears

Essentially, we've got a new project that could've been a proper new Angband fork---before it went waaay past Angband and such and became another thing with some blood ties. Jim

Dude, I just got outflanked by orcish soldiers. Three spread out around me and blocked off my escape route. This game has polish. Afterward

Oh my goodness, this is nice. Bainespal

YES!! This roguelike looks very impressive ... I never thought I'd see a roguelike that I liked better than Ancient Domains of Mystery, but this may do the trick! JoeyJones

It's a very polished and rewarding little roguelike, definitely an improvement on Angband. imsabbel

This is fantastic! I only played one quick game last night, but this "variant" has more innovation than anything else I have seen combined in the Angband world during the 5 years or so I was away. HugoTheGreat2011

Of all variants, I think Sil is the most fun of all time. The game may look easy at first glance, but it has a very steep learning curve that hits hard and fast. Its difficulty is at another level. jujuben

Also thanks for a great game - since Sil came out, it's been taking the vast majority of my *band time. The theme and UI are beautifully done, and the difficulty curve is just about perfect - I lose a lot of heros to stupid mistakes that would be minor in any other variant, but with patience and care and just a bit of luck, things work out, and when they do, there's a genuine feeling of accomplishment that's rare in games these days. Gockel

Congratulations and thanks for creating such a unique and fascinating variant! love it!! Morik

Just dropped by to comment on the top quality and direction of Sil. I can tell you are a good designer by looking at the manual, and looking at some of the design decisions. Stephen

Firstly, great game... Really the best I've played in a long time, of this genre - very well done, the feel/setting, the tactics - all great meneldil

I've never played Angband, and have only very limited experience of other rogue-likes, and have found Sil a really fun introduction to the genre. debo

Sil is the best game of any type I've played in years, and I'm thrilled to see it keeps getting better!! Psi

Overall though, I'd like to say that Sil is a "masterpiece". It is so well thought out and ... has proved to be very well balanced. I love how you've stripped back so much from Angband and yet brought a real depth to character advancement over a much shorter game. Djabanete

Everything is really well thought out and balanced. Well done! ewan

The game is marvellously bug-free, cleanly designed, and interesting. It's a huge achievement. Satyr

I'll use the occasion to thank you for this excellent game! It's astonishing how well most things work together, and how gameplay and settings seem to be just right; It's obvious that a lot of thinking, work and enthusiasm have already been put into this gem (no pun) of a game! decoy

I'm really impressed by this game. I think the winner-board thus far is really a testament to the depth and quality of the gameplay. Winning characters occupy the whole spectrum from "kill everything" (including Morgoth, as of today--congratulations, by the way...) to "kill nothing", representing Noldor/Vanyar, Sindar, Naugrim, and Edain, and a very broad range of styles. Awesome work. I'm not usually a gamer anymore, but I like Angband. As a Tolkien maniac (particularly with regard to the Silmarillion), I really, really, really love and appreciate this game. smithfield

For me, Sil is a Masterpiece. I am having the kind of fun with Sil that I had when I was 14. There are very very few games that have done that for me. hessra

Yep, great game. Definitely one of the best Angband variants because it just cuts out all the bloat and crap that *bands (including V) are notorious for and makes it into a more interesting, tougher, tactical game. ingolemo

It's a great game. I'm generally not much of a fan of *bands, but Sil feels more tight and controlled. The magic system has wonderful flavour; song and grace. lantar

The balance, coherence to Tolkien's background and rule's transparency are pure jewels. Apothegm

Overall, instead of just throwing in more and more mechanics and options like DCSS, they focus on making the core mechanics deep and interesting. SalmonGod

It's an Angband variant, except it's so heavily modified from Angband that it's barely recognizable.

What's really got me hooked on it is how elegant the design is in absolutely every aspect. The interface, controls, and all of the game mechanics are really easy to understand and fairly simple, but still offer a statisfying amount of complexity that forces you into interesting choices. The balance inherent in these mechanics is damn near flawless. Nimaniel

I love the attention to detail in Sil, from the simple things like longbows having a -1 to evade, to the interface that is more smooth and intuitive than any other variant to date, the transparency in combat rolls and the skill system, the ability to create skill combos (not just the classic Dodge + Flanking, but many less obvious combos as well). There is just so much awesomeness here that it can't fit into a single post without creating a text wall. Oh, and the AI. Great stuff!

