Seed Hunter is the kind of game that makes you want to dodge roll a lot, because it feels good to quickly jump behind an enemy and lay into their back with a combo, and because the average boss is probably three times your size and holding an axe that could slice you to mincemeat. But it's also the kind of game that only lets you dodge three times in quick succession before waiting for a stamina meter to refill. Combat's fast, but you can't just mash and dodge your way through. You have to learn how your weapon moves to stay alive for long.

It's also the kind of game that made me want to switch weapons constantly, at least in a brief demo. I started with a basic sword, tossing out hit-hit-hit combos, but then I saw a bow. That seemed cool, so I switched to it, unleashing a flurry of arrows before noticing it had a different combo meter along the bottom of the screen. Then I killed an enemy that dropped a greatsword, and switched to that, because swords are cool but big swords are much cooler. Again, it had its own set of mechanics.

I talked briefly to Seed Hunter's developer at Bitsummit, the indie festival where it was being demoed this weekend. He named Monster Hunter as the primary inspiration for the weapons. So not only are there a lot of them, but they all play very differently.

Note that this video must be from a different built of the game than the one I played, because the UI is substantially rearranged.

Structurally, the game is a fairly standard roguelike. Procedurally generated maps are pieced together from fairly small 2D levels, which break down into some basic types. Boss rooms, treasure rooms, standard rooms, etc. The aesthetic is all abandoned, haunted eastern villages and spooky forests. Seed Hunter reminds me of a gloomier Muramasa.

Seed Hunter is being made by a Chinese indie studio, and is out on Steam this July, though I'm not sure if that's going to be the English release. The game does have an English Twitter page, so keep your eye on that if a 2D roguelike with Monster Hunter-style weapons sounds like your jam.