Runic Curse, a Metroidvania action RPG is now available to download on Android.

When a group of travellers become shipwrecked after a dangerous storm on the high seas, one survivor, Adrian, wakes up on an uncharted island blighted by the titular “Runic Curse”. You play as Adrian as you explore the island, battle undead creatures and search for answers for what happened to the crew.

Runic Curse features ten different locations to explore, each with their own varying degrees of difficulty. The combat system takes a lot from Dark Souls, with dodge rolls and stamina management being a big factor in beating your opponents. It also has a levelling system with which you can upgrade your equipment and spells, and find new abilities to access previously unreachable areas.

To lengthen out the game’s content, developer Alexey Suslin has also included a New Game+ feature for completionists to tackle the game again as a much stronger character, and a Boss Rush mode for anyone who wants to take on the ultimate challenge of beating every boss in the game in quick succession.

For the unaware, a Metroidvania is a game genre that combines design elements of classic titles Metroid and Castlevania. These games usually feature a large, interconnected world that gradually opens up as you explore, with secret areas and difficult bosses scattered around to encourage exploration and experimentation with your abilities. It’s become a popular genre for indie developers to use in recent years, with successful games such as Dead Cells and Ori and the Blind Forest utilising this design.

Runic Curse is out now on Google Play for Android. It usually costs £2, but it’s currently on sale for 59p. A free demo is also available to grab here. There’s no word on if it’s coming to the iOS App Store.