If you’ve been wanting that very specific brand of roguelite gameplay that Hades is known for, then Cinderia is very much the game for you. It’s a slower experience, but it can easily become just as hectic once you stack enough upgrades.
The game does a good job of slowing introducing its mechanics to you, but some mismatched phrases, as well as certain mechanics available from the beginning that don’t make themselves known, so here are some tips to keep in mind.
Cinderia is currently in Early Access, so much of the information here is subject to change.
Choose Your Skills Carefully
By default, you have a Dash, a regular Attack string, and a ranged attack. This is slightly different for each character, but those are the foundations. You can have up to three Skills, but these must be acquired during your run.
However, once you choose a Skill, it’s locked in for that run. You cannot change it. If you come across new Skills after already filling all three slots, it is instead converted into an upgrade for an existing SKill.
That said, after getting at least one Skill, all other Skills you find can instead be changed into an upgrade if you’d rather not commit to the Skills offered to you.
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Unlock The Second Dash
After returning to the Shelter for the first time, you can chat with Ella. She’s the nun with the blue jewel above her. She grants access to the Soulfire Prayer, which hosts a variety of permanent upgrades.
The currency used here is gathered throughout your runs and isn’t lost, so it can be worth trying to save it up if you’re looking for a particular upgrade.
However, what you should aim to get immediately is the Haste upgrade. This grants you a second Dash, which can be used immediately after your first one, or during it’s cooldown. It’s a dramatic boost to your survivability, likely more than you thought.
Manage Your Erosion
One of the systems the game doesn’t explain very well is Erosion. You can see this in the top-right corner of the screen, while every Ability has an Erosion value when you pick it up.
Erosion goes up to 100. Once you’ve picked up enough Abilities to hit or surpass 100, the counter will reset back to zero, and then add whatever amount you surpass the limit by. You will also then become cursed.
After hitting 100 Erosion, a random curse is put upon you, which remains for the rest of the run. These are entirely negative, such as making you weaker after taking a hit, taking more damage the lower you HP, and so on.
There are a few ways of removing Curses, though these are all random. There is no means of reducing Erosion.
Always Enter Mystery Rooms
After you’ve beaten the beginning area and its boss for the first time, all subsequent areas, and revisits through the first one, will have the ability for Mystery Rooms to appear. Even with the relevant Research Topic, you will still only be told that it’s a mystery room, now what may be behind it.
That said, they are just about always a boon. Some may give you the option to go fishing to heal or gain resources. Some may give you the chance to remove one random Skill to replace it with another that is fully upgraded. They’re all a little unique.
The best part though is that you can learn them. They tend to appear at certain times in certain areas and, if you can recall where they all appear, can basically guarantee what you find behind those doors.
Position Your Skills For Stronger Effects
Each of your three Skill are tied to specific buttons. You can change these around however you want to what feels most natural for you, though the placements do, in some scenarios, provide greater bonuses.
Some Accessories come with extra effects beyond stat boosts. The Ornate Bookmark, for example, reduces the cooldown for whichever Skill is in the middle slot. Suddenly, it makes the very button your Skill is attached to a tactical decision.
In the settings, there is also the option to change how Skills are activated, if you’d rather a button layout that makes it easier to keep track of your Skills as they’re changed about.
Invest In The Forge
During your first run through game, you’ll likely encounter a trapped man being assailed by enemies. After freeing him, you’ll transport him back to the Shelter. And after returning yourself, you can speak with him.
He wants to set up a workstation so that he can put his skills to use, but he needs some stone from you first. This is found as you’re exploring, and sometimes can be bought from shops during your run.
After creating his workstation, you get the means to upgrade the rest of the Shelter. There are plenty of core features locked behind this, such as the Kitchen which gives you buffs in your runs, so it’s worth getting it up and running as soon as possible.
Unlock More Playable Characters
An interesting aspect of the game that helps it stands out is the existence of multiple playable characters, all of which are acquired through play, feeling rather organic. However, the game doesn’t actually make it obvious when you’ve actually unlocked a new playable character.
Rue is who you play as at the beginning, though as you progress through the game, you will encounter more characters who return to the Shelter that you can play as. For example, the Smith’s niece, once found, becomes a playable character.
To change the character you play as, you must talk to them in the Shelter and choose the ‘Swap’ option. All permanent upgrades are shared amongst characters. However, all of the Skills and abilities acquired during a run are unique to every character.
Be Mindful Of Your Accessories
One of the more interesting parts of Cinderia are the Accessories you can get. These take up dedicated slots, and give direct stat boosts, alongside other special effects that typically grow in potency and number as they increase in rarity.
However, they are also not locked in like other Skills and Abilities, and can be dismantled at will if you find a better one. In fact, this is a useful thing to do, because the materials you get from dismantling can be used to make other Accessories stronger.
Some rooms, especially those after progressing into a new region, let you upgrade a single Accessory, which uses the purple Equipment Crystals you get from dismantling them. Always remember what you have on you so you don’t miss even better gear.
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