Iratus: Lord of the Dead (v181.13 & ALL DLC)

A resurrected necromancer leads the invasion from below in a grim turn-based roguelike that puts you firmly on the villain’s side. Iratus: Lord of the Dead trades heroic dungeon crawling for a campaign of methodical extermination, sending undead creations against miners, dwarves, mercenaries, and other defenders of the living world. Its dark fantasy tone is delightfully mean-spirited, full of graveyard humor, grotesque experimentation, and a lair that feels more like a mad scientist’s workshop than a safe haven. The result is a tense, tactical campaign where every lost servant can become an expensive mistake.

Battles play out through four-position party formations, with each minion bringing six distinct skills that depend on placement, target range, and enemy vulnerabilities. Skeletons, vampires, banshees, zombies, mummies, and stranger abominations can destroy foes through direct damage, curses, debuffs, and sanity attacks that force enemies into panic or madness. Fallen opponents supply the body parts needed to assemble replacements, while the underground base lets you research rituals, improve facilities, craft items, and develop Iratus through Alchemy, Magic, Ire, and Destruction talent paths. Permanent minion death and autosaving give every expedition real stakes, although multiple difficulty options make the systems more approachable than the premise initially suggests.

Its strongest hook is the reversal of familiar fantasy roles: rather than defending humanity from monsters, you are the escalating nightmare beneath its feet. The hand-drawn 2D art sells the decaying catacombs and bizarre undead designs, while Stefan Weyte’s performance gives Iratus a suitably theatrical presence. Fans of Darkest Dungeon will recognize the emphasis on formation tactics, stress mechanics, attrition, and hard choices, but the minion-crafting system gives the campaign its own identity. It suits tactical roguelike veterans best, yet patient newcomers who enjoy experimenting with sinister party builds find plenty to enjoy.