There is something uniquely fitting about Lovecraftian horror finding a home in roguelike deckbuilders. The genre already thrives on uncertainty, risk, and the constant tension of hoping the next draw saves you, even as you know it just as easily could not. Menace from the Deep: Complete Edition understands that connection. It does not simply use tentacles and ominous whispers as decoration. It builds its entire identity around dread, inevitability, and the sense that every victory comes at a cost.
Developed by Flat Lab and published on consoles by Feardemic, Menace from the Deep: Complete Edition bundles the original release with The Rift of Sanity expansion, adding another playable hero, new content, and an extra act to an already substantial experience. The result is a deckbuilder that wears its inspirations proudly yet carves out its own place through atmosphere and smart mechanics.
It is not flawless, and at times its ambition stretches the pacing thinner than it should. Still, when everything clicks, it becomes difficult to pull away.
Story & Atmosphere
Set in a myth-soaked version of 1920s America, the game follows members of a hidden organisation known as The Moths as they investigate the terrifying mystery surrounding the Heart of the Sea, an ancient monolith linked to impossible horrors.
The narrative unfolds gradually through memory fragments, events, discoveries, and repeated runs. Rather than delivering long cutscenes, the story emerges piece by piece, almost like assembling forbidden pages from a shattered journal. That approach works beautifully.
The world feels haunted long before monsters appear. Villages feel exhausted. Characters speak with uncertainty. Every conversation carries the sense that humanity is peering into something it was never meant to understand. Feardemic has built a reputation for horror experiences, and that expertise shows here. The atmosphere does not rely on cheap scares. Instead, it leans into mounting paranoia and existential unease. Even menu screens feel unsettling.
Gameplay
At its core, Menace from the Deep is a turn-based deckbuilder in the vein of Slay the Spire, but it introduces enough twists to avoid feeling like an imitation. The biggest change is its travel system. Instead of following a traditional branching map of nodes, players choose from travel cards that influence the route ahead. One path may lead towards merchants, another towards events or stronger enemies. It gives players more ownership over progression and gives runs a stronger sense of journey rather than simply moving upwards through a chart.
Combat itself feels immediately familiar yet satisfying. You attack, defend, manage status effects, and carefully balance resources while enemies telegraph their intentions. The trick lies in synergy. A good deck can feel unstoppable. A careless one collapses quickly. The four playable heroes dramatically alter how you approach battles.
The Professor specialises in poison and summons, slowly overwhelming enemies through attrition. The Cultist favours bleeding effects and aggressive damage output. Other characters introduce entirely different rhythms and priorities. The addition of The Abomination through the expansion especially stands out. Its playstyle feels appropriately monstrous and creates some of the game’s most unusual builds. This variety gives the game excellent replay value. Runs rarely feel identical because every character asks different questions of the player.
Progression & Replayability
Failure matters here, but not in a punishing way. When your character dies, progress is not entirely lost. Souls gathered during runs feed back into permanent upgrades tied to the central monolith system. You unlock stronger starting options, improve survivability, and gradually build momentum across attempts. This creates the familiar roguelike loop of defeat leading to growth.
The Complete Edition also offers impressive replayability through item combinations, relic collections, events, allies, and random seeds. One run may revolve around poison stacking and summoned creatures. Another may become an exercise in bleeding enemies dry before they can act.
Experimentation becomes part of the appeal. The challenge settings deserve praise, too. Custom difficulty options allow players to shorten runs or tweak elements without compromising the core experience. That flexibility matters because Menace from the Deep can occasionally become exhausting. Runs are long. Sometimes very long. A failed attempt after an extended session can sting more than expected, especially if RNG refuses to cooperate.
Visuals & Audio
Artistically, the game succeeds more through mood than technical spectacle. The hand-drawn artwork captures the bleakness of cosmic horror remarkably well. Characters look worn down. Monsters appear grotesque without becoming silly. The environments drip with dread. Nothing feels clean or safe.
The colour palette leans heavily into greys, faded browns, and muted greens, reinforcing the oppressive atmosphere. Meanwhile, the soundtrack quietly works in the background, rarely demanding attention but constantly supporting the tension. The voice work deserves mention as well. Narration surrounding The Moths and the unfolding mystery helps elevate the story beyond simple text boxes. It adds weight to discoveries and makes the world feel more alive.
Performance
Performance on PS5 remains solid. Load times are quick, menus respond smoothly, and combat transitions are clean. Given how menu-heavy deckbuilders can become, responsiveness matters more than people often realise. I encountered very few technical distractions during longer sessions. That polish helps, as the game demands commitment. This is not a quick arcade experience. It wants hours, experimentation, and patience. Thankfully, it generally respects the player’s time.
Final Verdict
Menace from the Deep: Complete Edition understands that cosmic horror is not about monsters. It is about uncertainty. About pushing forward despite knowing the truth ahead may be worse than ignorance. It channels that philosophy into its mechanics surprisingly well.
The strategic depth is strong, the atmosphere genuinely unsettling, and the variety of heroes keeps repeated runs engaging. The Complete Edition also feels substantial, with the added content integrating naturally into the experience rather than feeling bolted on.
Its biggest weakness remains the pacing. Longer runs and occasional repetition can wear down momentum, particularly during unsuccessful attempts. Yet even then, there is always the temptation to start one more run. One more mystery. One more glimpse beneath the surface. And maybe that is exactly the point.
