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Dark Scrolls Revealed as Devolver’s Next Doinksoft Co-op Roguelike
Devolver Digital and Doinksoft are getting classic with the announcement of Dark Scrolls, a retro-styled dungeon scroller coming to PC and Nintendo Switch later this year.
The studio behind Gato Roboto, Gunbrella and Demon Throttle is providing players with a fast, chaotic hybrid that mixes shmup-like screen pressure with roguelike progression, built for both solo play and cooperative runs.
It’s rather straightforward: pick a character, enter a procedurally assembled dungeon, and try to survive long enough to stack upgrades into something unstoppable. Dark Scrolls is leaning on handcrafted rooms stitched into randomised runs, with branching paths and bosses positioned as the main checkpoints for whether your build is actually working.
Co-op Is Central, Not Optional
Dark Scrolls supports both local and online co-op, with partners able to coordinate, revive each other mid-level, and plan around complementary kits. That framing matters because it positions co-op as a design pillar rather than a tacked-on mode.
In co-op-focused roguelikes, the most common failure point is balance, where one player carries, and the other exists as a spectator. The game is clearly aiming for something more collaborative, with each character’s kit and side objectives intended to keep both players engaged.
Nine Characters, Strange Weapons, and Build Stacking
Doinksoft is promising a roster of nine playable characters, each with their own attacks, skills, side objectives, and customisable trinkets. The tone is intentionally odd, with weapons and tools ranging from conventional fantasy staples to stranger options designed to keep the game’s moment-to-moment feel unpredictable.
Between runs, and during brief pauses inside a run, players can spend coins at an in-game shop to unlock perks, new attacks, and summoned allies. The idea is familiar, but the stated goal is scale: stack the right combinations and the game pivots into screen-filling destruction that feels closer to arcade excess than careful attrition.
Procedural Runs Built from Hand-Crafted Rooms
Dark Scrolls uses procedurally generated levels assembled from handcrafted rooms, positioning randomness as pacing rather than pure chaos. The promise is variety without losing authored encounter quality, supported by branching routes that change what you face and what you can afford to take into later fights.
Visually and sonically, the game leans hard into a classic pixel aesthetic, pairing old-school effects and music with modern responsiveness. It is not trying to look like a museum piece. It tries to feel like one while moving like a contemporary action roguelike.
Dark Scrolls launches later this year on PC and Nintendo Switch.
