During the most recent Steam Next Fest, I had the opportunity to play a demo from a solo developer who reached out to me on X (formerly Twitter). With already 50+ demos downloaded, I was not sure I would have time to add it to the list, but I am glad I got around to playing it. I would categorize Citizen Pain as a first-person, hack n’ slash Roguelite/Soulslike that was built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5. Sure, that is a mouthful, but once you play Alessandro Capriolo’s passion project for the first time, you will understand the different genres that inspired this game. With over a decade of experience in the industry, this is the developer’s first solo title on Steam.

What Is Citizen Pain?

As the heroine Catherina, Citizen Pain takes you on a quest to fight the Undead King. On the way, you will battle a variety of enemies from undead soldiers to knights with shields. The enemies are either large and imposing or small and quick. Trying to avoid the knights that throw firebombs while dashing around the undead charging you can be quite challenging and nerve-racking. The game makes no apologies for how difficult it is, and it is a misconception that game journalists are great at games. Most of us are average gamers, and I will not tell a lie when I say this was one of the hardest games I have ever played, and Alessandro, I know, will be happy to hear that. The final boss took me almost a week to beat. While you are doing all this, you are also against the clock.

Throughout the levels, there are pickups. These pickups are health (which were few and far between), souls (the currency for leveling up), and temporary weapons that had a durability bar. The nice thing about the stages is that you were able to go back for the pickups. Say you did not get hit in an area that has health: move on to the next and come back for it if you get hit. The same goes for the weapons. The souls mechanic in Citizen Pain really drives the roguelite part of the game home. You earn them both by killing enemies and through pickups. After you beat a level, you go back to the hub, where you can spend the souls. This is where the multi-genre aspect of the game really comes into play.

All the Genres

Citizen Pain combines first-person melee combat with Soulslike and roguelite elements. You see it every second you play the game. The sword play is obviously the first, the parrying and dodging is the Soulslike aspect, and the dodging is also a dash, which really is a roguelite gameplay mechanic that you see in many iso camera roguelites. The souls’ currency also really drives the roguelite part of it home. Like many roguelites, when a run ends, you can upgrade your character and try it again. In this case, the game is a little more flexible, as when a stage ends with your death, you can choose to try the level again or go back to the hub and upgrade. Being able to do this will keep you coming back to the game.

Satisfaction After 6 Days

As stated above, this is one of the most difficult games I have ever played. Beating each stage was like beating a mini game of its own. I often found myself too tired or wound up to get through a stage. This game requires patience and focus. But it keeps you wanting to come back and beat your previous score. Every stage grades you based on time, max combo, and hits taken. Each of those is given a letter grade, with the highest being S.

Final Reaction

The fact that this game was built by one person is a testament to the hard work and dedication Alessandro Capriolo has put into this game. We live in an age of large publishers and conglomerate entities that drive the industry. Much like it was highlighted by Geoff Keighley at the Game Awards, indie development is starting to make more of an impact in gaming, and we are here for it. I look forward to seeing what else Alessandro gives us in the future, but until then, check out Citizen Pain, now available on Steam.