GLOOMKEEP II - WHAT THE LIGHT WAKES - A turn-based dungeon crawler for the Commodore 64 by J5

The first game for today is GloomKeep II, a rather interesting, turn-based dungeon crawler that flips traditional roguelike mechanics on its head. Serving as a direct sequel, the game picks up right after your daring escape with the stolen Idol of Orcus. Instead of providing safety, this divine relic acts as a glowing beacon of danger. Your goal is to ascend ten treacherous, monster-filled floors to reach the surface before dawn. However, the very lantern that reveals your surroundings also alerts the dungeon's ten lethal guardians to your exact location, turning a classic quest for survival into a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek.

The core strategy of GloomKeep II relies on a tense, tactical loop of managing light and shadow. Players must constantly decide when to carry the burning Idol—which illuminates the map but awakens sleeping enemies—and when to drop it to vanish completely into the safety of the dark. While navigating blind allows for stealthy manoeuvres, players cannot simply leave the relic behind; the stairs to the next floor remain sealed until the Idol is safely in hand. This clever dynamic forces you to carefully map out each floor, sneak past threats in the shadows, and brave a tense backtrack to retrieve the artifact before making an escape.

• Written in 6502 assembly, built with ACME and tested in VICE.
• Monster glyphs, guardians, dungeon character art and music draw on the original GloomKeep style but have been all newly created, with new arrangements and dungeon effects for the sequel.  Stonework tile sets by willibab and monsteretrope, CC BY.
• AI Assisted, Code, Graphics, Sounds, Text

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