8 Worlds8 Worlds

8 Worlds is a roguelike deckbuilder about keeping stars alive. A mysterious being is going around the universe putting stars out, and you play as the last lamplighter, the one person trying to relight them. You do that by putting planets in orbit around a dying star and spinning them to generate enough energy to bring it back. In the game these stars are called sols. A full run takes you through fifteen solo, and each one requires more energy than the one before.

At the start of each sol you draw a hand of planets from your deck and choose where to place them in the orbit. The order is a big part of the strategy, because a lot of planets affect those next to them. Some copy the planet before them, some power up the one after them, some proc for empty slots, and much more. The orbit starts with eight slots and gains more as the run goes on, so your builds get bigger as you go.

Once your planets are placed, you spin the orbit and each planet activates one after another, adding Score and Mult to your total. You get three spins per sol to reach the quota, and if you reach it, you move on to the next sol. If you still haven't reached it after all three spins, your run ends and you start over.

Every planet has its own rule for how it scores. Some are simple and give you a flat amount, while others scale off your deck, your discards, or how many of the same kind you have. Planets can be leveled up to make them stronger, and in Endless mode they keep going past the normal max level. You can also put attachments on planets, like Moons, Rings and Beacons, to make them stronger or change what they do.

Besides planets, there are three other kinds of upgrades. Sigils go on a slot in the orbit, and whatever planet you place in that slot gets a bonus. Vials are one-time items that let you do things like copy a planet, level one up, turn it into a different planet, or remove it from your deck for a reward. Constellations are passive bonuses that stay for the whole run. You can get all of these as rewards for clearing sols or buy them with dust from the shopkeeper after bosses.

The being taking the stars shows up as a boss every few sols. On a boss sol, the being has already grabbed the star, and you have to take it back. Each boss changes the rules for that sol by taking something away from you, but it also gives you something in return. You win the run by beating every boss sol within the game's bounds before endless mode.

There are several starting decks to choose from, and each one is built around a different group of planets with its own bonus, like an extra discard every sol or extra dust when you clear a sol. You can also type in a seed to play a specific run or share one with friends, and some seeds are named and change how the whole game works. After you beat a run, you can keep going in Endless mode, where the quotas keep increasing until you finally lose.