I harnessed the power of deceit to conquer Hell in Solium Infernum, but I'm still not sure what I'm doing

GamesStrategySolium InfernumI harnessed the power of deceit to conquer Hell in Solium Infernum, but I’m still not sure what I’m doingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: League of Geeks)

A demon in chains

These are the names of some of the legions you can recruit in Solium Infernum: The Defilers; Vile Apostates; Iron Maidens; 10,000 Screaming Bastards. You want to recruit 10,000 Screaming Bastards, don’t you? Of course you do. Who wouldn’t?

It’s a strong theme. The throne of Hell is empty and all the devils sneer. You’re one of the archfiends, a Mammon or a Lilith (how manyvideogame Lilithsare we up to now?), so you raise some legions, work some dark arts, stab some backs, and compete—through the medium of turn-based strategy with synchronous turns—to reign in Hell.

Under the hood there seems to be a fair bit of the original Solium Infernum, of which this is a remake. I only know the 2009 version second-hand from the reports of the doomed souls who participated in alegendary game diary, but core elements like the order of combat going ranged, melee, then infernal as well as stats like deceit and prophecy remain the same. One change is those archfiends—in the original you created your own devil, an infernal Build-A-Bear, while the remake gives you eight to choose from with pre-set stats. Though you get to change their relic loadout, Astaroth’s always going to start with a couple of points of wrath and a unique diplomatic ability that lets him enter into open hostilities for a turn.

(Image credit: League of Geeks)

A titan called The Beast looms over a stronghold

Being able to find and exploit the loopholes in Hell’s law relies on understanding where they are, which is where Solium Infernum let me down a bit. When I went all in on deceit I could perform a Dark Augury to reveal my opponents' stats and what they had in their vaults, only I had no idea how to actually find the information after performing the ritual. Turns out you can click on the icons at the top-right of the screen to see summaries of the other devils, which I had to beseech another dark master—Google—to learn. Other things remain opaque. I’ve committed my praetors to fight in plenty of duels on my behalf and won several, but I’ll be damned if I understand how they’re decided.

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(Image credit: League of Geeks)

A glowing angel defeats a demonic legion

The theme makes up for a lot. Not just because it’s fun to be a devil fighting over souls, delivering insults to Astaroth and summoning armies of guys right out of a Warhammer Chaos army to biff him with, but because the pain points feel appropriate. It’s a sadistic game because of course it is. Everyone in it is a sadist, and those 10,000 bastards are screaming for a reason.

Solium Infernum is available onSteam.

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