Game: Talystro
Developer: Filiokus (Oslo, Norway)
Demo: Second demo out now, free
Platforms: PC and Mac (Steam)
Release: 2027
Genre: Roguelite dice-and-deckbuilder
🎲 Talystro’s second demo is out now for free on Steam for PC and Mac. It adds a new act, The Haunted Crossing, which builds up to the 67 Dreadhorse boss fight. A full playtest is planned for later this year, and you can register for it on Steam now.
➗ Exact Damage or No Damage
Most deckbuilders are about stacking synergies until you’re dealing 9,999+ damage. Talystro flips that: as the battle-axe-wielding Math Mouse, you have to hit each enemy’s exact number to take it out. Deal one point too high or too low, and you won’t leave a scratch.
Every card holds an unfinished calculation, and you complete it by slotting in the dice you roll each turn.
Number crunching has never been so literal.
Independent Norwegian studio Filiokus has released a second demo for Talystro, its arithmetic-inspired roguelite dice-and-deckbuilder with retro cartoon visuals. You play as a nervous Math Mouse on a quest to defeat the Necrodicer and her army of corrupted numbers, using dice and cards to deal precise damage. It’s the kind of game that makes you wish you’d paid more attention in math class, in a good way.
What’s New in the Second Demo
👻 The Haunted Crossing
A brand new act that ends with the infamous 67 Dreadhorse boss fight.
🃏 More to Build With
52 cards, 19 artefacts and 12 enchantments to experiment with, with more to come at launch.
📈 Level Progression
A new progression system with unlockable abilities that carry over between runs.
🏆 Scores & Leaderboards
A new scoring system with leaderboards for high-score chasers, plus previously unseen corrupted numbers.
🧮 How Combat Works
• Match your enemy: instead of chipping away at HP, you match an enemy’s value to take it out instantly
• Outnumbered: each encounter pits you against several numerical adversaries, so the order you deal with them matters
• Order of operations: card calculations often refer to variables, like the number of dice, which change during the round, leaving lots of room for optimization
• The Crossroads: choose your next fight and its rewards, balance risk against reward, and spend gold at the shops
“Math is strategic, creative and rewarding, and so is Talystro! It combines logic, strategy, and arithmetic with monster hunting, battleaxes, and fireballs, what’s not to like? Number crunching has never been so literal or vicious!”
Martin Lothe Sæterdal, CEO, Filiokus
🎨 Hand-Drawn Retro Cartoon Style
Filiokus says its hand-drawn animation style has kept developing since the first demo, with fresh detail in the visuals and fluid animations that give every corrupted number its own personality. The music and sound effects have evolved too, adding more ear-wormy charm.
Early Buzz
Talystro has already picked up some positive press. PC Gamer, quoted on the game’s Steam page, compared the hunt for perfect solutions to “carefully tuning a radio until you find the one killer frequency.” Card Gamer called it a “mathematical marvel” with “a really strong framework in place,” even at an early stage.
About Filiokus
Filiokus is a Norwegian game studio on a mission to rethink what educational games can be. It views games as artistic systems driven by mathematics, and focuses on highlighting the creative, strategic and expressive sides of math. Talystro is the team’s second title.
Genre
Roguelite dice-and-deckbuilder · single-player
Developer
Filiokus (Oslo, Norway)
Publisher
Filiokus · Gamirror Games (per Steam)
Platforms
PC and Mac (Steam)
Release
2027 · free demo and playtest sign-ups on Steam now
Structure
Three acts in the full game, each leading up to a boss fight
Languages
16 supported
Minimum PC
Windows 7/8/10 · 1.7 GHz · 1 GB RAM · Intel HD Graphics 3000 · 500 MB storage
📅 Free Demo Out Now · Full Release in 2027
Download the free demo, register for the playtest and wishlist Talystro on Steam, and follow Filiokus on Instagram.
Hi there! I’m Marie, also known as CtrlQueen. I’m passionate about keeping up with the latest in gaming news and sharing my insights. RPGs steal my heart with their rich narratives and immersive worlds, but I also love unwinding with fun, casual games. Whether you’re here for deep dives into game mechanics or just to chat about your favorite casual game, you’ve found the right place! Let’s game and explore together.
