“Dot art 'isn't for' capsule art, they say, but we proved otherwise” — “Combolands: Roguelike City Builder” [Interview] [UPDATE]

This series features interviews with the developers of intriguing new indie games. In this installment, we bring you a short interview with the developers of *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder*, a mini city-building roguelike developed by Crux Games and released for PC on August 24.

This game is a city-building roguelike where you develop your city by combining building placement with combos. You place buildings on procedurally generated maps and leverage the synergies between adjacent facilities to grow a small settlement into a metropolis. Another key feature is its short play sessions, with each playthrough lasting about 30 minutes. As of this writing, the game does not support Japanese.

“Combolands: Roguelike City Builder” is available for 1,350 yen.

――First, please introduce yourselves. What’s your favorite game?

We’re Sam and Skye from Crux Games. The two of us make up Crux Games. We’re based in Cape Town, South Africa. We’ve been working on *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder*, our first collaborative project, for about a year.

We both enjoy games across various genres, but Sam particularly likes roguelikes and strategy games like *Against the Storm*, while Skye prefers story-driven puzzle games like *Blue Prince*.

――Please tell us about the game’s key features. Also, how did you come up with the idea?

Crux Games’ *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder* is a mini-city-building roguelike game. It’s a hybrid title that blends city-building with deck-building, where buildings function as “cards” in your hand and the map acts as your “deck.”

It’s based on a prototype called *Tiny Towns*, which we originally developed for itch.io; that evolved into *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder*. We love these kinds of “engine-building” games, but since we hadn’t seen any other titles that approached the genre from a city-building perspective, we decided to create this one.

The process of creating the content for *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder* and generating its various synergies was a continuous series of trial and error. We drew countless sketches and diagrams in our notebooks and jotted down countless ideas (though, of course, not all of them were good enough to make it into the game).

――Were there any games that influenced the development of this title?

Crux Games: This game is a fusion of various genres and ideas. Some of the key titles that inspired us include *Lucky Landlord*, *Balatro*, and *ISLANDERS*.

――Please share one episode that left the deepest impression on you during the development of this game.

Crux Games: The process of revising and redesigning the capsule art (Translator’s note: the image displayed on the store page) to more accurately convey the game’s appeal was a major challenge.Creating capsule art is a very difficult task in and of itself, but since *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder* spans multiple genres, it wasn’t easy to create visuals that clearly conveyed the game’s content at a glance, so we went through numerous design revisions.

Although it’s commonly said in the industry that “you should avoid using pixel art for capsule art,” we were ultimately able to arrive at the fantastic visuals we’re using now. Additionally, adding “Roguelike City Builder” to the subtitle was a huge help in reaching the target audience that’s perfect for this game.

Until about a month before release, we were anxious about the game’s future, but that all changed when Polygon, a major international media outlet, reviewed the demo and called it “the best new roguelike on Steam in recent years.” That review gave us the strength we needed to see it through to the very end!

――What kind of user feedback have you received since release? Please share any particularly memorable comments.

Crux Games: The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive! When you’re in the midst of developing a game, it often feels like you’re working in the dark—you have absolutely no idea how your creation will actually be received.All we can do is pray that our efforts bear fruit, resonate with players, and bring them joy. That’s why seeing all the “crazy builds” that fans have come up with is truly amazing—I’m genuinely enjoying it.

――Taking user feedback into account, could you tell us about your plans for future updates?

Crux Games is currently in the thick of localization work! We’re also working toward obtaining “Steam Deck compatibility” certification for this title. Furthermore, we’re considering adding new features such as a daily challenge mode with fixed seed values and additional difficulty levels.

――Could you tell us about the game’s Japanese localization status? Is volunteer translation possible?

Crux Games: Japanese will definitely be included in our localization. Even before the game was translated into Japanese, we received several reviews from Japanese players asking for a Japanese version, so we’re sure they’ll be delighted to know that we’re currently working on that localization!

――Is it okay to stream or monetize this game?

Crux Games: Yes, of course! We’d love to see the videos and other content created using this game.

――Finally, please share a message for our Japanese readers.

Crux Games: We’re really looking forward to Japanese players enjoying *Combolands: Roguelike City Builder*! We plan to make an announcement as soon as the localization is complete.

We’ve both visited Japan before and had a truly wonderful time there. It’s been about 10 years since we’ve been able to go, but we’d love to visit Japan again!

――Thank you very much.

*UPDATE (October 6, 2026, 11:50 PM): After this article was published, the Japanese title was changed from “Roguelike City Builder” to “Combolands: Roguelike City Builder,” so we’ve corrected the article title and the relevant sections in the body of the text.