Roguelike Deep Dives
Seed-by-seed teardowns of Hades II, Balatro and Dead Cells — synergy maps, meta-progression math and the runs worth repeating. New entry every Thursday, free.
Weekly · FreeA Toronto roguelike & retro game blog
Rogue Rune Empire
Deep-dive guides, brutal boss breakdowns and pixel-perfect indie coverage — a fresh run drops every Thursday at 9PM ET from our desk on Spadina Avenue.
What we cover
Columns from the Empire
Four ongoing series that keep 480,000 readers a month grinding smarter, not longer. Free to read, no paywall on the good stuff.
Speedrun Strategy Guides
Frame-tight route notes, glitch explainers and category comparisons pulled straight from verified world-record submissions. Includes downloadable split sheets.
10–15 min reads · Free
Indie Pixel Spotlights
We play the demos so you do not have to — honest first impressions of hand-crafted pixel-art games, most reviewed within a week of their Steam Next Fest launch.
Twice monthly · FreeThe Rune Report Newsletter
A curated Sunday email: the week’s best patch notes, one sleeper indie pick and a member-only build vault. Cancel anytime, no spam ever.
CAD $6/mo · optionalFrom the archive
The Screenshot Vault
Grabs, sprite studies and boss-arena maps from our most-read posts. Filter by category.
Who writes this
Meet the Crew
A five-person team splitting time between Kensington Market cafés and 3AM ranked lobbies.
Editor-in-Chief
Mara V.
Ex-QA lead. Has cleared Hades II on 32 heat and still calls it relaxing.
Reader mail
Straight from the party chat
“The Balatro joker guide took me from ante 8 stall-outs to a first-ever gold-stake win in a weekend. No fluff, just the math.”
“Their speedrun splits are the only ones I trust. I shaved 44 seconds off my PB using the route notes on the third boss.”
“I found my favourite game of the year in an Indie Pixel Spotlight two weeks before everyone else was talking about it.”
The scoreboard
Seven years of runs, logged
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Guides published
0K
Monthly readers
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Games covered
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Years online
Drop us a line
Pitch a game, ask a route
Got a hidden gem, a broken boss or a guide request? Send it over — we read every message and reply within two business days.
- Phone+1 (416) 792-6547
- Email[email protected]
- Studio133 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON M5V 2K8
- Desk hoursMon–Fri, 11:00–19:00 ET