Formerly the Top God, creator and ruler of the Dreamworld, you were betrayed by your children, the lesser gods, and sealed in a can. After being in chains for millennia and having your once powerful soul nearly drained to nonexistence, you escaped to the mortal plane of existence and took a mortal vessel, known among mortals as The Devourer. You then set out for revenge on your traitorous offspring in the form of killing them, and everyone else.
This game contains examples of:
- A God Is You: A God in Human Form for most of the game, and a true god by the final area.
- All the Worlds Are a Stage: The Dreamworld, the final area, is made up of sections each themed around an environment from the mortal world.
- Apocalypse How: Class X-5. At the end of the game, you can choose to take back the remaining fragments of your soul used to create the mortal world, causing the planet and everyone on it to turn to ash. Afterwards, you presumably destroy the rest of existence offscreen, leaving you alone to contemplate in the void.
- Archnemesis Dad: The Devourer to Emil and Ariel, and a nemesis granddad to the rest of the gods.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: After killing one of the godlike mortals and obtaining their respective artifact, you can ascend to the Dreamworld, leaving your mortal vessel and becoming an Energy Being with no need to eat or drink and omnidirectional vision.
- ASCII Art: Actual pixel art graphics were added in an update, though you can turn them off and go back to ASCII if you want.
- Bee Afraid: Bees in this game attack you as soon as they realize you exist and are somehow stronger than humans and most animals, including cows. They also don't drop anything if you kill them, not even a corpse.
- Black Mage: The Warlock profession. They get their power from enslaved demons, and all of their spells are offensive.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: Engaging in melee combat covers your character in blood, which turns your sprite a varyingly deep shade of red.
- Boss Battle: The gods and the two godlike mortals fill this role, the former showing up to fight you whenever you reach a certain level milestone and the latter you can track down and fight at will.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Killing a god causes a corresponding aspect of the world to change or be removed entirely. While this fits with your goal of destroying the world and sometimes works to your advantage, it usually doesn't (e.g. killing the river god removes a primary water source).
- Character Development: At first seeing them as no more than insects, obstacles or means to an end, as the Devourer assimilates mortals' souls, they end up growing on him in a strange way. At the end of the game, he states that he's proud of what Emil and Ariel created, in spite of the circumstances, and wants to remake the world with the children after he wipes the slate clean.
- Devourer: I have to say before we end this. I wasn't much into your creations at first. But they grew on me. If nothing else, I'm proud of what you've done. I wish we could've tried that together...
- Constructed World: Unlike most roguelikes, Soulash's open world is completely set in stone rather than randomly generated, and only NPCs' items and the player's starting location are different with each run.
- Cooperation Gambit: The gods attempt this with the Devourer with Dalene the Dream Goddess as the messenger, offering him half of the world in exchange for 200 years of peace so they can continue their Grand Experiment. The Devourer declines out of distrust.
- Cosmic Horror Story: While the gods aren't disinterested in mortals, they're nothing more than an experiment and their well-being is far from a priority. As you gain in power and knowledge, you begin to unravel the true nature of the mortal world, the contradictory and pitiful existence that mortals as a whole lead, working and evolving and suffering in service of an end they will never get to see and that, as you soon realize, doesn't even exist; their lives were pointless to begin with. Even moreso now that you're here to snuff out their flame. Even in mortal form, you mow down mortals and gods alike and you only get stronger with each life you take. Seemingly subverted at the end, where the Devourer's Character Development has completed and he expresses a desire to recreate the mortal world with Emil and Ariel after he finishes the job, and he may choose to create it in a more meaningful way as opposed to simply having the mortals suffer for no reason. Though, if you choose not to destroy the world in the end and keep it how it is, the mortals just keep on suffering forever with no meaning while an uncaring god watches on.
- Cowardly Mooks: The merchants, who run away from you and only attempt to fight back if they have no choice, which they then do while trembling and pleading. Very justified since they're otherwise noncombative humans up against a God in Human Form.
- Crapsack World: Courtesy of the Dark Fantasy setting. By the gods' design, advancement in this world is achieved entirely through warfare. The diverse array of races all have distrustful relations at best and are genocidal at worst, inter and intraspecies slavery is commonplace, and most races have medieval technology at best, so life is tough regardless. The Existential Horror themes don't help either, see above.
- Create Your Own Villain: The Devourer seemingly had no ill intentions in the beginning, and has fond memories with his children, Emil and Ariel. Though, when he wouldn't let the children do their art project of the mortal world, they decided to trap him in an And I Must Scream state and forcefully recycle his soul to create the rest of the pantheon as well as the mortal world. The only reason they didn't kill him is because they didn't know how to create life without his soul. You can see how he'd be upset. Despite this, the Devourer regrets that he has to kill them in the final confrontation, and promises to start anew after he finishes the job.
- Cult: One of the professions you can choose is a Cultist, and there's an enemy cult that worships the "Snake Goddess" (Sukuna, Goddess of Silence) that performs human sacrifices and practices black magic.
- Dem Bones: Bone Wraiths, a tribal race that build other members out of bones they scavenge. The better bones a Wraith has, the higher their position in the clan. There are also just regular old undead skeletons with swords and bows as enemies.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Goes both ways: random mortals in the early game are perfectly capable of killing you, a (severely weakened) god, and you, in an empowered mortal vessel, are capable of killing actual gods. Can also be justified both ways, as you're a God in Human Form.
- Difficulty Levels: Easy, normal and hard. Easy and hard can both be adjusted for custom Easier Than Easy and Harder Than Hard modes. The harder you make it, the higher your score at the end of the run.
- The Dreaded: The Devourer, for good reason. His arrival was apparently prophesized, and some enemies' dialogue has them reacting in fear at your presence.
- Dual Boss: Emil and Ariel, also the Final Bosses.
- Dual Wielding: You can dual wield anything that counts as a weapon and isn't too big, and it usually works.
- Everything Breaks: Most objects are pretty sturdy, so it's hard to really wipe structures off the map. Seeing how the environment gets scorched, withered and deteriorated in the aftermath of your battles is meant to increase immersion and make you feel more like a Person of Mass Destruction without the world feeling like it's made of glass.
- Evil vs. Evil: A lot of your enemies are pretty reprehensible, among megalomaniacal immortals, barbarians, cultists and slave owners, and even the gods are grey at best.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief:
- Fighter: Fallen Knight, Berserker, Nomad.
- Mage: Warlock, Necromancer.
- Thief: Poacher.
- Magic Knight: Inquisitor.
- Thief/Mage: Cultist.
- Fish People
- Flash Step: The Bull Charge ability lets you move six tiles in a single turn to hit an enemy.
- Fog of War: Slightly downplayed, in that you can sometimes "hear" other entities moving in foggy terrain via an exclamation point at the tile they're on.
- God-Emperor: Sandaver, the God Pharaoh of the Black Pyramid. While he isn't technically a god, he is immortal and on par with or stronger than most of the actual gods.
- Godhood Seeker: Sandaver the God Pharaoh was experimenting with souls to obtain immortality and succeeded, and statistically he's on par with plenty of real gods, though he's still considered a pretender by The Devourer.
- God in Human Form: You are this, and all of the other gods take on a physical, humanoid form to fight you.
- Golem: One of the playable races, a Servant Race made of scrap materials.
- Home of the Gods: Another Dimension called the Dreamworld, though not actually a Dream Land. It apparently doubles as the Afterlife, with dozens of souls wandering around for you to murder. There are multiple sections with different flavors of the mortal world, each the residence of a corresponding god, and the last section is a Fluffy Cloud Heaven with angels where the Dual Final Boss, Emil and Ariel await.
- Humanoid Abomination: The aptly named Abomination, a never before seen creature and "hopefully the last time a living soul ever will". It's a mass of rotting muscle, tendons and guts given life through unknown means, and has to replace its rotting meat with fresh meat as a replacement for hunger and thirst.
- Humans Are Average: Humans are noted to be extremely adaptable to any situation in the race description In gameplay, the Human race starts with +1 to every stat, levels up 10% faster, and starves 50% slower than other races, and starts with basic survival gear.
- In-Universe Game Clock: Day and night cycle consistently, and you have the ability to sleep until certain times of day. If you kill the Sun God then it'll be permanently night time and vice versa for the Moon God, and if you kill both then it'll switch between the two every single turn.
- Justified Extra Lives: Phoenix Feathers, which you can start with on easy mode or obtain during a run by killing a phoenix.
- Killed Off for Real: Contrary to most open world games, everyone you kill is dead forever, and no one will spawn in their place. If you go back to an area you cleared out prior, all you'll find are corpses, equipment or whatever you left behind.
- Morality Pet: Emil and Ariel are the only enemies that the Devourer actually feels regret over having to kill, despite them having been the ones who betrayed and overthrew him in the first place.
- Multiple Endings: At the end of the game, you interact with a projection of the mortal world and are given a choice to either go through with destroying it or decide to keep it around.
- If you choose to destroy the world, the Devourer is left alone in the void, and contemplates this with apparent sadness. Though at the end, he notices a fragment of his soul is of different origin, and wonders if he isn't alone after all. While this goes unexplained and we don't see what happens after, it otherwise seems to be a "Ray of Hope" Ending, as before this the Devourer expressed a clear desire to recreate the world along with Emil and Ariel after wiping the slate clean.
- If you choose to spare the world, the mortal races simply continue their existence while the Devourer watches. They continue to work, progress, wage wars, and suffer, all for nothing. The semi-benevolent gods are gone, replaced by a sole neutral god, you've killed hundreds of mortals during your rampage, and you've caused permanent changes in the world that will certainly screw up the ecosystem. Despite seeming to be the less cruel choice on paper, this one results in much more of a flat Downer Ending than the other option, as the situation is objectively worse than it started and there is no real hope to be had for a brighter future.
- Mushroom Man: Mushmen, more sentient fungi than humanoid.
- Necromancer: One of the professions you can choose, often paired with the Lich race. A few historical necromancers have apparently destroyed entire kingdoms.
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Nintendo Hard: While the game is marketed as a morbid Power Fantasy, what you're really in for is a brutal survival roguelike where you'll be lucky to last until the first boss within your first dozen or so runs. Despite your Player Character being a God in Human Form, in practice you're extremely mortal. You have a vision semicircle instead of an omnidirectional view with Fog of War, and you have to turn to see things at your side or behind you. You're also made practically blind at night time without a torch or candle. On top of this is Breakable Weapons (though they can be repaired), hunger and thirst (replaced with other nutrient systems for certain races), and stamina that drains with every single action. Not only do you have draining stamina and need to rest every now and then, resting gives you fatigue which lowers your maximum stamina amount until you sleep. It's rather easy for you to wander into enemies you aren't strong enough for yet and you can't escape from them because of them using ranged attacks, or just being faster or the same speed as you. Some Game Mods were made just to lighten the load, such as removing weapon durability and adding a sprint ability so you can run away from battles you're certain to lose. - Omnicidal Maniac: Your ultimate goal is wiping the slate of existence clean by reclaiming the bits of your soul used to make it, and starting over from scratch. However, you have the option of sparing the survivors of your rampage at the end of the game.
- Our Angels Are Different: Winged humanoids with Flaming Swords, and the servants and guards of Emil and Ariel, and formerly you.
- Our Demons Are Different: A barbaric mortal species that lives in Underground Cities, and has a goal of exterminating the surface folk because the tunnels they dig cause disasters in their cities.
- Our Genies Are Different: Spelled "Djinni/Djinn". They are beings Made of Magic who once ruled the deserts, until a war saw them enslaved for use of their immense power.
- Our Gnomes Are Weirder: Short humanoids who experience the flow of time much faster than others, and possess uniquely advanced technology that no one can comprehend.
- Our Gods Are Different: The Devourer created and ruled the Dreamworld, and everything, including the other gods, are made from his soul. Polytheistic, agelessly immortal, human morality, much more powerful than most mortals but not at all untouchable. Their true forms are ethereal glowing spheres that can see in all directions and only need sleep to function, though they can take on a physical, usually humanoid form as well. When a god dies, the property of reality associated with that god either disappears or is drastically modified in some way.
- Our Liches Are Different: Powerful mages who've cheated death and gained eternal life, and appear as Scary Skeletons. Instead of hunger or thirst, they feed on life essence, which is replenished using their Death Aura that slowly kills anyone and anything in a 1-tile radius. God Pharaoh Sandaver is a lich who rules over the intelligent undead.
- Our Souls Are Different: Represented by ethereal skulls when you absorb them from enemies, and wandering souls appear in the Dreamworld as enemies. Taking someone's soul chars their corpse, and you gain the power and knowledge of each soul you take. Everything and everyone in existence is actually made from the Devourer's soul.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Immortal, undead bloodsuckers with Innate Night Vision who can survive in the daylight. They reside in the Black Pyramid and are conspiring to Take Over the World and turn the living into livestock.
- Reduced to Dust: The ultimate fate of the world, if you choose to destroy it.
- Rivers of Blood: This happens literally if you kill Sangre, the Blood God.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The Devourer.
- Shout-Out:
- The Goblin Inquisitor in the Steam description.
- One of the Devourer's (unused?) lines, "I am inevitable."
- "Winter has come!" achievement for killing Zima.
- "Lion Sin" achievement for casting Burning Sun while wielding The Divine Axe.
- "Unlimited power!!" achievement for casting Unlimited Lightning at Emperor Alexander.
- Standard Fantasy Races: Some have Darker and Edgier variants to fit the atmosphere. Dwarves? Nah, DARK DWARVES. Elves? DARK ELVES, ONLY. Humans? DARK HUMANS, not really. Otherwise, Orcs, Trolls, Goblins, Dragons, Lizard Folk, The Undead, Angels, Demons, Gnomes, Cat Folk, Gnolls, Centaurs, and so on.
- Stock Gods:
- Top God: Formerly the Devourer, now shared by Emil and Ariel.
- Harvest God: Amir. He's the weakest and lamest of the gods and The Devourer makes fun of him during the Boss Banter.
- Lord of the Ocean: Ezotl, River God, and Illuvia, Rain Goddess, both have a water theme. The former is also god of the Fish People.
- Nature Goddess: Edona.
- Hunting God: Turdon.
- God of Light: Rhaaos, the Sun God.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: Smid.
- God of the Moon: Ulnos, combined with God of Darkness.
- Dreamweaver: Dalene, also the Messenger.
- God of Knowledge: Vedna, the Goddess of Magic who taught mortals how to bend reality.
- War God: Crastos, though currently unfightable.
- Other: Swamp God Qdur, Rot/Medicine God Othos, Mountain/Dwarf God Gramdar, Blood/Vampire God Sangre, Silence Goddess Sukuna, Destiny God Vyber, and Winter God Zima.
- Summoning Ritual: You can summon gods at altars with a magical substance (e.g. a dead incorporeal being's ashes) to fight them whenever you want. It's implied that you were actually summoned, since you can sometimes spawn by a forgotten or broken altar and/or with a bunch of corpses nearby, who would presumably be sacrifices for the ritual.
- Survival Sandbox: Hunger, thirst and stamina management, crafting, destructible environment, and a wide-open world with Everything Trying to Kill You. You can go wherever and do whatever you please, and progression is inevitable due to the nature of the game.
- Tank Controls: By default, Q and E turn the direction your character is facing (and their vision semicircle), W moves forward, S backward, A and D to the left and right. You can change to more orthodox movement controls, though the facing mechanic is still present.
- Tom the Dark Lord: The random name generation can give you rather mundane names, and you can of course choose them yourself.
- Units Not to Scale: Can probably be expected for a grid-based roguelike. Dwarves are the same size as dragons, for example.
- Vampire Hunter: An enemy type. They carry stakes and Holy Water, and they'll try to kill you whether you're actually a vampire or not.
- Villain Protagonist: You play as a vengeful fallen god on a mission to destroy the world.
- Villains Out Shopping: When you're not slaughtering the mortal populace, you can go fishing, farm crops, milk cows, and go camping in the woods.
- Walking Wasteland: The Lich race automatically deals death damage to anything in a 1-tile radius, and even kills grass as you walk.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Whenever you kill an enemy, you absorb its soul and gain its strength, knowledge and memories, which is the in-universe explanation for Experience Points and leveling. Though, technically, you're taking back what was always yours.
- Zerg Rush: The optimal strategy for Necromancers, especially since you can raise infinite units (at the cost of performance).
- Zombie Apocalypse: Invoked if you play as a Necromancer, where zombies are the first unit you can raise.
