Conan: The Black Pyramid drags Robert E. Howard's heroes into a roguelite labyrinth

Conan has stabbed, punched and out-brooded just about everything the Hyborian Age could throw at him, but he has never had to fight through a pyramid that rebuilds itself every time he walks in. That changes in 2027, when Conan: The Black Pyramid comes to PC via Steam.

Revealed during the Golden Joystick Awards, The Black Pyramid is an action roguelite RPG set in Robert E. Howard's shared universe and made under official license. Grindstone is publishing, and Games Farm, the Slovak studio behind the Heretic Kingdoms games, is developing. The pitch: sword and sorcery running headfirst into cosmic horror.

Conan: The Black Pyramid character select screen with Conan the Cimmerian and four other heroes — Conan leads a roster of five playable heroes.

Here's the setup. Something is yanking legends out of their own centuries. Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes and other heroes wake up inside the Black Pyramid, a labyrinth that ignores the rules of space and time and changes with every descent. Each run gets them a little closer to the question at its center: who summoned them here?

If you have a friend who has always wanted to play Solomon Kane while you handle the barbarian duties, you're in luck. You can go in solo or bring a buddy along in 2-player online co-op.

Heroic Signatures, which holds the license, is clearly keen on the weirder corners of Howard's stories, the ones most Conan adaptations skip right past.

“Eldritch horrors, reality-warping sorcery, ancient beings from other worlds, these lesser-known aspects are some of the coolest parts of Conan, and players will finally get to experience them.”

— Marcos Cronander, President, Heroic Signatures

A lone hero crosses a dark, tentacle-carved chamber in Conan: The Black Pyramid under purple light — Deep inside the pyramid, things get eldritch fast.

Swords, guns and a pocketful of dice

Across the five characters, combat mixes melee, swordplay, gunfire and magic. Every fight builds toward a brutal execution, and it's your call when to let it loose. Warrior Memories, ancient artifacts and Combat Masteries shape each build.

There's a nice gambler's twist, too. You pick up dice along the way and can spend them on better loot straight away, or sit on them until more is at stake.

A hero unleashes a burst of golden gunfire at a hulking red-skinned brute in Conan: The Black Pyramid — Steel, sorcery and gunfire all have a place in a run.

Games Farm is also promising gritty, high-fidelity visuals that sit closer to an action RPG than a typical roguelite, and the screenshots so far are grim, detailed and very, very red. The basics so far:

Developer / Publisher: Games Farm / Grindstone
Platforms: PC (Steam) in 2027, consoles to follow
Players: 1, or 2 in online co-op
Price: to be announced

Conan carves a blood-red arc through enemies on a dark stone courtyard in Conan: The Black Pyramid — Executions build up over the course of every fight.

Want in early? Playtest sign-ups are open now on the Steam page, and the first playtest starts soon. Places go out in waves, and what those first players report back will shape the game from there.

Conan: The Black Pyramid is headed to PC via Steam in 2027, with console versions to follow. You can wishlist it here. Stay tuned to GamingTrend.com for our review, and for all your upcoming reviews, previews, and gaming news!