14 DAY TRIAL // 
I have about 25 more bullets for my assault rifle and I get the feeling that I will not find many more for a while, so I resolve to use my trusty Marine blade to take out the enemies that stalk me throughout the level and keep the ammo in reserve for a really big and scary threat.
I sprint through the rooms I have already explored, remembering how two crates of ammo locked up before my eyes despite my high skill level, and stumble into an area I have not yet cleared.
I get promptly surrounded by some worm-like creatures, some flying bats and at least one blue alien that can attack me from range.
I am sticking to my choice of blade as main weapon and slash a few, but I soon am on the verge of getting overwhelmed, so I Tab my way to the assault rifle and shoot some of the enemies, wasting some ammunition in the process but finally taking all of them out.
Unfortunately, I fail to spot the poison that’s running through my veins and it kills me unceremoniously even as I celebrate the fact that I have found the opening to the lower level.
Sword of the Stars: The Pit is a somewhat weird beast because the universe on which it is based is linked to a real-time strategy franchise and the mechanics are taken from the roguelike family.
Kerberos Productions does a good job with its new game, a solid experience in its field that nonetheless requires patience from the player and some inherent interest in getting constantly punished and assaulted regardless of actual game performance.
The game allows players to choose from among three classes and then explore an underground facility, looking for a cure that will eliminate a mysterious disease.
The story is not important at all and the drive to keep playing comes from waiting to see what new monsters will attack, what items will pop up from a particular level and how the skills of the character will influence his travels.
Players can move around levels, use weapons to battle enemies, investigate everything from piles of alien rot to high-tech lockers and generally try to survive and find the airlock that takes them deeper into the Pit.
The first few levels are rather easy and I wondered when the much talked about ruthlessness of the roguelike genre would kick in.
After a couple of deaths, it becomes even more clear that players need to move carefully, pay attention to the environment and their enemies and conserve resources.
The game is engaging but punishing and many gamers will probably be unwilling to go through repetitive gameplay over and over again to see what new challenges the game can create.
The look of Sword of the Stars: The Pit is largely in line with that of the roguelike genre, with a top-down view and limited set of details.
Everything is clear on screen, from enemies to the location of dropped items, but the Spartan style might make mainstream players drop the game before they discover its charms.
The sound design is also very much a product of the genre’s limitations, although I would have preferred totally silent protagonists to the wise cracks of the trio, which usually fail to be interesting or humorous.
Sword of the Stars: The Pit is a classic roguelike with an interesting setting, but the game fails to grab the player in any clear way and I believe that those looking for a much better experience linked to the genre should check last year’s FTL.
