Sanctuary's Grasp

Playing the Windows version is highly recommended, as the WebGL is visually degraded.

A thousand years ago, Dwarvenkind was suffering. Beset on all sides, they lived a subsistence lifestyle far below the surface. To protect them, the Goddess of Safety and Comfort, Thrumalda, closed off the Dwarven lands of Fjellheim from the outside world and warded all of the exits.

Since then, the Dwarven people have thrived. Majestic cities built in colossal caves, lit by bioluminescent fungi are a site to see. However, not everyone is happy.

You are an acolyte of the Haelvanna, the Goddess of Exploration and Freedom. She has tasked you with undoing Thrumalda's wards and opening a path to the outside world.

What follows is up to you...

Sanctuary's Grasp is a weird little dungeon crawler made by one person in a week for Dungeon Crawler Jam 2023. Balance is off, it's content light, and it could use any playtesting, but that's game jams for you! It should take you around 15 minutes to complete. I approached the theme of duality by having two goddesses with conflicting purposes—prioritizing safety vs. prioritizing adventure—and having the player have to come down on one side or the other.

Playing the tutorial is highly recommended, as the battle system might be confusing otherwise.

Visually, Sanctuary's Grasp was inspired by a mix of Wizardry Dimguil for the game world and the UI of those charmingly ugly gridders from the 90s.

Controls are rebindable in the game. The entire game can also be controlled entirely using the mouse.

Keyboard
ControllerMoveWASDQEArrow KeysKeypad D-Pad/Analog StickWaitSpaceAContinue (text)FEnterKeypad EnterAInventoryITKeypad +BackPauseESCStart

The game should theoretically support all modern controllers, although I've only tested it with an Xbox one.

Answers to the hints are hidden to avoid spoilers. Highlight the text to see the answer.

There's a closed door at the end of the Slugzone™!

• One door is open when you don't kill any slugs, and the other opens when you've killed at least five. Resting at a fountain resets both those numbers.

I'm having trouble beating Isaac!

• You shouldn't try to beat Isaac! Battling him is fundamentally a game over state. If you're looking to get the item in that area (which you should!), you need to dodge him.
• Turning will slow you down. Just move and strafe.
• Following the leftmost wall (but ignoring that one clear 3x3 detour) will get you there safely.

I'm having trouble beating the paladin.

• Try using the spear. It's in the zone with Isaac in it. (At the start of the second level, to the west upon entering).