68%Strong matchHeat Signature
95%7k95% positive reviews, Overwhelmingly Positive across 7k reviews·Space · Stealth
—






Retro dungeon crawler with the crazy minimalist style. Take part in fast-paced encounters with inhabitants of the huge alien temple and pay special attention to numbers to solve puzzles and avoid traps.
Special Agent ASCIILL goes to an alien temple full of traps. Powerful electromagnetic emission blocks the video signal, so all information has to be transmitted as alphanumeric characters. In these difficult conditions Agent ASCIILL will have to fulfill B.O.S.S.’ orders: plunder the treasures, destroy alien beasts and disable the security system. As you progress through the levels, you start realizing that B.O.S.S. is not what he seems to be and Agent ASCIILL and Earth are just pawns in the game of huge powers of the Universe. But any pawn can eventually become a queen.

Mechanics of the movement. Pay attention to numbers when choosing your route. A figure in the cell indicates the number of traps around it. The position of the traps and treasures is randomly generated each time. Features

Controls. There are three ways to control the game: Keyboard. Arrows — move. Spacebar — shoot/throw. Enter — select. Esc — open menu. Gamepad. D-pad — move. A — shoot/throw. B — select. X — menu. You can also move using joysticks and use the right bumper to shoot/throw.

Mouse. Move the mouse pointer to select the direction. Left-click to move. Right-click to shoot/throw. Tips and Tricks Hearts and lives. Extra lives save you when you fall into a trap. The trap is permanently disabled after that and you can safely step on that cell. At the start of each level you get one life. On some levels, you can find hearts that give you extra lives. Extra lives don’t save you from bugs, laser and drowning. If you die of any of these reasons, you’ll have to start the level over again no matter how many lives you have. Light mode. Use the menu to switch to the light mode during the game. Reaching the treasures and narrow passages. The traps and treasures generation algorithm ensures that you can always safely reach the treasures and narrow passages. There is always a way.

Steam data © 2026 Valve Corporation. Trademarks are property of their respective owners.
All matches
Finding similar games…
Heat SignatureShares Procedural Generation · Roguelite · 2D , adds Space95% · 7k positive reviews68%Strong match—
Axiom VergeShares Retro · Difficult · 2D , adds Metroidvania91% · 6k positive reviews69%Strong match—
Castle of no Escape 2Shares Procedural Generation · Retro · Replay Value , adds Action Roguelike75% · 340 positive reviews71%Strong match—
ENDLESS™ Dungeon - Definitive EditionShares Dungeon Crawler · Procedural Generation · Replay Value , adds Tower Defense64% · 3k positive reviews68%Strong match—
Ghost 1.0Shares Difficult · 2D · Sci-fi , adds Metroidvania91% · 2k positive reviews68%Strong match—
Abyss OdysseyShares Roguelite · 2D · Roguelike , adds Action Roguelike68% · 1k positive reviews70%Strong match—All matches
The best games like ASCIILL are Heat Signature, Axiom Verge, Castle of no Escape 2, ENDLESS™ Dungeon - Definitive Edition, and Ghost 1.0.
Match on: filter matches for ASCIILL by tag
Filters all matches
65%+Strong matches