I repeatedly embarrass myself before the nature gods in the hand-painted two-dimensional roguelike Talaka, whose colourful and combative demonstration is now available.

Talaka, shown at Gamescom Latam 2026 and Steam Next Fest, turns Brazilian Orishas into a colourful roguelike challenge

Background: A Brazilian Roguelike Debut at Gamescom Latam 2026

At Gamescom Latam 2026, one of the most memorable demos was Talaka, a watercolour-styled 2D action roguelike. The São Paulo-based show featured many games leaning deeply into Brazilian culture and mythology, and Talaka belongs firmly to that trend. Instead of borrowing the familiar Greek pantheon used by Hades, it builds its divine cast from Orishas, described as vaguely human-shaped forces of nature hailing from the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé religion.

The comparison to Hades is not just visual or thematic. Talaka replaces the permahorny Greek gods with a playful pantheon of Orishas, while keeping a roguelike loop that rewards repeated attempts. Its player character is Talaka herself, an isekai'd artist rather than a rogue demigod, giving the game a different emotional frame even when its structure feels broadly familiar.

Development Process: Hades Structure, Orisha Hub, and Hand-Painted Identity

The demo’s basic rhythm is easy to read. The player picks a weapon, clears a room of lesser mythological minions, then receives upgrades from a deity who chats with Talaka between encounters. That pattern repeats until death. Light platforming sits on top of this structure, making Talaka feel like a side-scrolling Hades rather than a pure twin-stick action game.

The game’s most obvious strength is presentation. Talaka uses entirely handpainted art, and the painting is part of the combat language. Melee swings and magic blasts leave thick, black brushstrokes in the weaponry’s wake. There is no gore. Instead, fallen foes leave splotches of colour, daubing the backdrop with your victories.

Developers Potato Kid have also created impressively distinct Orisha designs. If one stands out, it may be Oshossi, Orisha of hunting and the wilderness, who pairs draping golden cloths with a fine yet aggressively wide-brimmed feather hat. The characters feel like part of a visual culture that games rarely explore, rather than generic fantasy figures.

The game appears careful not to stretch its myths so far that they become original fantasy. With the exception of the more mystical Orisha realm, which serves as a House of Hades/Crossroads-style hub, backdrops are based on real regions of Brazil. That grounding helps the game stay connected to culture even while the player battles skeletal rattlesnakes and monsterfied versions of 19th century French mercenaries. The soundtrack also supports the setting, hopping and kicking with lively, percussive sounds drawn from traditional Afro-Brazilian instruments.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Acclaim Inc

Latest Progress: Steam Next Fest Demo and Combat Feel

The demo currently available during Steam Next Fest confirms that Talaka remains colourful enough, and steeped in folklore that games so rarely explore, to keep readers watching. It also confirms that the challenge has not disappeared. Deaths return the player to the start with the steady reliability of a Swiss ski lift, as skeletal snakes and their fleshless mates continue to interrupt runs.

The demo does not announce itself as A Hard Game. In fact, it lavishes players with free bonus damage for chaining kills without stopping to heal, a telltale sign that it wants players to muck in and keep moving. Still, the majority of deaths seem to come from something with a named health bar, especially when the player is too eager to play like the Doom Slayer and not watching for sudden boss attacks.

The larger question is how the combat feels. There may be trouble getting a feel for Talaka’s movement and combat, because it does not have the free-flowing immediacy of a Hades or a Dead Cells. The platforming in particular is on the floaty side. For all the paint-sloshing visual flair of thwacking a baddie, there is also a sense that more could be done to give those strikes a tangible, weighty impact.

Current Stage: No Formal Release Date, Still Worth Watching

None of these problems sounds fatal. The movement, platforming, and impact could be polished or adjusted, and the same goes for some of the demo’s more cosmetic blemishes, mainly English script typos. Talaka does not have a formal release date tying it down, so there is time for the jumping and fighting to be brought up to the standard of the game’s visual and atmospheric artistry.

For readers, the value of Talaka is clear. It offers a rare window into Afro-Brazilian Candomblé-inspired Orishas through a roguelike format, and its handpainted style makes that folklore feel immediate. The reservation is equally clear: the demo’s cultural strength is stronger than its current combat responsiveness. If readers value setting, art, and mythology, Talaka is worth keeping an eye on. If readers need tight, weighty action first, the demo suggests waiting for later polish.