Developer Arbitrary Metric, which released the horror adventure Paratopic in 2018, describes Roman Sands RE:Build on Steam as an “adventure gacha puzzle apocalypse visual novel simulation horror trip.” I couldn’t make heads or tails about what all of that meant before playing the game at the Day of the Devs in San Francisco during GDC 2024. But after finishing the 30-minute hands-on demo, I found that the description aptly expresses the maximalist design of this adventure game, which follows in the wonderfully bizarre, dramatic footsteps of Danganronpa and Doki Doki Literature.

Service with a forced smile

Dropping into Roman Sands RE:Build is meant to be confusing at first, but it becomes clear after the first fifteen minutes that there’s more here than meets the eye. In the demo, I found myself on the beachfront of a luxury hotel sitting atop an island seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Heading up the steps and through the main door, I encountered four guests who presumed that I was a hotel employee and began berating me for not doing my job.

The pearl-clutching Betty wanted me to get her a margarita as well as the pills from her bag, the hung-over Bunk wished to get even more drunk, the hoity-toity Sylvia couldn’t stand the heat, and the overly obliging Harold needed the elevator to be fixed. None of them could tell me what was happening or why I was there, nor could they be bothered to talk about the sun that’s apparently growing larger by the minute. I felt like I was in some strange hell where I was being punished by being a service employee to a bunch of Karens.

Something wicked this way comes

That said, completing their tasks earns experience points and triggers a rush of bombastic sound effects and text to appear across the screen. So I diligently followed through on their requests, guided by a line of arrows along the floor that pointed toward my next destination. Finishing quests quickly provides bonus points and even builds a combo multiplier, so I was encouraged to move through areas at a brisk pace. But like Danganronpa, moving between areas advances time, going from morning and noon to afternoon and evening. So instead, I took my time and explored each space, grabbing as many tasks as I could before opening a door.

Investigating the staff area, I finally encountered something that broke the spell. I discovered a metal doorway with tentacles coming out that were nailed down by steel spikes embedded in the wall. Magic circles drawn around each nail seemed to be holding back whatever this eldritch horror was. Something wrong was clearly happening here, and after I finished the day by heading back to the beach at night, that gut feeling was confirmed further.

A Sisyphean task

The day had repeated itself. Like Link in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, I awoke on the shore once more and had to fulfill all of the requests over again, as if nothing I did the day before had any impact. This made it clear that the game was about figuring out how to break the vicious cycle. Fortunately, gaining experience ranked me up as an employee, which allowed me to earn rewards from a vending machine in the staff room, like the toolbox needed to fix the elevator. With the right items and careful management of each block of time, I would be able to uncover the truth.

According to the developer on site at the event, poking holes in the time loop would eventually lead me to other areas of the hotel, including the bar and spa. I would also discover another reality where the world outside is uninhabitable, one that would explain what was going on with the hotel in the first place. This mystery has many layers, and it’s one I hope I get the chance to peel away soon.

Roman Sands RE:Build is scheduled to release on Steam in Summer 2024 and has a demo that’s available for players to try. The developer hopes to port the game on other platforms, like Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch, but no release date has been announced yet on that front.

This preview is based on a hands-on demo at the Day of the Devs: San Francisco Edition during GDC 2024.