Soul Ricochet

What Is Soul Ricochet?

Soul Ricochet is a free roguelike dungeon crawler created by The Expedition Codex for Ham Jam #2, playable right in your browser on itch.io. The game's central mechanic is brilliantly dark: when you die, your soul ricochets into the body of your last victim. You inherit their weapons, their abilities, and their place in the cycle of violence.

You enter a cursed dungeon armed with a sword and bow. Waves of enemies pour in, each one a potential new host body. Die as a swordsman, and you might wake up as an archer. Die again, and you might find yourself wielding an enemy's unique weapon with its own progression tree. The only constants are the dungeon, the bloodshed, and the kill counter ticking ever higher.

The developer's personal record is 104 kills. The question is: can you do better?

How to Play Soul Ricochet

The soul-binding mechanic: Every enemy you kill becomes a potential future body. When you die, you immediately take control of the last enemy you killed — with their weapon, their position, and their remaining health. This creates a unique strategic layer where your last kill before death determines your next life. Kill a powerful enemy last and you get a strong host body. Kill a weak enemy last and you're back to square one.

Weapon mastery system: Both the sword and bow have individual progression tracks. Kill enemies with the sword to level up your sword mastery, unlocking new abilities like charged slashes, spin attacks, and parry counters. Kill with the bow to unlock rapid fire, piercing shots, and explosive arrows. Some enemies drop unique weapons that have their own separate mastery trees.

Wave-based survival: Enemies come in waves that increase in difficulty. Early waves feature slow, predictable enemies. Later waves introduce faster enemies, ranged attackers, and special elites with unique attack patterns. There is no end — the game continues until you die without a suitable host body to possess.

Between lives: When you die and possess a new body, there's a brief window to reposition before enemies re-engage. Use this time wisely — check your new weapon, assess your surroundings, and plan your next move.

Controls

• Move: WASD
• Aim: Mouse
• Sword Attack: Left Click
• Bow Shoot: Right Click (hold to charge)
• Parry / Block: Space (timing-based, blocks melee and deflects projectiles)
• Open Menu / Stats: Esc

Tips and Tricks

Plan your final kill. Before you're about to die, make sure the last enemy you take down is one with a good weapon and decent health. That corpse is your next body. Prioritize killing the strongest enemy in the room before you go down.

Level both weapons. Don't commit to just sword or bow. Each weapon tree unlocks powerful abilities at higher levels, and you never know which weapon your next host body will have. A balanced build means you're dangerous no matter what you wake up holding.

Master the parry. The Space bar parry is the most powerful defensive tool in the game. A well-timed parry blocks all incoming damage, staggers the attacker, and gives you a free counter-hit. The parry window is generous but requires practice to nail consistently.

Keep moving. Standing still is death. Enemies approach from all directions in later waves. Circle-strafe around the room, use the bow to thin crowds at range, and switch to the sword when enemies close in.

Check the menu for stats. Pressing Esc opens a menu showing your total kills, current kill record, weapon mastery levels, and unlocked abilities. Review this between waves to understand what tools you have available.

Enemy weapons are worth mastering. Some enemies carry weapons you can't start with — axes with wide sweeps, spears with long reach, dual daggers with lightning speed. When you possess an enemy wielding one of these, take the opportunity to level up that weapon's unique mastery track.

The first few waves are for setup. Use the easy early waves to build up your kill count and weapon levels before the difficulty spikes. A strong foundation in waves 1-5 makes waves 10+ survivable.

Don't get greedy. When your health is low, play defensively. Use the bow from distance. Parry instead of trading hits. Your goal is to die to the right enemy, not to survive at all costs. Sometimes the correct play is to accept death — but make it count.

FAQ

Is Soul Ricochet free? Yes, completely free. Play it in your browser on itch.io — no download required.

How long does a run take? A typical run lasts 5-15 minutes depending on skill. Getting to 100+ kills like the developer takes mastery and can stretch to 20+ minutes.

What platforms is it on? Browser (HTML5), Windows, Mac, and Linux. The browser version runs on any modern browser.

Is there an end? No — Soul Ricochet is an endless wave survival game. The goal is to beat your personal kill record. There is no final boss or victory screen, only the ever-increasing kill counter.

Can I save my progress? Weapon mastery and kill records reset each run — this is a roguelike. Your personal best kill count is the only thing that persists (and that's up to you to remember).

Will there be updates? As a game jam submission, the current version is likely the final one. However, the developer (The Expedition Codex) may expand it based on community feedback.

Is there controller support? No — keyboard and mouse only.

Last reviewed by Game How To Editorial.