Sundered Eldritch Edition

Sundered: Eldritch Edition on PC is a hand-drawn 2D metroidvania with action roguelite structure, Lovecraftian horror, and side-scrolling exploration. Steam still uses the full Eldritch Edition name, while Thunder Lotus presents the game on its current website simply as Sundered. The expanded edition includes the Magnate of the Gong content and optional local co-op.

Explore a shifting metroidvania world

You play as Eshe, a wanderer trapped in a ruined world of hostile caverns. The game combines hand-crafted areas with procedurally generated levels, so the broader route changes between attempts while important progression spaces and story beats retain a designed structure.

Exploration follows a familiar metroidvania rhythm. You move through interconnected regions, uncover secrets, find new abilities, and return to earlier locations when previously inaccessible routes become reachable. The side-scrolling camera keeps movement and combat readable, but the level design frequently pushes you through vertical spaces, hidden passages, and dangerous traversal sections.

Death is part of the intended loop rather than a simple reset. After falling in battle, Eshe returns to the hub and can use collected resources to improve her long-term capabilities before entering the caverns again.

Hordes, bosses, and fast movement

Sundered is built around sudden pressure. Enemies can arrive in large groups, creating dynamic horde encounters that interrupt exploration and force quick decisions about positioning, movement, and target priority.

Combat is based on fast side-scrolling action with melee attacks, ranged options, evasive movement, and special abilities. The game rewards players who can read enemy patterns while moving through crowded spaces, especially when several enemy types attack from different directions.

Large encounters are a major part of the experience. Giant boss fights test movement and recognition rather than simple equipment strength, with attacks that can fill the arena and punish players who remain stationary for too long.

The structure is closer to a persistent metroidvania with roguelite elements than to a pure run-based roguelike. The world changes between attempts, but Eshe’s broader progression and unlocked abilities provide a clear reason to continue after defeat.

Corruption creates the central choice

The defining theme is the decision to resist or embrace eldritch power. Eshe can discover corrupted relics and abilities that expand her combat potential while connecting progression to the game’s darker story choices.

This is not only a visual theme. The corruption system gives the player a meaningful tension between human resistance and supernatural power, helping shape the route toward multiple endings.

Character growth is broad rather than class-based. The game offers hundreds of upgrades, perks, statistics, and special abilities that can support different builds. Some players may prioritize survivability and mobility, while others can focus on offensive power and aggressive combat.

Because upgrades are selected over repeated attempts, the game encourages experimentation. A failed run still teaches enemy behavior, reveals parts of the map, and can contribute to a stronger future build.

What the Eldritch Edition includes

The current PC package is a paid game rather than a free-to-play product. The Eldritch Edition contains the main Sundered experience together with the additional Magnate of the Gong content.

That content adds local co-op for up to four players, new areas, a special quest chain, and the Magnate of the Gong boss. Thunder Lotus also states that existing PC owners received the Eldritch Edition update without an additional gameplay purchase.

There is no separate gameplay season pass required for the edition’s defining expansion content. Steam lists the soundtrack as a separate optional product, but the main game and its Eldritch Edition additions are presented as one storefront package.

Who should play Sundered?

Sundered is a good fit for PC players who want a dark 2D metroidvania with repeated combat attempts, large enemy waves, build experimentation, and a strong supernatural atmosphere.

It particularly suits players who enjoy learning through failure. Progress depends partly on improved upgrades, but it also depends on recognizing attack patterns, understanding enemy spawn behavior, and learning when to continue exploring or retreat to the hub.

The game is less suitable for players looking for a purely handcrafted map, quiet exploration, or a traditional campaign with predictable encounters. Procedural sections and frequent hordes are central design choices, not occasional side activities.

Players who prefer tightly controlled run-based progression may also compare its upgrade loop with fast action roguelites such as Dead Cells, although Sundered places more emphasis on metroidvania abilities, story choices, and persistent world exploration.

PC features and multiplayer reality

On PC, Steam lists Sundered: Eldritch Edition with single-player support and shared or split-screen co-op. The local multiplayer mode supports up to four players on the same system, making it a genuine couch co-op option rather than an online-only party feature.

Steam also lists Remote Play Together, allowing the local co-op presentation to be streamed to invited players through Steam’s remote-play system. This does not turn the game into a native online multiplayer campaign with dedicated servers.

The storefront identifies controller support and includes Steam Cloud, achievements, trading cards, and Family Sharing. A separate publisher launcher is not identified in the official game information, and no dedicated competitive anti-cheat system is presented because the game is focused on solo and local cooperative play.

Steam lists interface and subtitle support in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese. Full audio is not listed for these languages, so players should expect the localization to focus on text and interface elements.

Similar PC games

Sundered shares its ability-gated exploration and dark fantasy atmosphere with hand-drawn metroidvanias such as Hollow Knight, but the comparison has an important limit: Sundered is more focused on procedural layouts, enemy swarms, hub upgrades, and repeated attempts.

Its closest structural identity is a hybrid. It combines metroidvania backtracking, roguelite persistence, action-platforming, horde combat, and eldritch horror rather than committing fully to one of those categories.

That makes it most appealing to players who want the discovery and ability progression of a metroidvania but also enjoy returning to a shifting dungeon with a different upgrade path.

Sundered: Eldritch Edition FAQ

The following answers cover the storefront naming, included content, multiplayer setup, progression structure, and PC localization details most relevant to buyers.

Is Sundered: Eldritch Edition still the current PC name?

Yes. Steam currently lists the game as Sundered: Eldritch Edition. Thunder Lotus’s current website uses the shorter Sundered branding, but the PC storefront retains the Eldritch Edition name.

What does the Eldritch Edition add?

The edition includes the Magnate of the Gong update, with local co-op for up to four players, new areas, a quest chain, and the Magnate of the Gong boss. The update was also provided to existing PC owners as part of the game’s continued edition update.

Does Sundered have online multiplayer?

It does not present a native online multiplayer campaign. The supported multiplayer format is local shared or split-screen co-op for up to four players, with Steam Remote Play Together available as a way to stream that local-style session.

Is Sundered a roguelike or a metroidvania?

It is best described as a metroidvania with roguelite elements. It uses ability-gated exploration, backtracking, secrets, and multiple endings, while procedural areas, repeated deaths, hub upgrades, and changing encounters add a run-based layer.

Can you build Eshe in different ways?

Yes. The game includes hundreds of upgrades, perks, statistics, and special abilities that support multiple character builds. The exact path depends on which improvements and abilities you prioritize across repeated attempts.

What languages does the PC version support?

Steam lists twelve interface and subtitle languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese. The storefront does not list full audio localization for those languages.