Sol Cesto quietly hit 100,000 wishlists and a 93% rating on Steam – and most people haven't heard of it
Most of the gaming world's attention goes to big announcements and blockbusters. But quietly, in the background, small studios can rack up serious numbers without anyone noticing. That's exactly what happened with the French roguelite Sol Cesto, which has built a 93% positive rating from over 2,200 reviews on Steam – and its developer Géraud Zucchini just announced the game crossed 100,000 wishlists. This is a game I had never heard of until yesterday.
Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelite where you descend through a procedurally generated dungeon in search of the sun, lost underground for countless years. On the combat grid, you pick one of four rows to move into, then land randomly on one of the four tiles in that row – a monster, a chest of gold, a poison trap, or something else entirely. Managing that unpredictability is the whole point.
Characters can be upgraded using cursed teeth and magical items. Stone teeth shift the game's rules and probabilities in your favor, while metal teeth trigger curses and combo chains. On top of that, there are merchant items, magical fountains, and mysterious underground dwellers who may reveal their secrets if you encounter them.
The game was made by a two-person team working full-time for nearly two years. Zucchini has released four indie games and won an IGF award for his first project, Un Pas Fragile, which took best student game in 2017. His collaborator, Chariospirale, is a prolific comic artist whose style gives Sol Cesto its distinctive look. Music comes from Antoine Drüo, who has worked with Zucchini for over a decade. Goblinz Publishing, a French studio focused on strategy and indie games, handled publishing duties.
Sol Cesto launched in Steam Early Access on May 27, 2025, and has been updated regularly since. The current version includes 3 biomes, 4 playable characters with unique abilities, around 30 demon teeth, 14 merchant items, and 7 fountain items.
The full 1.0 release of Sol Cesto is set for April 10, 2026. The final version will double the character roster to 8, expand the world to 5 biomes, and add proper endings for each hero.
More details are available on Steam.
