Bonfire

This is one of those rare Early Access cases where the game is actually fully playable, polished and not ridden with random bugs. I've actually played the demo before and I could continue my progress right away, the whole experience feels really thought out and honed.
Love the ironically depressing vibes, finally something fresh.
Anyways, if you like games such as Darkest Dungeon (but also card collecting games like Slay the Spire) but want to try something quicker / more 'casual', this is a great game for you. And it already feels like a finished product, I wonder how it'll play when it's fully released.

Bonfire is a game about the bleak gloominess of the end of the world that manages to have a lot of character and be incredibly charming despite its subject. In terms of gameplay, Bonfire borrows ideas and concepts from rogue-lite genres - like the endlessness of its gameplay loops - without emphasizing the finality of loss and defeat that other games might focus more on.
The combat is turn-based. Choose three characters (there are five now, ten planned) to go on an adventure, explore a dungeon, or take a journey to a new land. Each character has three actions - one they can do on themselves, one they can do on an ally, and one they can do against an enemy. You can also equip "rune" abilities that give additional combat options or passive buffs. Whenever you embark on adventure, you can also take a certain amount of the items you have accrued from previous forays.
It's worth noting that the developer appears extremely receptive to feedback and genuinely invested in improving an already great game. This is a complete experience with a lot of challenges to offer already.
If you enjoy games that are tough, challenging, and encourage failure, but you are also tired of leading cadres of faceless mercenaries rather than characters with personalities - hopes, fears, loves, and wants - then you owe it to yourself to try Bonfire.

I played the beta a lifetime ago, and the full game is even better. It's as polished as a full release, it's only missing some content.
The game is a roguelite that can be played in 5-10 minute sessions, where you're puzzling away how to best save resources across 3-5 classic RPG encounters in a row.
It features some metagame that's intertwined with a gloomy story. It's not very deep nor it needs to be. Throughout the story you unlock abilities, characters and game modes, so it feels more like a long tutorial to prepare you for endless mode.
There are several quality touches here and there you'll appreciate if you know your gamedev, and they're much appreciated. For example, the GUI goes away on the main menu if you idle for a while.
In summary, good game to tinker with RPG encounters played in short bursts while you're watching a show or listening to a podcast. Less hands-on than Slay the Spire or Darkest Dungeon while retaining most of the depth, and that's a good thing.

Bonfire is the closest thing we have to a deterministic non-position-based Darkest Dungeon!
I played hundreds of hours the old version, and this version is looking to be beautiful!
Don't be fooled by the cartoonish graphics! It is HARD and pretty tense!
Food management is a cool new factor emphasizing the grim-dark situation, but in my 2.3 hours of gameplay of the new version as of now (and having to starve a lil bit due to no food) I think it would be cool if it were a lil bit easier to get more food, maybe even for a lot of gold! The dev is still balancing this, but IMHO the combat and class combination is already Darkest-Dungeon level awesome!

It's good! Already worth playing in its current state early access state, if you're fine with no ending.
Gets a great amount of mileage out of just reducing RPG combat down to essentials and making sure you have to weigh each option available in combat. Kinda like Into the Breach in that regard, both very elegant designs that are more interesting than the majority of their larger competitors.

I really love this game. I like the artstyle and animations. Focusing on one area (combat) and making a fun small game is a good idea. However i still have many expectations as this is not full release.
I would like to see more heroes around (easier to reach) and more enemy types. There are definitely some areas to grow. Skills might need customization to make things more interesting. And a small story could help instead of constant dialogues between heroes.
Overall very nicely implemented ideas. Fun and simple combat, easy to pick up, engaging and definitely might keep you going for hours. I was thinking whether sending heroes to single missions to pick up loot, could be more active like making some mini games to increase the loot gained or not. Surely there are some areas to grow. Very promising and beautiful indie game. Buy it and support people like this who has potential to make this and better...

I keep returning to this game. It's very easy to jump back into and progress a bit - most of my games are either a time commitment or an addictive timesink that I have to cut myself off after a while, but Bonfire has become a relaxing experience that I can always open for 30 minutes without feeling lost.