Some of the more mature gamers out there might remember the RPGMaker game LISA: The Painful RPG. More specifically, that one part where you could risk the permanent deaths of your party members for money by having them participate in games of Russian Roulette. What if there was a game based entirely around that one scene? Roulette Knight is a game for the 41st Ludum Dare game jam based entirely around hoping you don’t shoot yourself in the head.
The theme for the 41st Ludum Dare was “Combine two incompatible genres”, and Roulette Knight is a that eschews the traditional monster slaying and dungeon exploring for Russian Roulette. You can load your revolver with as many bullets as you want, with the rewards increasing along with the risk of severe but (hopefully) survivable head trauma. Getting an empty chamber acts as an equivalent to slaying monsters in that it rewards you with experience and gold. With the gold, you can go to a shop and buy items from a rotating pool of goodies, such as helmets to mitigate damage from loaded chambers and larger guns with more chambers, tilting the odds in your favor. Leveling up by getting enough experience allows your knight to receive a variety of perks. You have the basic stat boosts and some spells, but you also have bonuses like regenerating HP/MP when you shoot on an empty chamber or increasing the chance of a misfire. It’s one of the few times never cleaning your gun turns out good for you.
As well as a gold and experience system, you have a map on which you can travel. The starting area only requires you to put one bullet minimum in the gun, but as you move into more dangerous territory, the stakes get higher as more bullets must be put in the chamber before firing. Deadlier areas also increase the damage of a loaded chamber and the chance of a critical hit.
Roulette Knight can be played for free here. There is also a download and donation link there as well if you feel like supporting the creator.