Monster Lily is a traditional ASCII roguelike dungeon crawler set around Hanwu Divinity College, with a May 2026 release date on Steam, plus a demo you can play now on PC.
It leans hard into tactical survival, where positioning and item use matter more than trying to brute force fights, and it is built for keyboard-only play.
Combat runs on dice-style rules. Melee attacks roll 1d20 plus your HIT against a monster’s AC, a 1 always misses, a 20 always hits, while Lily’s thrown attacks always connect. Damage spikes come from crit setups, since attacks against unaware or stunned targets deal double damage, so stealth and turn pacing are part of the core loop.
Enemies also have an explicit detection roll each turn, with a 25% base chance to spot you that drops to 18% if you stand still or hug a wall, plus noise can pull nearby monsters into alert.
Progression does not use XP from kills. You level through Melon Seeds, which unlock confidence to use better gear and can grant small permanent stat bonuses, so the run is driven by what you find rather than grinding.
Energy fuels staffs, charms, and magical weapons, kills refill that energy, and you can equip up to five arts without splitting the refill, which pushes you to stack options. If you stall, PHAN monsters start spawning to pressure you, and they do not refund energy, so resting to heal is a trade since it burns time and increases that pressure.
The game also uses checkpoints every 8 levels with scoring, and the true ending demands a full clear without a single death. Monster Lily is expected to be released in March 2026, while here you can find the playable demo.
