Thousand Hells is a witty RPG heist anthology about robbing the underworld

Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists is a choose-your-own-adventure RPG anthology from the designers of King of Dragon Pass, and early impressions suggest it punches well above its grim premise.

You assemble a crew of four characters and send them through a series of quest scenarios set in the underworld — think talking trees, holy riddlers, and rivers of boiling blood. The game packs 10 heists in total, each structured as an Orphic descent with branching choices and consequences. Party members can end up cursed, stabbed, or mentally broken along the way, but the tone stays surprisingly light and witty throughout.

King of Dragon Pass — the studio's cult classic — built its reputation on exactly this kind of text-heavy, choice-driven design with genuine personality, so Thousand Hells lands in well-trodden but beloved territory. That lineage gives the anthology real pedigree for fans of narrative RPGs who want something with actual wit rather than grimdark posturing.

After two hours and a couple of completed heists, the reviewer stops short of a full verdict but hands out a provisional recommendation regardless — which, given the source, carries weight. If the remaining eight heists hold up, this one looks like a gem.