Webtoons have been making a splash in anime and games in recent years, with The Player Who Can’t Level Up gearing up to be the next big manhwa making the jump to consoles and PC. Developed in Unreal Engine 5, The Player Who Can’t Level Up is a high-octane action roguelite game that oozes in style and reimagines Kakao Entertainment’s web novel and webtoon series in a new way. Thanks to developer Tripearl Games, I had the opportunity to play a demo of The Player Who Can’t Level Up to experience firsthand what the gameplay brings to the table in a very competitive genre.
The Player Who Can’t Level Up follows the story of Kim Kigyu, a young man who awakened as a “player” with special abilities at the age of 18. As its title suggests, Kigyu can’t actually level up and get stronger in the way you might expect. Regarding this game, the story diverges from the webtoon and follows a new storyline developed in collaboration with the original author, artist, and staff of the series at Kakao Entertainment. A special gate appears before Kigyu, and inside lies a mysterious tower with secrets that could turn Kigyu’s view of the world upside down. With his trusted sword companions, Lu and El in hand, Kigyu decides to traverse this strange tower and discover what awaits him.
The Player Who Can’t Level Up is a Roguelite Game that is Both Easy-to-Learn and Challenging
Although leveling up is impossible for Kigyu, The Player Who Can’t Level Up offers its own unique combat system and progression systems to make players feel all-powerful. This is a 3D combo-driven action game that is easy to understand with plenty of tools at the player’s disposal, including health potions and Ego Skills. Regarding those skills, you can activate them on the fly through the use of Ego Items like Bi, Oberon, Hermes, and Brynhart. Bi sends a damage-dealing Azure Shadow Wolf forward, Oberon temporarily slows down time within a radius, Hermes greatly boosts movement and attack speed, and Brynhart activates a shield that accrues and deals damage back to enemies upon a subsequent activation. These abilities can certainly help in boss battles and scenarios where enemies could overwhelm Kigyu.
Along with Ego Skills, there’s an Ego Shard system that awards Kigyu with various perks that bolster his existing abilities and add new abilities to both of his swords. You’re able to configure some of these skills in the form of Ego Fragments before heading into battle and add new skills to your arsenal as you clear encounters in the tower. While traversing the tower, you will also regularly earn Blessings, which add immediate stat boosts and bonuses for your current run. Blessings have a more noticeable impact on gameplay since you’re able to greatly increase overall damage output and reduce damage taken, making Kigyu much stronger and more reliable. Acting similarly to Blessings are Metanos, equippable modifiers that will make your journey easier in each level. Up to four Metanos can be equipped at once with sufficient upgrades, and while they’re not as impactful as Blessings can be, they’ll still help you survive by refilling HP after completing a level, for example.
Kigyu can also activate a Berserk ability that partly transforms him into a devilish fiend capable of dealing great amounts of damage for a short duration. Every single combo is powered up and will make quick work of weaker enemies, and once you get the hang of the combat system, you can also obliterate bosses in no time. However, even in such a state, the game certainly reminds you that you can be taken down easily. Minor enemies can deal a lot of damage against Kigyu, so it’s up to players to be smart and make quick decisions in combat to ensure they stay alive during their runs. A few wrong moves and Kigyu will die, but each run allows you to use Ariadne’s Thread, which revives him for one last shot at completing the run without losing everything you’ve earned up to that point.
There’s Value in Repetition
The combat system is really dynamic, flashy, and engaging, and there are even platforming elements involved in the game’s themes—the levels that players traverse in the tower. In the demo slice, I played through the Pantheon theme, which is based on ancient technology that has since fallen into this dark and dreary realm that Kigyu has exclusive access to. As time passes, Kigyu’s “Erosion” level will increase and eventually deal damage to his HP, but if you progress at any solid pace, there’s nothing to worry about.
After defeating mini bosses and making my way through loads of enemies across multiple floors, players face the first boss of the game, Erebor. Erebor is a powerful Guardian of the Ether, and his boss fight consists of four phases, which are based around his obsession with certain ancient weapons. This boss fight was seriously fun and kept me on my toes, and it can definitely be risky if you’re running low on potions by this point. This is where I had to use Ariadne’s Thread, since his final phase involved relentless attacks that you had to constantly evade until his power finally died down.
Like any other roguelite, there’s value in attempting repeat runs in the tower. Not only can you strengthen Kigyu’s core abilities, but you’ll earn some cool costumes and Ego Fragments. There are also hidden conditions to meet and hidden missions to complete, and you can complete “Sigmatron” achievements to unlock more items, including additional Ego Fragments. Completing that first run also unlocked an Awakening ability that deals tremendous damage. I assume the rewards will be seriously enticing in the full game, considering you can unlock so much from just Pantheon in the demo.
The Player Who Can’t Level Up‘s Opening Hours are Very Promising
There’s still plenty of room for improvement while The Player Who Can’t Level Up is still a work in progress, such as polishing the in-game graphics and fixing some performance issues like screen-tearing. Personally, I’d also like to see more graphical effects that make the game look more like the webtoon while in combat. The snippets of the English dub and Korean voice-overs were really good, but I’d also like to see more dialogue during the runs in the tower as well. Fortunately, the developers were already working on improving sound effects and fixing graphical issues for the demo during my time with the build.
From what I played in the demo, The Player Who Can’t Level Up is shaping up to be a really fun and challenging roguelite that rewards its players for their resourcefulness and reflexes. It’s all about crafting that right mix of upgrades, Ego Shards, Blessings, and Metanos to make Kigyu strong enough to surmount the odds, and you’ll be rewarded for doing so. The combat system is really stylish and well-animated, but it’s also practical and fair, and I think there’s enough combat depth that Solo Leveling: ARISE and Devil May Cry fans may find in this game, too.
The Player Who Can’t Level Up launches in Steam Early Access in Q3 2026, followed by the official release for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Stove and Steam in the first half of 2027.
Disclaimer: Tripearl Games provided access to a demo build of The Player Who Can’t Level Up for coverage purposes.
