We've been thrown into a pit for some unnamed crime, and we are to face some sort of monster that lives in these underground ruins. The community is gathered above to witness our execution, though I wonder how much they expect to see since only a couple of the underground locations are visible to them. So, basically, the game is about running around in a labyrinth, avoiding this Beast, and trying to find a way to eliminate this threat. I would like to say that escape is also an issue, but the game ends when we either kill the Beast or are killed by it. If there's a way to escape, I haven't found it.
The word "labyrinth" automatically suggests that we are in a maze, but I somehow found the map easier to conceptualise than most. I'm not entirely sure how or why, yet. Perhaps it has something to do with the understanding that most of these rooms are filler to maintain distance between the player and the Beast, and we don't actually have to work at remembering what is where in relation to what else. Or rather, we still do, but mostly in fairly general terms.
These ruins in which we find ourselves are the remains of an ancient civilisation. We discover the odd skeleton or statue along the way, and they suggest that the people of this ancient civilisation were a little different in form from whatever people are like now. Whether we have evolved or devolved is up to debate: I mean, apparently our civilisation likes to watch condemned criminals getting devoured by nameless Beasts. It's pretty interesting, and it feels as though there's been significant world-building, but only a very few superficial details have been shared with us.
One thing I do appreciate about the game is the attempt at replayability. There are only a handful of objects that may be picked up, and (possibly with one or two exceptions, I don't remember) their locations are randomised. And there are at least three different ways of killing the Beast.
However, as mentioned, the game ends once we kill the Beast. It's a little anti-climactic, to be honest. Survival was our foremost goal, and the act of killing the Beast was only means to that end. There's nothing to say what happens to us after this accomplishment. Perhaps if the task of killing it were more complex or difficult, we could begin to think of killing the Beast as our primary goal rather than as a means to the goal of survival; or perhaps if there were more options or more story....
Fried Native American bannock, and hot cocoa. Hints of historical depth, too easily passed over.