A naked man whose face covers his torso. A snail with a human head. And a nun and... What is it? [A large map of the Nordic countries drawn in the 16th century. Little soldiers marching into battle, herds of reindeer prancing around in the mountains, a man fighting several snakes with a club, a mountain lion of some sort urinating. [a whale with the head of an owl, a fish with the legs of an elephant, and, of course, a nudibranch as big as a ship and with the face of a bull. All of the sea creatures are strange, and most are combinations of two or more animals. [When I played a demo of the roguelike deck builder "Hermetica" at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, I was immediately fascinated by the enemy designs. The game is set in Toledo, 16th century Spain, and the creatures in the game are all fascinating and strange. [Your character, an alchemist, faces off against a handful of monsters on each level. But unlike in Slay the Spire, where you stand still in battle, in each arena you move around and so do your enemies. The arena grids are littered with traps that will keep you stuck for several turns, lightning bolts will run if you step into a puddle, and, oddly enough, certain traps will summon creatures that will carry you to a square somewhere far away on the grid.

Also, each card you play has a movement scheme on it, either moving a few steps diagonally or along a long, straight path, not only to attack but also to move each turn. There are also alchemical ingredients in the arena, which you can collect as you move and then return to your lab to use them to enhance your cards. [My brave little alchemist had to face "Nanus Caprinus" early in the start, which looked like a naked goblin riding a three-headed, two-legged lizard. There were also rats. Hey, rats. Nothing odd about that, except that the rat was standing next to a giant turnip with a human face. [A little homage to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's a little homage to [Monty Python and the Holy Grail]. A pale, naked man with no head but a giant face sticking out of his chest ran around the map waving his arms and spraying me with venom. I fought a snail with the head of a deer. I thought the snail would slither away, but instead it jumped. And then there was one with a woman's head, although it might have been a deer with sharp antlers. This was all in the second arena.

Even at the handful of levels I played, there was more to behold. There is the familiar black and white habit and all, a nun's upper body and some lower creatures. It has two legs, spots, and a feathery tail. Whatever it is, I don't think anyone would let it into the church.

Things get worse at night. If you don't defeat the strange creatures quickly, the map darkens as the sun goes down and you can't see more than a few squares ahead unless you have a candle. It's hard enough just running around unseen by the weirdos, but night also spawns vampires. Instead, they are pale, chubby, naked little demons with exposed breasts and leathery wings twice the width of their bodies. Their bites are cursed and can only be cured with holy water. On the bright side, the sun will eventually rise again, and if the vampire is still alive, it can be killed with an insta-kill.

It didn't last very long. Before I was killed by a bipedal rabbit with a sword and shield, a creature with the lower body of a vulture and the head of a woman sprouting from the vulture's belly alone finished me off. Hermetica is strange. My alchemist is armed with a knife, but I don't think it's enough. I wish I could make explosives with my alchemy system.

Hermetica is "coming soon" but there is a demo on Steam if you want to check it out in the meantime. Just don't play it right before bed. Also, for fun, here's a gallery of some more strange creatures: