20 Minutes Till Dawn is a challenging game for any player first starting out, especially those new to the roguelike genre. Games in this genre are typically harsh on healing and dying means beginning an entirely new run. Similar to games like Hades or Dead Cells.

Like those games, healing is hard to come by, but it can be done. With so many enemies constantly on the player's tail, it's near impossible not to get hit at least once. But getting to the point where players can heal is a daunting task, as it is locked behind a number of skill trees and upgrades.

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First, there is a more traditional way to heal by upgrading a few skill trees in 20 Minutes Till Dawn. There is an upgrade in the health tree called "Regeneration," which will heal the player for one health every 90 seconds when purchased. There is also "Soothing Warmth" in the Pyro skill tree which has a 0.05% of healing for the player when setting an enemy on fire. Unfortunately, both of these upgrades are the last one in the tree, so players won't be able to get them unless they have been purchasing skills in those trees already. It should be noted that some characters will actually start with higher health, with the health ranging from 2hp to 6hp. But the trade-off is different abilities and damage capabilities.

Healing in 20 Minutes Till Dawn Can Be Tough

20-minutes-till-dawn health

There are also less traditional ways to heal in 20 Minutes Till Dawn, but they have to occur before the run. Runes will allow players to heal when purchased, but only after certain conditions are met. The "Healing" rune allows every 1500th enemy to drop a healing item, but this number can be reduced with upgrades. "Growth" allows players to heal 1 health for every 5 levels and increases their XP gain by 4%. Finally, there is "Second Wind" which grants players 3 health when their health drops to 1. This rune is similar to the revive mechanic in Hades, as it can only be used once per game in 20 Minutes Till Dawn.

There are also other mechanics that don't technically heal the player, but are useful for avoiding damage. The Holy Shield tree blocks damage received once every two minutes, but can have that time reduced by completing the skill tree. Vitality and Giant in the Health tree will also give additional max health, and by extension, more active health. Though all of these are locked behind upgrades, so they are taking away from other skills that could be used for more damage.

Although healing is nice to have in 20 Minutes Till Dawn it is important to remember that dealing high damage is the only way to survive the increasing numbers of enemies as the game continues. But there are options in case things get too dicey. But players should balance the investment of health and damage just like in any roguelite.

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20 Minutes Till Dawn is available now on Steam.